This is one of those people who should have to eat every copy of their book sold. Most of the first few reasons detail why buying is better than renting (not always true; us California renters are laughing now at the people who bought 2-3 years ago) and how you can finance a home with zero down and bad credit (and get the taxpayers to insure your bad debt.) The latest edition was published in 2006, at the very precipice of the housing price spiral we're all riding down, down, down with no bottom in sight. It's the irresponsibility of advisors like this that got us into this mess; do yourself -- and the economy -- a favor and skip this one.

This was great for tips. The book was not 100% applicable to our situation and at times was a bit repetetive. But overall it was a good buy and was informative.

I haven't finished the book, yet, but I quickly noticed how this author, along with other real estate "experts", sees himself as an advocate of an active real estate market. He wants people to buy. I don't really think rent versus own is what this book is suposed to be about. But, it's like the author couldn't help but get on his soapbox. Some of his suggestions are to eat less, use all cash reserves and even buy a home with a partner.

The author questioned whether historical stock valuations would continue to rise on past performance, but automatically assumed that the same limitations didn't apply to home purchase. Not everyone belongs in their own home. Interesting how this book was written before the whole real estate bubble popped, so I think he's always been proved completely wrong on that point.

This book is very light on facts and written in surprisingly defensive tone. Also, it is at best lazy and deeply flawed in its analysis of investment returns, and at worst deliberately misleading. It is stated in an example that 10K down on a 100K house will likely net you a 24% annual return on your investment. It is figured that (on a 30-year loan) after 8 years we've paid down to an 80K balance and the house is now worth 137K. It is then calculated that our original 10K has increased in value five-fold like so: 137K - 80K = 57K. But (for starters) didn't we add 10K in additional equity through mortgage payments for those 8 years? Also, if 10% down gets us a five-fold increase, would 5% down give a 10-fold increase in value over 8 years? 57K/5K * 100% = 1140%!! NICE!! And if that's so, can I just buy a bunch of houses with no money down and experience an infinite percentage increase in value on my investment in each one (0 to 57K in just 8 years!)? Interest payments don't seem to figure into these calculations, though a specific rate is stated in the premise. With such staggering numbers backing him up, this guy must be wondering why he still has to write books to support himself. Also, the author is so insecure that another dissenting Amazon reviewer was lambasted in the '06 edition. Hey Gary, do me next.

If you need motivational material, this is for you. This is written for someone who is dragging their feet and does not want to buy a home. The 'for Dummies' series if far better if you want to learn something about buying.



About 12 "mistakes" deal with how renting is a waste of money. If you are shopping for a book about buying - you probably don't need 50 pages of 'you're throwing your money away by renting'.



Mistake #20 states the stock market is over valued, so real estate is a better investment.

1) "outsized returns during several decades of times must be offset by low returns over the decades to follow."

2) US GDP grows at just 3% a year - therefore, the stock market has to follow this trend. Anything over it (like the last 50 years of precedent) must be an economic bubble.

3) "When you invest in a home, you gain the magic and wealth-building power of leverage"

seriously, that's what it says. So cash out your retirement! 50 years of stock market growth is nonsense. That's what this book tells you.



The book promotes interest only loans. Page 265 is about a "strategy to qualify" for a loan. Praising a mortgage broker who says, "If you don't qualify, then I'm going to see what I can do to make you qualify." Same broker states, if she turned people down for not meeting Fannie Mae's guidline ratio's, she "wouldn't earn enough to make my own mortgage payments" This book recommends finding a broker like this.

Google "subprime lending" if you don't see the err here.



It just continues to babble as the pages read on. Not Married? Buy with a friend! Take in housemates. Work overtime or take on a second job. Find a higher paying job. And my favorite, "Put your spouse or kids to work"



I bought this book because I intend to buy. I already read and learned a from 'homebuying for dummies' which is a fact driven, educational read. I feel ripped off that I paid for this book and it's telling me to get a better job, put my wife to work, so I can buy a house, so I can be rich. I already WANT to buy, which makes 95% of this book B.S. for me.



there were only two "mistakes" in this book that I've heard of. First, smaller homes appreciate in value faster than larger homes (so, over time, a small house would cost more than a large home?). Second, it makes an argument for a condo as an invesment where I've always heard single family residential homes make better investments.



Sorry for the spoiler.

If you need motivational material, this is for you. This is written for someone who is dragging their feet and does not want to buy a home. The 'for Dummies' series if far better if you want to learn something about buying.

About 12 "mistakes" deal with how renting is a waste of money. If you are shopping for a book about buying - you probably don't need 50 pages of 'you're throwing your money away by renting'.

Mistake #20 states the stock market is over valued, so real estate is a better investment.
1) "outsized returns during several decades of times must be offset by low returns over the decades to follow."
2) US GDP grows at just 3% a year - therefore, the stock market has to follow this trend. Anything over it (like the last 50 years of precedent) must be an economic bubble.
3) "When you invest in a home, you gain the magic and wealth-building power of leverage"
seriously, that's what it says. So cash out your retirement! 50 years of stock market growth is nonsense. That's what this book tells you.

The book promotes interest only loans. Page 265 is about a "strategy to qualify" for a loan. Praising a mortgage broker who says, "If you don't qualify, then I'm going to see what I can do to make you qualify." Same broker states, if she turned people down for not meeting Fannie Mae's guidline ratio's, she "wouldn't earn enough to make my own mortgage payments" This book recommends finding a broker like this.
Google "subprime lending" if you don't see the err here.

It just continues to babble as the pages read on. Not Married? Buy with a friend! Take in housemates. Work overtime or take on a second job. Find a higher paying job. And my favorite, "Put your spouse or kids to work"

I bought this book because I intend to buy. I already read and learned a from 'homebuying for dummies' which is a fact driven, educational read. I feel ripped off that I paid for this book and it's telling me to get a better job, put my wife to work, so I can buy a house, so I can be rich. I already WANT to buy, which makes 95% of this book B.S. for me.

there were only two "mistakes" in this book that I've heard of. First, smaller homes appreciate in value faster than larger homes (so, over time, a small house would cost more than a large home?). Second, it makes an argument for a condo as an invesment where I've always heard single family residential homes make better investments.

Sorry for the spoiler.

I started out with Home Buying for dummies which read more like a text and got me discouraged. After being half way through this, I am now more confident and am considering a number of issues that had never crossed my mind before reading this book. Easy to read.

This book enlightens every home buyer as to ways to get what you want, financing and more

This book enlightens every home buyer as to ways to get what you want, financing and more

I bought this book for my son who wants to invest in property. He says it is full of useful information.

I bought this book for my son who wants to invest in property. He says it is full of useful information.

I read Eric Tyson's book and the best book on the market, 100 questions every first-time home buyer should ask...Both books were above average and superb, respectively. I read this book in between these other two books and was thoroughly disappointed. If you are looking at getting into buying and selling homes, then this book may be for you. There was a heavy focus on improving your home and then selling. If you look at the preface, the author tells you that he has moved quite a few times, which should give you a hint about the vibe of the book. He is interested in fixing up houses and selling. The whole book wasn't about this, but the info that didn't focus on this was not explained as well as either of the other two books noted above. Simply pass on this book or at least borrow it from the library so you don't waste your money.

I was totally new at buying a home. We rented for 14 years, one of the worse mistakes in my life. This book helped me tremendously to understand what buying a house entailed, how to go about it and what to look for. I fully agree with Eldred's position of the biggest mistake anyone can make is not buying any house and continue to pay rent. I followed alot of the ideas he shares in my home search and I found a great buy in a solid neighborhood and I was able to do it with very little money down. This book does not give you all the ins and outs of financing a home but this along with a couple of other books on financing will be a great resource to buying a first home. There are alot of things you need to know. I know many homeowners that did not understand what was going on and why, since their agent did not feel it important enough to inform them. Reading this book helped me find the right agent so that did not happen to me and gave me a clear understanding of the entire process and what to look for.

We have lived in our home for over a year now, our escrow went up but i knew that would happen because I learned to ask the right questions but buying a home has been one of the best thing our family has ever done and we do not regret it one bit. This book, a good agent and mortgage broker that I could trust helped us tremendously.

This book is written for the benefit of real estate agents. I am constantly irrated by the author bragging on how real estate would make money. Based on what? His calculations are seriously flawed to a point that it is not even funny. He assumes one does not need money to maintain his/her house - no money out.

I did a simple calculation which assumes $180,000 house with 10% down and 3.25% property tax and 6.5% interest rate on 30 years term. The out of pocket money WITH tax credit will run you up to $1100. If you add lawn mow, cable, water, electricty etc., you know what I am talking about. This is the money down the drain. You house needs to appreciate at least 9% to just break even, and how can the author say 4% appreciation rate would make you money?

I give it 3 stars because it does provide some good comments like priorities you need to list out before you buy. It is still a good read on many other topics. I just hope the author can save his sales pitch.

I am not sure if there are 106 COMMON mistakes homebuyers make. I think the number is probably more like 25. The author addresses "common mistakes" which most of us wouldn't care about. For example, #44 "Find out whether you will fit in with your neighbors" (do most of us even care what our neighbor thinks of us?) , #51 "We seldom see the Sun here" (you mean not everywhere is like California????), #76 "The worst they can do is say no" (*yawn*). Having said this, there are SOME good information here which is worth the cheap price of this book. Just don't expect all the 106 "common mistakes" apply to you.

Gary Eldred, The 106 Common Mistakes Home Buyers Make (Wiley, 2002)

Reading this on the heels of Ilyce Glink's book may not have been a good idea, or it may have been a great one. I'm not sure yet. The two mostly cover the same ground, though Eldred never even brings up the possibility of buying a home without a realtor (Glink glosses over it), and Eldred does get into a little more detail about a few things. He also has a more cynical attitude towards the subject than Glink, but then looking at the books' titles alone should convey that well enough.

A good adjunct, but not sure it would be as good a stand-alone tome; Eldred misses a few beats in telling you the options you have while he's too busy shutting the door on the options you should avoid. Best read in tandem with Glink. *** ½

This book is excellent for first-time buyers. It also is a good refresher for other buyers (we are in our third home). Good easy-to-read tips that are up-to-date. Better than any magazines for getting your money's worth.

Through these enumerated boo-boos you can learn what to do correctly. By seeing through the window of these (potential) mistakes you can learn the correct way to carry out a real-estate transaction by knowing what needs to be known beforehand, and to avoid errors that will exist following a done deal. These mistakes often can be long-term and expensive. A lot of time was taken in this book to cover almost every aspect and scenario that is conceivable when you plunk down the funds to purchase a home. The focus here is on residential real-estate with the purchaser intending to become an owner-occupier.

Detached homes, sociological trends, condos, investing, and closing out the mortgage are some of the many, many, factors detailed. Very helpful and informative.

Unlike most homebuying books I've seen, this one really helped me see what to look for by relating the advice to real-life stories (examples) that accompany most of the principles. Entertaining and informative. Great read from voices of experience.