Buying a Home: The Missing Manual

As a first time home buyer, there are many issues for me to consider. And naturally people will focus on the appraisal of the market value of the houses. However, to buy smart, we got to start with the right loans and payment strategy. Missing guide does a good job on summarizing the items in the closing costs for both applying for a mortgage and for finally buying the house. The links of missing guide are also helpful where it shows various forms and explains how each cell of the forms relates to any kind of cost. It also provides form templates where people can use to compare closing costs for different loans. Having said the good things about the book, it is really just for first time home buyers. It did not cover issues like how to leverage, about cash flow, how to craft for a lease if you wanna be a home owner and know other various ways to make profit on the property. So advanced buyers for investment buyers may want to choose other books.

I have read books in the past, I have read books on real estate in the past, I have read good books on real estate in the past. Never in my life have a read a worse book than this. I couldn't bring myself to write a review of a book I hadn't completed, but upon completion of this book I realized I hadn't read anything at all!Let me break down why this book wasted my time:1.) The author uses only feminine pronouns. This might be nice for some people, but this is assuming your real estate agent, your home inspector, your attorney, etc.. are all females.2.) The author refers to a, "Missing CD," whenever she speaks about examples of important documentation or paper work. This means that if you want to look up any of the charts she references, you must sign onto a computer and go to her website.3.) The author tells you time and time again to simply go to a professional. If I wanted to go to a professional and pay them to answer all my questions, I would not have bought this book.4.) The author simply writes, "Missing Manuals," on various topics. She is, in no way, a real estate agent or a professional home-buyer.5.) The author uses an unprofessional and hard to read san-serif font, which makes reading this book tedious and laborious.In the end:If you're simply looking for a book full of real estate definitions copied and pasted off of Dictionary.com, this is the book for you. If you're intending on learning something useful, and figuring out how to actually buy a home--look elsewhere.This book was written for someone who wants their eyes to follow words, not for someone intending to learn.I would not recommend this book to a friend, but surely to an enemy.

If you're a first-time homebuyer, it is critical to read a book like this. Agents and lenders will start throwing around lingo on day one that can leave you massively confused. The Missing Manual is a nice introduction to the language and process of buying a home.This book won't knock your socks off, but it will make you think about the important issues involved when buying a home. If only I could get my wife to read it... :-)

Insightful on questions to ask & ensure you have the best team to support you on buying a home.

This practically turned me into a real estate expert. Extremely helpful for a novice who knows nothing about anything to do with buying a home. You will learn about agents, home inspectors, the process from start to finish about one of the biggest purchases in your life. I find it foolish that more people wouldn't read more about this stuff before taking the plunge. I was able to get an amazing deal because of all the knowledge I received from this book. Thank you!

This is a very useful guide to buying a home. It provides very practical information about everything! The only thing that I wish the author had talked about more is buying a new home. Many people are buying new homes, and the process is quite different from buying an existing home. Although the author did mention buying a new home very briefly in certain places, the focus of this book is still buying an existing home.

Great overview of the process as a starting point. Written for a national audience, it can't speak to specific items that might vary from state to state, and doesn't refer to any resources to help clarify.

Book was helpful for us: first time homebuyers. The information is current for the post housing bubble era. It gives comprehensive lists of questions to ask various people and provides handy links to useful websites. The main benefit for us was that the book gives relevant, independant advice in one place for the entire end to end home buying process.