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| Your Homebuying Companion | |
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| What's So Great About Buying a House? | |
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| Investment Value: Get What You Pay For … And Then Some | |
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| Tax Breaks: Benefits From Uncle Sam | |
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| Personality and Pizzazz: Your Home Is Your Castle | |
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| No More Mr. Roper: Say Goodbye to Renting | |
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| You Can Dolt… If You Want To | |
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| What Do You Want? Figuring Out Your Homebuying Needs | |
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| Know Your Ideal Neighborhood: Why Location Matters | |
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| Know Yourself: How Your Lifestyle, Plans, and Values Affect Your House Priorities | |
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| Know Your Ideal House: Old Bungalows, New Condos, and More | |
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| Would You Like Land With That? Single-Family Houses | |
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| Sharing the Joy, Sharing the Pain: Common Interest Properties | |
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| Factory Made: Modular and Manufactured Homes | |
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| Putting It All Together: Your Dream List | |
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| Does This Mean I Have to Balance My Checkbook? Figuring Out What You Can Afford | |
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| Beyond the Purchase Price: The Costs of Buying and Owning a Home | |
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| Spend Much? How Lenders Use Your Debt-to-income Ratio | |
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| Blasts From the Past: How Your Credit History Factors In | |
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| What's Your Monthly Budget? Understanding Your Finances | |
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| Getting Creative: Tips for Overcoming Financial Roadblocks | |
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| The Power of Paper: Getting Preapproved for a Loan | |
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| Stepping Out: What's on the Market and at What Price | |
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| What's the Buzz? Checking Out Neighborhoods From Your Chair | |
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| See for Yourself: Driving Through Neighborhoods | |
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| On Foot: Talking to the Natives | |
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| Sunrise, Sunset: Getting Day and Night Perspectives | |
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| Got Houses? Finding Out What's Locally Available | |
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| How Much Did That One Go For? Researching "Comparable" Sales | |
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| Hot or Cold? Take the Market's Temp | |
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| Just Looking: The Open House Tour | |
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| Nothing to Look at Yet? Finding Your Dream Development | |
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| Select Your Players: Your Real Estate Team | |
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| Your Team Captain: The Real Estate Agent | |
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| Your Cash Cow: The Mortgage Broker or Banker | |
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| Your Fine Print Reader: The Real Estate Attorney | |
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| Your Sharp Eye: The Property Inspector | |
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| Your Big Picture Planner: The Closing Agent | |
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| Strength in Numbers: Other Team Members | |
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| Bring Home the Bacon: Getting a Mortgage | |
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| Let's Talk Terms: The Basics of Mortgage Financing | |
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| Who's Got the Cash? Where to Get a Mortgage | |
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| Narrowing the Field: Which Type of Mortgage Is Best for You? | |
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| Getting Your Cash Together: Common Down Payment and Financing Strategies | |
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| Where Do I Look? Researching Mortgages | |
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| I'll Take That One! Applying for Your Loan | |
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| Unique Financial Considerations for Co-op Buyers | |
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| Mom and Dad? The Seller? Uncle Sam? Loan Alternatives | |
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| No Wrapping Required: Gift Money From Relatives or Friends | |
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| All in the Family: Loans From Relatives or Friends | |
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| A One-Person Bank: Seller Financing | |
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| New-Home Financing | |
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| Backed by Uncle Sam: Government-Assisted Loans | |
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| I Love It! It's Perfect! Looking for the Right House | |
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| How Your Agent Can Help | |
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| The Rumor Mill: Getting House Tips From Friends | |
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| Planning Ahead for House Visits | |
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| Come on In: What to Expect as You Enter | |
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| Do We Have a Match? Using Your Dream List | |
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| All the World's Been Staged: Looking Past the Glitter | |
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| Recent Remodels: What to Watch Out For | |
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| Walk the Walk: Layout and Floorplan | |
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| What Do They Know? Reviewing Seller Disclosure Reports | |
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| Reviewing the Seller's Inspection Reports (If Any) | |
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| Poking Around: Doing Your Own Initial Inspection | |
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| Hey, Nice Dirt Pile! Choosing a Not-Yet-Built House | |
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| Buying a New or Old Condo or Co-op? Research the Community | |
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| Plan B: Fixer-Uppers, FSBOs, Foreclosures, and More | |
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| Castoffs: Searching for Overlooked Houses | |
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| A Foot in the Door: Buying a Starter House | |
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| Have It Your Way: Buying a Fixer-Upper or House You Can Add on To | |
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| Share Your Space: Buying Jointly | |
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| Subdivide Your Space: Renting Out a Room | |
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| Hey, Where's Their Agent? Looking for FSBOs (For Sale by Owners) | |
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| On the Auction Block: Buying Short Sale, Foreclosure, or Probate Properties | |
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| Show Them the Money: From Offer to Purchase Agreement | |
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| Start to Finish: Negotiating and Forming a Contract | |
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| More Than Words: What's in the Standard Purchase Contract | |
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| Too Much? Not Enough? How Much to Offer | |
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| Keeping Your Exit Routes Open: Contingencies | |
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| Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: The Earnest Money Deposit | |
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| Divvy It Up: Who Pays What Fees | |
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| Deal or No Deal: Picking an Expiration Date | |
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| Think Ahead: Closing Date | |
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| Strategies in a Cold Market: What to Ask For | |
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| Strategies in a Hot Market: Making Your Offer Stand Out | |
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| Contracting to Buy a Brand-New Home | |
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| Toward the Finish Line: Tasks Before Closing | |
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| Wrappin' It Up: Removing Contingencies | |
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| Will It Really Be Yours? Getting Title Insurance | |
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| Yours, Mine, or Ours? What to Say on the Deed | |
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| Get Ready, 'Cause Here I Come: Preparing to Move | |
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| Send in the Big Guns: Professional Property Inspectors | |
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| Inspection Overview: What, When, and at What Cost? | |
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| House Calls: Your General Inspection | |
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| Tagging Along at Your General Inspection | |
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| Say What? Understanding Your General Inspection Report | |
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| Termite or Pest Inspections | |
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| When to Get Other, Specialized Inspections | |
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| Trouble in Paradise: Inspecting Newly Built Homes | |
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| Who's Got Your Back? Homeowners' Insurance and Home Warranties | |
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| Coverage for Your House | |
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| Damage Your Homeowners' Insurance Won't Cover | |
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| Protection for Others' Injuries: Liability Insurance | |
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| Your Out-of-Pocket: Homeowners' Insurance Costs | |
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| Shopping Around for Homeowners' Insurance | |
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| Jointly Owned Jointly Insured: What Your Community Association Pays For | |
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| Home Warranties for Preowned Houses | |
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| Home Warranties for Newly Built Houses | |
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| Seal the Deal: Finalizing Your Homebuying Dreams | |
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| Preview of Coming Attractions: What Your Closing Will Involve | |
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| Is It Really Empty? Final Walk-Through of an Existing House | |
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| Is It Really Finished? Final Walk-Through of a New House | |
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| Your Last Tasks Before the Closing | |
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| The Drum Roll, Please: Attending the Closing | |
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| Closing Documents Related to Your Mortgage Loan | |
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| Closing Documents Related to Transferring the Property | |
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| Can I Move In? Taking Possession | |
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| Settling Into Your New Home | |
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| Tell the World You've Moved | |
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| Home, Hearth, and Hors d'Oeuvres: Settle in Socially | |
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| The Safest Home in Town: Yours | |
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| Cozy Up... Without Breaking the Bank | |
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| There's a Place for It: Organize Your Records | |
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| Back to the Future: Get Your Finances on Track | |
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| Appendix: Using the Interactive Forms | |
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| Editing RTFs | |
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| List of Forms | |
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| Index | |