The 106 Common Mistakes Homebuyers Make (and How to Avoid Them)

Everything first-timers need to know to avoid the most common mistakes homebuyers make Written especially for first-timers, this eye-opening guide turns you into an educated consumer, ensuring that the home or condo you buy is both a comfortable place to live and a great investment for the future. Compiled from the experience of hundreds of homebuyers, real estate agents, home builders, and mortgage lenders, it shows you the most common mistakes buyers make and illustrates them in practice so you don’t fall into the same traps.

Now revised and updated for today’s hot real estate market, this invaluable resource covers everything from negotiating with sellers and making the down payment to shopping for the best mortgage and handling the closing. The new Fourth Edition also includes totally up-to-date guidance on using the Internet to find properties, secure financing, and collect important data. If you’re thinking about buying a home in this overheated market, don’t make these mistakes:

Researching selling prices and still overpaying
Believing everything your agent tells you
Buying into an upscale neighborhood that’s moving downscale
Underestimating utilities and other costs
Allowing your agent to negotiate for you
Letting fear get the better of you and not buying at all

Written by one of the nation’s leading real estate experts and packed with hundreds of valuable tips and suggestions, The 106 Common Mistakes Homebuyers Make, Fourth Edition will give you the confidence—and the wisdom—to buy the right home at the right price.

Author Biography

GARY W. ELDRED, PhD, has been involved in hundreds of real estate transactions as a buyer, seller, and consultant during the past two decades. Nationally known for his Stop Renting Now seminars, Dr. Eldred currently serves as the Executive Director of the National Initiative for Home Ownership. He has also held faculty positions in real estate at Stanford University, the University of Illinois, and the University of Virginia. He is also the author of the Wiley titles Yes! You Can Own the Home You Want, 106 Mortgage Secrets All Homebuyers Must Learn—But Lenders Don’t Tell, and The Beginner’s Guide to Real Estate Investing, as well as coauthor of Investing in Real Estate.