A comprehensive guide to protecting--and increasing-- home investment value The latest in the hugely popular Tips and Traps series, Tips and Traps for New Home Owners contains all the information you need to move in, financially operate, and successfully maintain your first home. From financial record keeping and obtaining insurance to surviving the move-in and ensuring home value, real estate expert Robert Irwin provides practical, real-world advice that: Shows ways to maximize investment expenditures, including minimizing taxes, timing refinancing, and more Outlines ways to avoid home ownership pratfalls, from a thorough premove checklist to an annual maintenance schedule Offers expert guidance in home improvement and modernizing for every part of the house Explains how to evaluate a homes current value and future price

Leading real-estate author Robert Irwin provides home builders with valuable money-saving tips to building a home from the ground up in Tips & Traps When Building Your Home. Featuring a self-test to determine whether the reader is more suited to hiring it all out or doing some of it alone, this user-friendly guide outlines the perilous traps that often come with building your own home. Irwin helps readers determine whether or not to hire out the entire process or whether to act as the primary contractor. Once that is decided, Irwin then helps builders determine: How building and contracting effects home-owners' insurance Whether or not to hire an architect If building plans need to be presented to the local zoning board Contractors' and builders' adherence to electrical codes, sewage codes, and occupancy codes

Robert Irwin is America's #1 real estate expert. But don't take our word for it--the sales figures speak for themselves. To date, his real estate titles have sold more than one and a half million copies. Of all of his books, those in the bestselling "Tips and Traps" series continue to be the most popular(more than 500,000 sold), and two of those--Tips and Traps When Buying a Home and Tips and Traps When Selling a Home--have gone on to become the #1 guides in their respective subjects. In the seven years since those two classics were last revised the real estate market has undergone many dramatic changes. Irwin has updated these bestsellers to reflect these changes so readers can be successful in their real estate endeavors. This latest edition of Bob Irwin's classic Tips and Traps When Selling a Home brings new and experienced home owners up-to-speed on all the recent changes, regulations, and trends in real estate. It provides important information on market conditions, new tax advantages, toxic materials in the home, alternatives to the traditional broker, as well as proven strategies for: Handling multiple offers Negotiating from a position of power Dealing with the new "fee-for-service" and discount brokers Holding a home for investment, instead of selling And much more

Bob Irwin's hugely popular Tips & Traps real estate books have helped steer thousands of buyers, sellers, and beginning investors through every kind of real estate investment imaginable. Now Irwin is back to show real estate buyers, sellers, and small-scale investors how to master the negotiating skills needed to get the best deal possible in their real estate transactions.

Threat management expert Spencer Coursen offers proactive strategies to protect yourself and your loved ones in the event of hostile encounters and emergency situations in The Safety Trap: A Security Expert’s Secrets for Staying Safe in a Dangerous World. Despite what the news and social media would have you believe, we have never lived in a safer time than we are now. Unfortunately, we live under a false sense of security enforced by authorities that only alleviates fears without reducing risk. We have placed our personal safety, and our responsibilities of guarding it, into the hands of people trained only to respond to crises, not actively prevent them. Our blind faith in institutions to protect us has only dulled our natural survival instincts. The truth is that when we feel safest is actually when we are in the most danger. This is the paradox of The Safety Trap. When you don’t expect danger, you simply fail to see the signs that something bad is about to happen. But the signs are always there, and staying safe is about training yourself to see them. In easy-to-implement methods of maintaining vigilance, assessing risk, and taking preventative measures, you’ll discover how to be alert without anxiety and know how to best protect and defend yourself on the job, in school, in public places, at home, and online. With Coursen’s simple formula of Awareness + Preparation = Safety as your guide—as well as real world examples of managing threats—you will learn how to develop the skills and confidence to reclaim your own security and avoid The Safety Trap.

Home sweet home or money pit? The second edition of this national bestseller shows readers dozens of Tips and Traps to be aware of when purchasing a home. Learn how to deal with brokers inspectors, and lawyers--ask the right questions and learn when to make an offer. 20 illustrations.

Buying a home is a complex process that involves a delicate balance of financial, emotional, and practical factors. This essential resource helps readers come out on top, revealing the best strategies for finding and buying a new home -- while saving money every step of the way.Whether looking for a house, condo, co-op, or manufactured home, readers will learn how to:* Hire the right agent* determine financial limits* develop relationships with banks and other potential lenders* evaluate communities* get prequalified or preapproved for a mortgage* negotiate the best price and terms* and more.There's also a checklist of the 15 costliest mistakes homebuyers make -- and how to avoid every one of them -- plus crucial information on how to sell a home. Owning a home is the American dream, but achieving it can be a nightmarish experience. With this vital information and great strategies, readers will not only find their dream home faster, they will do everything right to move in quickly and confidently!"