Finding Home: Buying the House That's Right for You

Finding Home is the first book I read that walks you through how to think about the living space you need -- whether a house, apartment or other -- when considering a new home. The book is replete with concrete examples -- heartwarming, human, touching -- that help the reader think through his or her family's own lifestyle and the ways in which a move to a new home will affect them. In addition to incorporating the emotional side of "finding home," the book also provides plenty of practical advice for making sure a move is a sound financial investment -- so that you have a chance to remain "clear headed" even as you lose your heart to "dream home." With all the examples and anecdotes, the book is an excellent read. I'm giving a copy to every friend in the househunting market -- and saving a copy to re-read myself the next time I get ready to move.

During my 49-plus years in real estate, I've read - or tried to wade through - a number of self-help books about the daunting, confusing, frightening, hazardous experience of moving a self and that self's family from a known here to a mystery-shrouded there. This book is, by a country (or city) mile, the best guide ever offered for people on the move. Martha Webb, although not a Realtor, earned an "E" for expertise by moving sixteen times before authoring these 192 pages, so she knows whereof she writes - and writes whereof she knows exceptionally well. Crammed with an awesome number of details and seasoned with a wealth of personal anecdotes, it meets the reader before any ad is clipped or call made to agent or seller; and the reader is not bidden farewell until long after the moving van has rolled away, the last box opened and the last tears of nostalgia shed. In short, the reader is spoon-fed and hand-led from the first thought of moving until well in and settled. What makes Webb's book outstanding is that it covers every conceivable (and easily overlooked) aspect of the moving experience, providing answers to every conceivable question one might ask before, during or after the relocation adventure. Perhaps more importantly, it includes questions - literally hundreds of them - that buyers should ask themselves and others, but too often fail to while hacking their way through the unfamiliar jungle of people, places and processes that pummel the mind into a state of helpless confusion. There is, too, a treasury of check lists, at least one for every critical point in the proceedings, again throwing light on obscure matters which, if not dealt with in the now will cost dearly in a not-so-sweet bye and bye. Adding to the user-friendliness of this volume is a mercifully detailed index for t hose wishing to cherry-pick particular events, possibilities and/or pitfalls. Unique features include the "Game of Nines," which involves the entire household in a pre-hunt planning session. This segues smoothly to preparation of "Home Print Worksheets" that profile the "dream home" toward which the search is to be directed. General househunting hints abound throughout, as well as financing formulas, contract cautions and negotiating strategies - all peppered with those prodding questions and engaging, believable personal experiences drawn from the author's peripatetic past. Webb offers sage counsel to those who choose to "go it alone" without professional help, while not precluding the possibility that it can be done. (e.g., on the subject of buying directly from the owner to get a bargain: "It is unlikely that the owner is selling for the fun of it and discounting the price.") Her advice on choosing agents is similarly direct and pointed, listing specific guidelines, questions to ask and discussion points. Among other nuggets of knowledge not seen in other guidebooks is an explanation of the emotional conne