Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home

Front Cover
Everything a buyer needs to know to buy a first home, with insider tips and advice from the experts!

Rental prices have gone through the roof, more homes are coming up for sale, and buying a home remains a sound investment. But how do you know whether you’re ready? And what steps should you take in the weeks or months ahead to find, buy, and move into your new home? Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home will help you find the right place to live and invest in -- and enjoy the process, too.

Filled with interesting facts, real-life stories and insights, and common pitfalls to avoid, this book provides everything you need to select the right type of home, the right mortgage, the right agent, the right inspections -- and much more. Get the inside scoop on:
  • deciding between a house, condo, co-op or townhouse
  • exploring your local market for the best value
  • creating and managing a realistic homebuying budget
  • qualifying for and securing loan financing
  • getting the right inspections and insurance
  • negotiating with sellers or new home builders
  • successfully closing the deal
Read through the real-world experiences of over 20 first-time homebuyers, as well as valuable insights from a team of 13 real estate professionals, including:
  • real estate brokers
  • attorneys who specialize in real estate
  • a home inspector
  • a neighborhood researcher
  • a mortgage specialist
  • and more!
The brand new edition of Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home is fully updated to reflect the dramatically changed U.S. housing market, with emphasis on how to assess the state of your local market and local homes’ true worth before making an offer and negotiating the terms of the deal. Download forms for book at nolo.com

About the author (2014)

Ilona Bray is an author and legal editor at Nolo, specializing in real estate, immigration law, and nonprofit fundraising. She is coauthor of Becoming a U.S. Citizen, U.S. Immigration Made Easy, Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home and numerous other top selling books. Bray's working background includes solo practice, nonprofit, and corporate stints, as well as long periods of volunteering, including an internship at Amnesty International's main legal office in London. She received her law degree and a Masters degree in East Asian (Chinese) Studies from the University of Washington. Bray also blogs on Nolo's Immigration Law Blog.

Alayna Schroeder is a coauthor of several Nolo books, including Selling Your House in a Tough Market and Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home. A Sacramento, California lawyer, she has represented employers in litigation, drafted employee handbooks and policies and counseled employers on sound employment practices. She holds a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law.

Marcia Stewart writes and edits for Nolo on landlord-tenant law, real estate, and other consumer issues. She is the coauthor of Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home, Every Landlord's Legal Guide, First-Time Landlord, Every Tenant's Legal Guide, Leases and Rental Agreements, Renters' Rights, and The Legal Answer Book for Families.

Bibliographic information