Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home (3 page)

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Authors: Ilona Bray,Alayna Schroeder,Marcia Stewart

Tags: #Law, #Business & Economics, #House buying, #Property, #Real Estate

BOOK: Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home
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Bray, Ilona M., 1962-Nolo’s essential guide to buying your first home / by Ilona Bray, Alayna
Schroeder, & Marcia Stewart. -- 2nd ed. p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-4133-0935-5 (pbk.) ISBN-10: 1-4133-0935-6 (pbk.)
1. House buying. I. Schroeder, Alayna, 1975- II. Stewart, Marcia. III. Title.
HD1390.5.B734 2009
643’.12--dc22
2008037049
 
 
 
Copyright © 2007 and 2009 by Nolo.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission. Reproduction prohibitions do not apply to the forms contained in this product when reproduced for personal use.
Quantity sales: For information on bulk purchases or corporate premium sales, please contact the Special Sales Department. For academic sales or textbook adoptions, ask for Academic Sales. Call 800-955-4775 or write to Nolo, 950 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA 94710.
Acknowledgments
 
We didn’t really write this book.
Well, we did, just not by ourselves. This book was a 100% team effort and couldn’t have been written without the advice, stories, and ideas of real estate experts and homebuyers from around the United States. First and foremost, we thank the members of our advisory board, who spent countless hours reviewing chapters, explaining local practices, and sharing the best and worst memories from their professional experiences. Special thanks to
Broderick Perkins,
a real estate journalist based in San Jose, California, and founder and Executive Editor of DeadlineNews.Com (
www.deadlinenews.com
), who reviewed and contributed to every chapter.
Our other invaluable sages included:

Asheesh Advani,
President of Virgin Money USA, (
www.virginmoneyus
. com), and an expert in alternative forms of home financing

Nancy Atwood,
Designated Broker with ZipRealty in Framingham, Massachusetts (
www.ziprealty.com
)

Steve Elias,
attorney, author, and community radio programmer in Lakeport, California. He writes blogs on bankruptcy and foreclosure law, and books on a variety of subjects, all of which can be accessed through the Nolo website at
www.nolo.com
.

Stephen Fishman,
Bay Area attorney, tax expert, and author (many of his books are available from
www.nolo.com
)

Sandy Gadow,
expert on real estate closing and escrow, and best-selling author of
The Complete Guide to Your Real Estate Closing
(
www.escrowhelp.com
)

Paul Grucza,
author, TV show host, and faculty member of the Community Associations Institute (CAI), (
www.caionline.org
)

Mary I. Husk,
Director of Faculty Development for The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research in Austin, Texas (
www.scic.com
)

Richard Leshnower,
New York-based real estate attorney

Mark Nash,
Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker, who serves the Chicago, Evanston, Skokie, and Wilmette areas of Illinois (
www.marknashrealtor.com
), and author of
1001 Tips for Buying
&
Selling a Home

Paul A. Rude,
professional inspector and owner of Summer Street Inspections, in Berkeley, California (
www.summerinspect.com
)

Bert Sperling,
city and neighborhood expert and author in Portland, Oregon, and founder of
www.bestplaces.net

Fred Steingold,
attorney and author in Ann Arbor, Michigan (many of his books on small business and other legal matters can be found on
www.nolo.com
)

Russell Straub,
founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of LoanBright, a mortgage intermediary service based in Evergreen, Colorado (see
www.loanbright.com
and
www.compareinterestrates.com
).
 
A number of other experts provided additional advice—you’ll see many of them quoted in this book. They include Neil Binder, New York real estate investment expert (
www.bellmarc.com
); Elisabeth DeMarse, CEO,
Creditcards.com
, former CEO of
Bankrate.com
, and New York-based real estate industry expert (
www.demarseco.com
); Kartar Diamond (
www.fengshuisolutions.net
); Debbie Essex, child and family therapist based in Berkeley, California; Joanna Hirsch, real estate agent with Pacific Union in Oakland, California ([email protected]); Joel Kinney, attorney with Goldstein & Herndon, LLP, in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (
www.brooklinelaw.com
); Annemarie Devine Kurpinsky, associate with George Devine, Realtor® (
www.georgedevinerealtor.com
); Pat Lashinsky, President, ZipRealty (
www.ziprealty.com
); Jeff Lipes, President of Family Choice Mortgage in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts (
www.familychoicemortgage. com
); Maxine Mackle, Connecticut Realtor® (
www.country-living.com
); Paul MacLean, retired home inspector in Austin, Texas; Carol Neil, retired Realtor®; Fiore Pignataro, Realtor® with Windermere Realty in Seattle, Washington (
www.windermere.com
); Lorri Lee Ragan, of the American Land Title Association (
www.alta.org
); Mary Randolph, attorney and author at Nolo (
www.nolo.com
); Frank Rathbun, Vice President of Communications, Community Associations Institute (
www.caionline.org
); Ira Serkes, Berkeley RE/MAX Realtor® (
www.berkeleyhomes.com
,
www.berkeleyblogcast.com
); Debbie Stevens, Oregon real estate agent (
www.ramsayrealty.com
); Rich Stim, attorney and Nolo author (
www.nolo.com
); and Craig Venezia, real estate author (
www.craigvenezia.com
).
No amount of advice can substitute for a personal story, so we’d also like to thank the many homebuyers who shared the good, the bad, and the ugly of their own experiences or told us what they’d like from this book, including Amy Blumenberg, Laurie Briggs, Dave and Danielle Burge, Karen Cabot, Linda Chou, Jennifer Cleary, Jaleh Doane, Phil Esra, Lisa Guerin, Gabrielle Hecht, Pat Jenkins, Ellie Kania, Justin and Tamara Kennerly, Chris and Libby Kurz, Talia Leyva, Willow Liroff, Meggan O’Connell, Evan and Tammy Ohs, Leny and Frank Riebli, Leah Scheibe, Diane Sherman, Bruce Sievers, Luan Stauss, Tom and Heather Tewksbury, Josh and Gillian Viers, Julie and Malachi Weng-Gutierrez, and Kyung Yu.
Within Nolo, we got huge amounts of help from our talented colleagues. Special thanks to Lexi Elmore, who gave us a 20-something, Internet-savvy perspective—and a lot of stellar research and writing help. Rich Stim did an excellent job with the audio interviews on the CD-ROM. Other colleagues who lent a hand, researching everything from 50-state legal matters to fun facts, included Cathy Caputo, Stan Jacobsen, Terry McGinley, Leah Tuisavalalo, and Joe Warner. Sandy Coury and Sigrid Metson helped line up advisory board members.
Big thanks go to our colleagues in the editorial department, who supported us through the (long) process of writing this comprehensive (and yet fun!) text. Kudos to Susan Putney in Nolo’s Production Department who took a challenging compilation of information and turned it into a beautifully designed book. And to Ellen Bitter in Nolo’s Application Development Department for helping put together the capital Homebuyer’s Toolkit on the CD-ROM.
Thanks also to Nolo founder Jake Warner, who championed this book idea for many years.
Our basements may be cluttered, our gardens may need weeding, and our floors may need a good scrubbing—but we love our homes. Thanks to the people who helped us get there—professionals (some who taught us what to do, others who taught us what not to do!) and our families, who share the joy of homeownership with us.
About the Authors
 
Ilona Bray
is an attorney, author, and legal editor at Nolo. Her other real estate books include
The Essential Guide for First-Time Homeowners
and
Selling your House in a Tough Market
, both co-authored with Alayna Schroeder. Her working background includes solo practice, nonprofit, and corporate stints. She recently celebrated her own house’s 90th birthday—it’s a 1917 Arts and Crafts bungalow, with the original woodwork and leaded glass intact. Her fantasy house would be a Greene & Greene mansion of the same style (like the Gamble House in Pasadena), with a large sun porch and lots of surrounding trees.
Alayna Schroeder
is a member of Nolo’s editorial staff whose legal career has taken her from corporate law firm to consulting to a stint in the Peace Corps. According to
Sacramento Magazine
, the home she shares with her husband and Bolivian-born dog, Luna, is in one of the Sacramento area’s ten Great Neighborhoods—a fact Alayna tries to remember as she redoes the aging plaster and labors over the new patio. Alayna’s idea of a fantasy house is always changing, but she’d settle for an A-frame in the woods with a lake view, big deck, and gourmet kitchen.
Marcia Stewart
is the author or editor of many Nolo real estate books, including the best-selling
Every Landlord’s Legal Guide
. Years ago, she found the perfect “starter” house in one of her favorite neighborhoods. As her family started to grow, so did the house, with a new second story and deck. Someday, Marcia may even get around to remodelling her 1950s kitchen—if she doesn’t give it up for her fantasy house first. That would be a Queen Anne Victorian on a tropical beach, with a sunny kitchen, home theater, and a detached cottage office.
 
List of Forms and Resources in the Homebuyer’s Toolkit on the CD-ROM
 
Tools for Househunting
 
Dream List Directions
Dream List
Questions for Talking With Locals
Common Real Estate Abbreviations
House Visit Checklist
Questions for Seller Worksheet
First-Look Home Inspection Checklist
Condo/Co-op Worksheet
Cobuyer Discussion Worksheet
Homeowners’ Insurance Terminology
Financial Tools
 
Debt-to-Income Ratio Worksheet
Financial Information for Lenders
Gift Letter
Private Loan Terms Worksheet
HUD-1 Settlement Statement
Tools for Choosing Professionals
 
Real Estate Agent Interview Questionnaire
Real Estate Agent Reference Questionnaire
Mortgage Broker Interview Questionnaire
Mortgage Broker Reference Questionnaire
Attorney Interview Questionnaire
Attorney Reference Questionnaire
Home Inspector Interview Questionnaire
Home Inspector Reference Questionnaire

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