Category Books

Buying A House Or Apartment »

Authors: Dan Ramsey
ISBN-13: 9780446690928, ISBN-10: 0446690929
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
Date Published: July 2004
Edition: (Non-applicable)

Author Biography: Dan Ramsey

Book Synopsis

Before investing in owning a home or apartment, readers should know what their real estate agent or broker is doing. The possibility for mistakes and dishonesty will always be there, and consumers need to be fully armed to make sure that their dream of owning a house or apartment doesn't become a financial or domestic nightmare. Readers will be much more confident about the sale knowing for themselves how to get the best price for property and mortgage rates, the pros and cons of hiring a broker, how to determine if property values will rise or fall - and what can be done about it.

	Introduction	xiii
	Why Experts Won't Tell You	xiii
	Why I Will Tell You	xv
	How to Use This Book	xvi
Part 1	What You Need to Know Before Buying Real Estate	1
Chapter 1	It All Boils Down to Property Rights	3
	What Is Property?	3
	Title and Other Rights	5
	Transferring Title	8
	Escrow Basics	10
	Summary	11
Chapter 2	It's a Buyer's Market	12
	The Marketplace	12
	The Buyer	15
	The Seller	17
	The Players	20
	Summary	22
Chapter 3	Lenders Hold the Keys	23
	The Money Market	23
	How Lenders Lend	25
	Mortgages	27
	Fannie and Freddie	29
	Summary	31
Chapter 4	Getting the Home You Really Want	32
	Determining Your Needs and Wants	32
	Studying the Marketplace	33
	Looking at Neighborhoods	36
	Learning What You Don't Want	37
	Making Decisions You Can Live With	38
	Summary	40
Part 2	Getting the Most from a Real Estate Agent	41
Chapter 5	How Agents Are Supposed to Work for You	43
	Understanding Agency	43
	Brokers and Agents	45
	Comparative Market Analysis	48
	Seller's Listing	49
	Marketing the Listing	51
	Helping with Financing	52
	Summary	52
Chapter 6	Selecting a Gem from Among the Duds	54
	Gathering Duds	54
	Culling	56
	Selecting the Best	58
	Hiring the Best	61
	Summary	62
Chapter 7	Helping Your Agent Work Harder	63
	Knowing Your Agent	63
	Letting Your Agent Know You	64
	Working with Your Agent	65
	When and How to Ask	67
	When and How to Tell	68
	Relieving Buyer's Anxiety	69
	Summary	70
Chapter 8	Getting the Money First	71
	Getting Smarter About Real Estate Finance	71
	Your Financial Options	73
	Prequalifying	74
	Checking Your Credit	77
	Summary	80
Chapter 9	Interviewing Property	81
	Getting the Facts	81
	Sizing Up Drive-Bys	83
	Walking Through	84
	Reinspecting Choices	87
	Summary	89
Chapter 10	Making the Offer	90
	Offer to Purchase	90
	Including Contingencies	92
	Making the Offer to Buy	93
	Handling Counteroffers	96
	Accepting Your Offer	97
	Summary	98
Chapter 11	Getting to Closing	99
	Getting into Escrow	99
	How Long Until Closing?	102
	Keeping Everything Moving	103
	Preclosing	105
	Closing	106
	Moving Out, In, and On	107
	Summary	108
Part 3	Buying a Home Without an Agent	109
Chapter 12	Building Your Support Team	111
	Hiring the Team	111
	Lender	112
	Attorney	114
	Appraiser	115
	Inspectors	116
	Title	117
	Escrow	117
	Summary	118
Chapter 13	Finding Property for Sale	119
	What Are You Looking For?	119
	Where Should You Look?	120
	Finding Flowers Among the Weeds	122
	Buying a Foreclosure	124
	What Not to Buy	125
	Avoiding Common Problems	126
	Working Around Renters	128
	Summary	128
Chapter 14	Buying from Builders	130
	Advantages and Disadvantages	130
	About Building Contractors	132
	Buying from Spec Builders	133
	Working with Custom Builders	134
	Negotiating with a Builder	136
	Closing on a New Home	137
	Summary	138
Chapter 15	Doing Your Own Homework	139
	Checking Public Records	139
	Researching Title	141
	Inspecting a Property	143
	Getting an Appraisal	145
	Getting a Home Warranty	147
	Summary	148
Chapter 16	Pulling the Money Together	149
	Funding the Purchase	149
	Preparing Other Assets	153
	Creating Financing	154
	Estimating Closing Costs	156
	Estimating Time	157
	Summary	158
Chapter 17	Making an Offer and Making It Stick	159
	Setting the Price and Terms	159
	Writing the Offer	161
	Presenting the Offer	163
	Handling Counteroffers	165
	Escrowing the Sale	166
	Summary	168
Chapter 18	Closing on Your Castle	169
	Planning for a Smooth Closing	169
	Early Occupancy and Other Challenges	170
	Preclosing Review	172
	Signing Your Life Away	175
	Recording and Disbursement	177
	Moving In	177
	Moving On	178
	Summary	178
	Appendices	179
Appendix A	Real Estate Glossary	179
Appendix B	Real Estate Resources	184
	Index	199
	About the Author	213

Subjects

Business Books

Personal Finance & Investing

Buying & Selling a Home
Business Books

Real Estate

Apartments, Co - ops & Condos
Business Books

Real Estate

Buying & Selling a Home

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Category Books

Buying A House Or Apartment »

Author Biography: Dan Ramsey

Book Synopsis

Table of Contents

Subjects