Review of How to Buy a Home When You Can't Afford It (Paperback)

This book is a godsend to anyone who feels there is no way they will ever be able to afford a house. In the last few years many things have changed in the home mortgage market and this book walks you through how to buy a house with 0% down, how to avoid PMI insurance with a 80/20 Loan , not to mention where to look for bargains, how to low-ball etc.

This book is worth every penny. It is well-written, researched and up to date. If you would like to buy a home and are waiting to save up for a downpayment order this book today. You won't be sorry!

Product Description
Good news for those who think they cannot scrape together a down payment and get approved for a mortgage

This latest book from million-selling real estate author Bob Irwin brings a ray a hope to the millions who dream of owning their own homes but who either aren't sure they can afford one or lack the "official" financial qualifications for a mortgage. Pitched exclusively to the needs of this market, How to Buy a Home When You Can't Afford It is a treasure trove of innovative tactics, tips, strategies, and methods for finding financing and closing on a home. Irwin shows readers how to determine how much they're really worth, how to uncover hidden assets they never new they had, and how virtually anyone can improve his or her credit rating in just six months. He then cuts right to the chase with dozens of proven options, including:

• First-time home owner benefits
• Creative ways to cover closing costs
• Bargaining down sellers
• Obtaining "sweat equity" government homes

From the Back Cover
Think you can't afford to buy a home? Think again!

If you are thinking about buying your first home in today's real estate market, it's easy to feel discouraged. It may seem as if you needed to save up for your down payment since kindergarten and never pay a bill late in your life. Nothing could be further from the truth! Best-selling real estate author Robert Irwin can show you how to make your dream of home ownership a reality regardless of your financial situation. Loaded with information and advice about everything from low down payment and no down payment mortgages to finding the right agent, Robert Irwin leads you down the path to home ownership one step at a time.

• Cash poor? How about coming up with as little as 10, 5, or 0 percent down!
• High prices? Discover how persistence, patience, and a little hard work can really pay off!
• Worried about big monthly mortgage payments? Between adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) and huge tax breaks, a mortgage is a lot more affordable than you think.
• Credit concerns? Irwin gives you the inside scoop on credit scores and what you can do to improve yours.
• Where and what to buy? Learn how to identify the best neighborhood for your money and compare different housing options.
• Looking for new construction? Find out how you can save up to 30 percent if you build it yourself!

Irwin doesn't stop there, How to Buy a Home When You Can't Afford It is packed with advice about affordable government housing programs, tips on cutting closing costs, how to evaluate fixer-uppers, and so much more. So stop making excuses and start making your dream a reality today!



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Review of Improve the Value of Your Home up to $100,000: 50 Sure-Fire Techniques and Strategies (Paperback)

Offering "50 surefire techniques and strategies" to help improve the value of one's home, Irwin utilizes common sense to help owners decide where it is best to spend their money on their homes. With the recent real estate run-up (especially where I live in Southern California), the best investment we can make is in the very place we live. While I don't plan to sell in the near future, I always want to be sure my home could be ready for a sale at any time, just in case. Irwin gives dollar-sign guides as to how much value an improvement could help increase the price you could eventually ask for your property. Although very little in this book was new to me, I highly recommend it for folks who are not very sure about how to increase the value of their homes. Although there were several suggestions I questioned (especially the value he gave to some improvements and how little he valued other improvements), I believe that he used sound judgment to guide the reader. I plan on utlizing several of the improvement ideas in my own home!

Product Description
Earn large profits on small investments in your home!

You can profit up to $500,000 tax-free when you sell your home! And some of the most effective ways to raise the value of your home are also the least expensive! Did you know that you can increase your property value simply by parking your car in the garage? It's true! And that's just one of the many proven value-building secrets you'll find in this indispensable homeowner's handbook.

Improve the Value of Your Home Up to $100,000 is packed with money-making ideas that make your home more elegant and pleasant to live in now, and far more valuable whenever you decide to sell-tomorrow or ten years from now. You'll find plenty of tips on how to save money on major improvements, learn which improvements are most likely to add the greatest value, and even discover value-boosters that you can take with you after the sale to add value to your next home! Find out how to increase the value of your home by:

• Making buyers fall in love with your home
• Adding just the right touches to kitchens, bathrooms, and entryways
• Improving your entire neighborhood
• Finding simple, inexpensive ways to modernize
• Making your backyard "the place to be"

Your home is the biggest, most important investment you will ever make. Now you can make it your most profitable investment with simple techniques that bring higher prices and quicker sales. Find out how in Improve the Value of Your Home Up to $100,000.

From the Back Cover
Earn large profits on small investments in your home!

You can profit up to $500,000 tax-free when you sell your home! And some of the most effective ways to raise the value of your home are also the least expensive! Did you know that you can increase your property value simply by parking your car in the garage? It's true! And that's just one of the many proven value-building secrets you'll find in this indispensable homeowner's handbook.

Improve the Value of Your Home Up to $100,000 is packed with money-making ideas that make your home more elegant and pleasant to live in now, and far more valuable whenever you decide to sell-tomorrow or ten years from now. You'll find plenty of tips on how to save money on major improvements, learn which improvements are most likely to add the greatest value, and even discover value-boosters that you can take with you after the sale to add value to your next home! Find out how to increase the value of your home by:

• Making buyers fall in love with your home
• Adding just the right touches to kitchens, bathrooms, and entryways
• Improving your entire neighborhood
• Finding simple, inexpensive ways to modernize
• Making your backyard "the place to be"

Your home is the biggest, most important investment you will ever make. Now you can make it your most profitable investment with simple techniques that bring higher prices and quicker sales. Find out how in Improve the Value of Your Home Up to $100,000.



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Review of Home Closing Checklist (Paperback)

This is a must have for a home buyer. especially a first timer like myself. Irwin's book covered many scenerios I experienced in my home buying process. It totally streamlined the process and eased many of my fears.It is tough buying a home especially if you're single. There was no one available to me to ask questions of. I would hate to think what would have happened if I hadn't read it. And for the record I leveraged my closing cost with the mortgage broker and the seller to come up with a zero down and zero out of pocket closing with an interest rate of 5.5% on a 15 year.But just a word of caution: READ as much as you can about buying a home before doing so and don't take someones word and what to do as dogma. And finally, find a good agent and leverage the hell out of the seller.

Product Description

A concise, quick-reference guide to save money and headaches when closing on a home

Fraught with arcane rituals, hidden traps and pitfalls, and confusing legal mumbo jumbo, the closing can be the most harrowing part of the home buying equation.

Modeled after Robert Irwin's popular Home Buyer's Checklist, this book is packed with checklists, pointers, questions, and tactics that help a home buyer close the deal without losing his or her sense of humor, sanity, or shirt, including:

• A complete lowdown on what to ask, where to get the answers, and how much things cost
• A list of information and documents needed to ensure a closing goes smoothly
• Guidance on issues such as attorneys, bankers, title, inspections, insurance, surveys, and walk-throughs

From the Back Cover

How to ensure a clean, calm, surprise-free closing

It's one of life's most exciting, important, and stressful events. A home closing is fraught with arcane rituals, hidden traps and pitfalls, and confusing legal mumbo jumbo--not to mention the enormous amount of money that changes hands! The Home Closing Checklist leads you step by step through every stage of your closing, from making an offer of purchase to slipping a new set of keys onto your key ring.

Modeled after Robert Irwin's classic Home Buyer's Checklist, this think-of-everything guide is packed with all of the practical information and know-how you need close the deal without losing your sense of humor, your sanity, or your shirt. It's loaded with checklists, pointers, tactical advice, and tips on how to ask the right questions and find the answers you need. You'll find out how to:

• Present a written offer and have the seller accept and sign it
• Open escrow, secure financing, and negotiate lender costs
• Read and approve seller's disclosures
• Obtain a title search and property inspection
• Avoid "garbage" closing costs
• Conduct the final walk-through
• And much more

Robert Irwin is a leading national expert in all areas of real estate and the author of 50 books, including those in McGraw-Hill's bestselling Tips and Traps series.



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Review of Tips & Traps When Building Your Home (Paperback)

If you are looking for a really thorough book, this isn't it, but many of the tips are very helpful. Read it with a highlighter and just mark the good stuff and then refer back. I bought this along with Woodson's "Build Your Dream Home for Less" and found that the two together were a great pair. Woodson's is very thorough and takes you through step by step, and Irwin's had a lot of additional tips that Woodson's didn't. Irwin tends not to define many of the "trade" terms he uses and for people who aren't handy, it's frustrating. On the other hand, Woodson does define most terms so if you read both, you're in pretty good shape. This book is not the be-all, end-all book but definitely worth buying - it should save you some money if you are general contracting your home.

Product Description
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

From the Back Cover
America's #1 real estate expert shows you how to build the home of your dreams from the ground up!

You've done it! You've decided to take the plunge and build your dream house. how hard could it be­­just build a house with everything you've always wanted in it­­simple, right? Wrong! When designing and building their own home, many people fall into a minefield of mistakes that can cost them time and money. There are countless decisions to make and questions to answer before your vision can become a reality. Do you know what to look out for?

• Should you hire an architect or should you buy stock plans?
• Do you have what it takes to act as your own general contractor?
• What are the different types of building materials available and what are their advantages and disadvantages?
• How do you finance the lot and the construction?

Best-selling author of the popular Tips & Traps series, Robert Irwin now guides prospective homeowners through every step of the building process. Irwin shares his personal experiences and solid advice with detailed insider information on the in's and out's of home construction.

Whether you're building a vacation home or the house of your dreams, don't make another move without this valuable resource!



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Review of Home Buyer's Checklist: Everything You Need to Know--but Forget to Ask--Before You Buy a Home (Paperback)

Exactly what it says...a checklist for nearly every item you could think of that you would want to check out before buying a house.Almost too many details but easy to use.A good investment if purchasing a house.

Product Description
Everyone who has bought a home knows that an official inspection is no guarantee against unpleasant surprises, and that, ultimately, the burden to ask the important questions about the physical aspects of a home is on the home buyer. But buying a home is one of life's most stressful, emotionally fraught activities, and it's easy to see why many home buyers fail to anticipate the kinds of exasperating and expensive problems that can crop up after closing.

Written by bestselling real estate author (more than 1 million books sold) Robert Irwin, Home Buyer's Checklist levels the playing field by equipping home buyers with a comprehensive list of questions pertaining to all the physical aspects of a house that may not be covered in an official inspection. From basement to attic, pantry to lawn, Bob walks readers through every room, nook, cranny, closet and keep, asking important questions about windows, screens, doors and door frames, fireplaces, light fixtures, moldings, and much, much more. And, drawing upon his many years of experience in the business, he provides pointers on how to deal with each problem, including information on how much it will cost to fix, how to estimate its short- and long-term consequences, how it should impact on the negotiating process, and more.

From the Back Cover
America's Number One Real Estate Expert gives you the tools you need to uncover the REAL story behind any house.

Surprises are only fun if it's your birthday, not after you make an offer or buy a home and "SURPRISE"--it needs a lot more work than you thought. Unfortunately, if you ask most homeowners they'll have a war story about their house that begins with, "I never looked closely or asked the agent or seller about that...!" Or "I didn't realize how much replacing the damaged floors would cost." It's easy to get flabbergasted when you're house hunting and forget to ask important questions or overlook crucial details. Let Robert Irwin, America's number-one real estate writer let you take charge of your home search with Home Buyer's Checklist, a step-by-step, room-by-room, top-to-bottom guide that shows you exactly how to "precheck" a house before you make an offer.

• Consider or Eliminate­­When you're looking at a dozen homes, find out when it makes more sense to forget it than to buy it.
• Ask the Inspector­­Know which potential problems to later point out to your inspector so that they become the seller's headache and not yours
• Neighbors and Neighborhoods­­Invest in quality of life (Green Lawns: YES­­Cars on Lawns: NO) and you will add value to your home
• Your Home's Life Span­­Learn how to asses the quality and durability of your home in order to avoid costly surprises down the road

Take this book with you when you look at homes and let it suggest what you must ask about each house. With practical and no-nonsense advice, Robert Irwin answers the question: "Where do I begin?" Begin HERE!



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