Books

If you’re serious about buying your first home and doing it in a financially responsible manner, then you should have no problem committing to doing some upfront legwork to make sure you’ve considered all options and planned for contingencies. With that edict in mind we provide the following books that you may want to consider taking a look at before you commit to the big decision.Buying a Home: The Missing Manual (Nancy Holzner) is 352 pages of packed information to help potential homebuyers determine (realistically) how much they can afford; access a team around them (real estate and financial) that will look after their best interests, understand and navigate the many financing options, and more. One reviewer of the book commented that it “deserves a prominent place on your reading list.”100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask: With Answers from Top Brokers from Around the Country (Ilyce R. Glink) is a whopping 500-plus pages that covers topics such as lending innovations, the changing habits of first-time home buyers. And the latest information on asbestos, mold, radon, and other bio-environmental hazards since no first-time buyer should ever have to worry about such this post-purchase.A Survival Guide for Buying a Home (Sid Davis) covers in its 272 pages such topics as time-saving techniques to narrow choices; mortgage loan rules; lease/purchase options; costly mistakes and how to avoid them; and more. The book also features survival tips that highlight crucial points that surface in every home-buyers quest. One reviewer commented that this book alone may have helped save thousands of dollars in their ultimate purchase had they not read it first.There are of course hundreds of other titles that you may want to consider. Also, make sure you check some local and national organizations (such as HUD, Habitat for Humanity, and the Community Development Corporation of Utah) to see what timely material they may have available since the housing market is still considered a volatile (and ever-changing) one.