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| Foreword | |
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| Acknowledgments | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Why Buy, Why Now, and Why You! | |
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| Why Buy and Why Now | |
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| The Good News | |
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| Why Buy a Home? | |
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| The Seven Financial Benefits | |
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| The Seven Lifestyle Benefits | |
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| Know What Went Wrong to Know What's Right Now | |
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| The Nine Nasty Sins of the Market Crash | |
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| Understanding Today's New Market | |
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| The New Rules for Today's New Market | |
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| It's Only on Paper Till You Sell | |
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| Why Buy Now | |
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| The Top Five Reasons to Buy Now | |
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| Preparing to Buy | |
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| How Much | |
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| Rent vs. Buy | |
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| How Much Money Will You Need? | |
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| The Ongoing Costs | |
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| How Much House Can You Afford-with the Money You've Got? | |
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| Your Financial Snapshot-Take a Picture | |
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| Count Up Your Cash and Other Liquid Funds | |
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| What Will Your Money Buy You? | |
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| Where Do I Get the Down Payment? | |
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| Grab a Deal When the Market Is Down | |
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| Getting Your Credit in Order | |
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| What Your Credit Report Says about You | |
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| Clean Up Your Credit Score | |
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| Become the Perfect Buyer-Get Preapproved | |
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| The Home You Want | |
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| The House of Your Dreams-Literally | |
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| The Dream House Checklist-What Needs to Be on Your List? | |
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| Price | |
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| Type of Property | |
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| Condition of Property | |
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| Must-Haves and Should-Haves | |
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| Location | |
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| Getting More House for Your Money-Neighborhoods on the Rise | |
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| Factoring in the Commute-a Major Location Consideration | |
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| Lifestyle Dictates Location | |
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| Single Homebuyers | |
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| Smart Shopping | |
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| Older vs. New-Houses vs. Condos-How to Shop Smart for Each | |
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| Older/Existing/Fixer Homes | |
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| Four Categories of Older/Existing/Fixer Homes | |
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| Estimate Repair Costs before You Make an Offer | |
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| New and Preconstruction Houses and Condos | |
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| Condos and Co-ops | |
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| Multiunit Properties | |
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| Work with a Realtor or Go It Alone? | |
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| What a Realtor Can Do That You Can't | |
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| Brokers, Realtors, and Agents | |
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| How to Find the Perfect Realtor | |
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| Questions to Ask a Real Estate Agent | |
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| How to Work with Your Realtor | |
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| Understanding Commissions | |
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| Three Steps to House Shopping | |
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| Shopping Reality Check | |
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| The Three Steps | |
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| House Shopping Step 1: The Internet | |
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| House Shopping Step 2: Open Houses-Look, Don't Touch! | |
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| House Shopping Step 3: Serious Shopping with Your Realtor | |
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| The Buyer's Preparation Package | |
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| How Many Houses Do You Need to See? | |
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| How to Shop-Keeping Track | |
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| The Market Temperature Affects Your Shopping Price Range | |
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| Foreclosures and Short Sales...Oh, My! | |
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| Don't Focus Only on Foreclosures and Short Sales | |
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| What Is a Foreclosure? | |
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| What Is a Short Sale? | |
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| More Stressed-Out Options | |
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| Wow, That's Really a Deal...Or Is It? | |
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| The Six Roadblocks | |
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| Never Go It Alone-Work with the Pros | |
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| Buying | |
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| How Much Is This House Really Worth? | |
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| Go Back and Really Look | |
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| The Inside Scoop-What's Not in the Listing | |
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| Who Is the Seller-Are They Motivated? | |
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| Find Out the House's Market History | |
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| Ten Questions Home Sellers Don't Want You to Ask | |
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| Uncover the Financials-Condos and Co-ops | |
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| Get the Neighborhood Scoop | |
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| How Much Is That House Really Worth? | |
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| Evaluating the Comps-the Elements of the Comps | |
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| What's This House Worth Today, Not Tomorrow? | |
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| Writing the House-Winning Offer | |
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| Creating the Win- Win Deal-It's All about Integrity | |
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| Don't Buy Emotionally | |
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| Three Steps to the Offer Process | |
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| Putting the Offer Together | |
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| Presenting the Offer | |
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| The Counteroffer | |
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| Eleventh-Hour Deal Savers | |
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| Four Backup Offer Must-Haves | |
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| Don't Buy the New House before You Sell the Old House | |
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| Closing | |
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| You Have an Accepted Offer! Now What? | |
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| What Have I Done? The Big Freak-out! | |
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| Walking through the Closing Land Mines | |
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| What Is Closing? | |
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| Who Are the Players? | |
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| The Closing Three-Ring Circus | |
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| Keeping Both Yon and Your Seller on Schedule | |
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| The House Inspection | |
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| Hiring the Inspector | |
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| Seller's Disclosures-Demand Them before Inspection Day | |
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| Let the Inspection Begin | |
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| What to Inspect | |
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| How to Negotiate after the Inspection | |
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| Shopping for a Mortgage | |
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| Getting a Mortgage Today-What to Expect | |
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| The New Rules of Borrowing | |
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| The Best Mortgages for Today's New Market | |
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| The Next Best Mortgages for Today's New Market | |
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| Mortgages to Avoid in Today's New Market | |
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| Conforming vs. Jumbo Loans-Terms to Know | |
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| Banks vs. Mortgage Brokers | |
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| It's a Crazy Process Today-What to Expect | |
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| Fees to Look Out For and Compare | |
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| Beware the Last-Minute Loan Bait and Switch | |
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| Waiting for the Bottom Will Cost You | |
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| The Closing Paperwork and How to Save Thousands! | |
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| How to Save Thousands in Closing Fees | |
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| Buyer's Estimated Closing Costs Statement | |
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| Junk Fees: Ones to Look For-and Get Rid Of | |
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| More Closing Paperwork-Title, Appraisal, Insurance | |
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| Closing Day-Congratulations! | |
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| Ten Last-Minute Tips for a Smooth Closing | |
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| Final Walk-Through | |
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| What to Expect on Closing Day | |
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| Taking Possession of Your New Home | |
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| Delivering the Property | |
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| Congratulations! It's All Yours! | |
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| Appendix: Internet Resource Guide | |
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| Index | |