Nolo's essential guide to buying your first home

Even in a sluggish market, there will always be people seeking advice and direction in buying a first home. Nolo's excellent guide for novice home buyers provides fresh, updated information about the whole process that even those in the know will find useful. Readers will appreciate the chapter outlines highlighting key topics in each section, as well as the personal anecdotes and tips from real estate experts. As in the "For Dummies" series, each chapter here is punctuated with icons, starred paragraphs, and simple catchphrases, all designed to reduce further the intimidation factor in making a major life-changing purchase. Packaged with a CD-ROM that includes essential forms (e.g., a "Final Walk-Through Checklist," a sample inspection report, and a "Questions for the Sellers Worksheet") and MP3-formatted audio files of extended insight from the real estate experts, this is highly recommended for most public libraries, especially those seeking to replace and update outdated real estate titles. Determined not to leave any segment of the real estate community uninformed, Nolo also offers a guide to buying a second home. Though perhaps overly detailed in some sections (e.g., there are in-depth descriptions of the differences among a townhouse, a co-op, and a condominium) and not as universally needed, the book is valuable for guiding readers toward examining and understanding the desire for purchasing a second home and the financial ramifications of embarking on such an endeavor. A CD-ROM with reproducible forms is included. Recommended for libraries with larger boomer populations and/or populations with higher-than-average discretionary incomes, though the book is quick to emphasize that a second home purchase is no longer strictly only for the rich and famous.-Joslyn Jones, Oak Park P.L., IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

8: Next >IntroductionMeet Your AdviserMark Nash, an Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker, who serves the Chicago, Evanston, Skokie, and Wilmette areas of Illinois (www.marknashrealtor.com).The brakes are off, and you're ready to visit houses that seem to match your Dream List, and choose one. "Whatever you do, don't settle," says Realtor Maxine Mackle (after 18 years of experience in the Connecticut market). "You should be really enthusiastic about a house before you make an offer on it."But first, breathe deeply and cultivate some nonattachment. Sellers of beautiful houses usually know they've got a gem and price it accordingly. Meanwhile, the market contains its share of duds: houses with dark rooms, weird layouts, and repair nightmares. This doesn't mean your perfect house isn't out there, just that you're unlikely to find it on day one. So to make your search productive, we'll show you how to: * get help from your real estate agent, friends, and neighbors * compare each house with your Dream List, looking past the fancy furniture or staging, the need for fixing up, or the shininess of a recent remodel * see whether you can live with the layout * review disclosure and other information you receive from the seller * do your own, informal inspection for repair issues, and * understand how to approach buying a not-yet-constructed house, or one in a common interest development (CID). Excerpted from Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home by Ilona Bray, Marcia Stewart, Alayna Schroeder All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.