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

As a prospective first time home buyer in today's economy, I am very worried about getting in over my head on a home. I found this book to be an excellent resource in helping me understand home costs and benefits. I looked at several other books, and was disappointed in their lack of focus on the financial implications because I feel the most complex and overlooked area of home buying 101 is whether you should actually buy a home! I feel the most of the other books are trying to sell you on the notion of buying a home. This book offers much more level-headed advice, and even spends an entire chapter on covering reasons why you shouldn't buy a home. To me, these differences make this book stand out from the rest and make this required reading.

Times have changed. This is not our fathers world anymore. This is especially true when it comes to buying and owning a house. I bought three copies of this book, one for myself, one for my son, and one for my daughter. This book covers all aspects of owning a house from buying, maintaining, and selling one of our biggest purchases. I highly recommend this book.

On an Internet bulletin board recently, a woman wondered how much to offer on a $700,000 home. Others advised her to check the comps. "What are comps?" she responded. I asked if she wanted a book recommendation. Here was a person about to make the biggest purchase of her life, one she would call an "investment," without doing even the most basic research. It's a sure bet she'll spend too much. During the housing bubble, that might not have mattered. In an economy in which millions of properties are now worth less than the money owed on them, a foolish home purchase is likely to haunt a consumer for the rest of his or her life. Had the woman responded to my question, this is the book I would have recommended. The Wall Street Journal Complete Home Owner's Guidebook offers sensible, clearheaded (and often witty) advice for those buying homes as well as those who already have homes. Its premise is simple: Your home is NOT an investment; it's an asset. An investment, the author explains, provides income while you own it, and makes you a profit when you sell it. Yes, historically owners have made "profits" when they've sold their homes. But factor in all of the costs of living there--mortgage interest, repairs and maintenance and remodeling projects--and the "profit" may not be a profit at all. The author's advice: To insure that you'll recoup the most from your home when you sell it, buy like a true investor. Don't spend more for a home than it's worth, don't over-remodel, and don't let Realtors tell you "the pride of ownership" is part of a home's value. Yes, love your home, the author says. But don't be blinded by it. The housing industry won't like this book, and will likely argue against it. It's in Realtors', developers' and contractors' best interest to try to rebut what you'll read here. But a smart consumer looking out for his or her own net worth will find a lot to love about the Guidebook.