A Survival Guide for Buying a Home

Davis (Adding Value to Your Home), a real estate broker for over 25 years, offers a straightforward, no-frills volume designed to help readers navigate the tricky waters of purchasing a new home. With advice that runs the gamut from making the decision to buy, to working with a mortgage broker, to packing up and moving, Davis's book contains an abundance of practical information; the author gives, for example, a list of the paperwork that lenders need to assess a potential buyer's qualifications, along with calculation charts and checklists (like a set of questions to ask future neighbors when conducting a neighborhood walk-through). The appendices, which include a glossary of real estate terms and a big-picture checklist of steps to becoming a homeowner, are valuable additions to the volume. The text doesn't always flow smoothly, but readers will get solid real estate buying advice.