Buying a home should be fun and easy. You'll start with a ton of questions-inside this book are the answers! What you'll learn: How to increase your chances of getting a mortgage How to determine property values The difference between a Foreclosure, a Short Sale, and an REO All about home inspections, title search, closing costs and more!

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

Whether your home is small or large, an apartment in the city or a country cottage, it is a space that should be at once beautiful and livable. The key to that is managing the upkeep without feeling flustered. Until now, there has never been a comprehensive resource that not only tells how to care for your home and everything in it, but that also simplifies the process by explaining just when. With secrets from Martha Stewart for accomplishing the most challenging homekeeping tasks with ease, this detailed and comprehensive book is the only one you will need to help you keep your home looking its best, floor to ceiling, room by room. In Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook, Martha shares her unparalleled expertise in home maintenance and care. Readable and practical–and graced with charts, sidebars, illustrated techniques, and personal anecdotes from Martha’s decades of experience caring for her homes– this is far more than just a compendium of ways to keep your house clean. It covers everything from properly executing a living room floor plan to setting a formal table; from choosing HEPA filters to sealing soapstone countertops; from organizing your home office to polishing your silver and caring for family heirlooms. Martha Stewart’ s Homekeeping Handbook is organized for clarity and maximum practicality: Room by Room covers the upkeep of the appliances, tools, furnishings, and surfaces found in each room, from the entryway to the kitchen, from the attic to the laundry room. Throughout the House instructs the reader on the proper ways to routinely clean and periodically maintain everything in the home, including dusting, sweeping, vacuuming, polishing, scrubbing, waxing and much more. Comfort and Safety focuses on techniques to ensure your home is running properly and safely, such as recognizing when to clean vents, fixing a leaky faucet, and eradicating pests. A-to-Z Materials Guide provides an invaluable resource that explains the unusual materials that many favorite objects are made of–from abalone to zinc–and how to care for them so they last. Encyclopedic yet friendly, Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook is a seminal work–a must-have for everyone who wants a well-cared-for home that will endure for generations.

"Buying a first home can be both exciting and nerve-wracking. Will you qualify for a mortgage? Is your dream home achievable? How do you make sure your offer will beat others? Don't worry-now you can arm yourself with the information you need to know before you begin the hunt! In Home Buying 101, you will learn all the skills you need to find the right house at the right price, with financing that fits your budget. Full of nuts-and-bolts advice and organized in an easy-to-read format, this book will teach you all the basics of: deciding the right time to buy; getting your finances in order; deciphering the MLS/reading the listings for clues; types of mortgage loans; and much more! With the help of this guide, you'll learn how to find the house of your dreams at a price you can afford!"--

Homeowner maintenance reference manual including 380 residential workmanship guidelines covering conditions and maintenance for topics including: floors and ceilings; roofs and gutters; foundations and basements; interior/exterior components; grounds; utility systems; and walls. Homeowner and builder maintenance responsibilities are stated along with the performance guideline and additional information for each topic. Green home construction is also covered.

Essential DIY Guide to Home Décor and Home Staging “…a must-read when selling your home. This book is a beautiful tutorial that will help you sell your home faster.” ―Cassandra Aarssen, professional organizer and author of The Clutter Connection #1 New Release in How-to & Home, House Plans, and Project Management Are you overwhelmed by the idea of home staging? Don’t know what to do or where to start? In Secrets of Home Staging, award-winning home stager, Karen Prince, guides you through the home staging process with easy home décor ideas, design tips, and advice on how to stage your home to sell. Home staging made simple. Secrets of Home Staging isn’t just an indispensable guide for the everyday homeowner, it’s also geared to realtors and those committed to real estate investing and flipping houses. With potential home buyers pre-shopping homes online and dismissing many of them in as little as three seconds, it is essential your home is staged to look its best. Secrets of Home Staging helps you navigate the home staging process with an easy-to-follow guide. For fans of Joanna Gaines and the real estate world. No matter what your house plan, Secrets of Home Staging offers home interior design advice and tools you need to make your home look great online and in-person. Featuring over 150 color photos, and many practical house interior design tips, Karen gives home sellers everything they need to receive more offers, faster sales, and higher selling prices. Inside you’ll find before-and-after photos and information on easy DIY home improvements that buyers love, project management tips, and: • The 6 steps to successful home staging • Decluttering and decorating ideas that sell • How to determine your “key” rooms If you enjoy real estate books, interior design books, or home decor books─like Elements of Style, Home Body, Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Habitat, Inspire Your Home, or The Book on Flipping Houses─you’ll love Secrets of Home Staging.

For 75 years, the VA loan program has helped U.S. service members and their families achieve the dream of homeownership. Today, in the wake of the subprime mortgage meltdown and ensuing foreclosure crisis, this no-down payment loan is more important than ever. VA loans have emerged as a lifeline for veterans and active duty personnel who understand their unmatched safety and buying power. The Book on VA Loans takes service members and their families on an insider's journey into VA loans, from credit scores and interest rates to the unique opportunities and challenges of this long-cherished program. Readers get insider tips and expert advice from the country's largest dedicated VA lender, Veterans United Home Loans. They also receive a buyer-friendly education in a sometimes complicated world that can trip up even seasoned real estate veterans.Featuring simple, straightforward language and voices of previous VA borrowers, this resource helps ensure service members are in the best position possible to maximize the benefits earned by their service.