The Wall Street Journal Complete Homeowner's Guidebook: Make the Most of Your Biggest Asset in Any Market »

DAVID CROOK is the editor of The Wall Street Journal Sunday and author of The Wall Street Journal. Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook. He developed Home Front and Property Report, the residential and commercial real-estate sections of The Wall Street Journal. David and his family divide their time between homes in New York City and rural Connecticut.

Your Map for a Brave New Real-Estate World

The days of real-estate mania—when you really couldn’t go wrong with buying a home, then selling it in a few years for a lot more than you paid for it—are over. Inflated prices and the “subprime” mortgage crisis have finally burst the bubble. Now, more than ever, it’s important for current and prospective home buyers to understand just what they’re getting into when they take that plunge—and to think smarter when it comes to making the most of their biggest asset.

The Wall Street Journal. Complete Home Owner’s Guidebook shows readers how to become savvy home buyers—and eventually owners—not only in this new, uncertain era but in any market:

• Understand the benefits and pitfalls of owning versus renting
• Make sense of the housing market—ask the important questions, factor in the unforeseen costs, and explode the big myths of home ownership
• Take advantage of current opportunities if you’re a first-time home buyer
• Overcome the challenges if you’re looking to trade up or cash out on your home for retirement
• Make the best profit on your home in any market
• Understand why your home—your number one asset—really isn’t such a great investment

Publishers Weekly

Crook, editor of the Wall Street Journal Sunday, offers a clear, no-holds barred look at the pros and cons of owning a home-rather than renting one from a bank via a mortgage-along with its ultimate costs. The author debunks popularly held views about the wisdom of viewing a home as a piggybank and how that can easily lead to financial disappointment. Owning a home is essentially an expense, he contends, providing repeated proof that few home buyers build accessible wealth through home ownership except in bullish real estate markets. His advice on making the purchase decision, especially in a weak housing market, along with how and when to use debt to do so, are invaluable. For those aspiring to own a home and those trying to manage the affordability of their biggest asset, this is a must read. It is applicable to home buyers and owners of all economic backgrounds, and in any phase of their financial life from the newly employed to the retired. (Dec.)

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Introduction Your Biggest Asset 1

Ch. 1 Why In the World Do You Want a House? 12

Ch. 2 Home Owning in a Troubled Market 35

Ch. 3 Managing Your Biggest Debt 61

Ch. 4 Making Your Debt Work For You 93

Ch. 5 How to Buy a Home 113

Ch. 6 Settling In 151

Ch. 7 Free and Clear 177

Ch. 8 The Pursuit of Happiness 200

Appendix 1 The Life Expectancies of Various Home Components 213

Appendix 2 A Home Owner's Maintenance Checklist 219

Glossary - Home Talk: Terms and Concepts of Home Owning 229

Bibliography 243

Acknowledgments 247

Index 249