Buy your first house with your eyes wide open and outsmart the world's most common financial trap! From BiggerPockets CEO Scott Trench and podcast co-host Mindy Jensen, learn how your home purchase can destroy your wealth... or generate even more. Buying a house is more than just trading money for a deed. Between choosing your real estate agent and lender, picking the right neighborhood, and choosing the house itself, you're suddenly making more decisions than you ever thought possible. All this while trying to keep a level head for what may be the biggest purchase of your life! Plus, no matter how desperately you want to escape the renter's cycle, buying a house isn't always a good investment. Your home can destroy your wealth and freedom or generate the same-and this book will show you how to make a decision that gives you the most financial flexibility possible. Scott Trench and Mindy Jensen of the BiggerPockets Money Podcast have been buying and selling houses for a collective thirty years. In First-Time Home Buyer, they'll give you a comprehensive overview of the home-buying process so you can consider all of your options and avoid pitfalls while jumping into the big, bad role of homeowner. In this book, you'll learn:• How much house can you actually afford (AKA, not the breaking point of your budget) • When to buy a house, renting vs. buying, and everything else you should know about the housing market• How to get your financial situation in order while preparing for your big purchase• Steps you can take (and early decisions you can make) to turn your first home into a future cash-flowing investment• Fixer-upper houses and home renovation-are they really worth it?• What to look for when buying a house, and what to absolutely avoid• How to choose a real estate agent and a lender that have your best interests in mind• All the steps to buying a house-from loan pre-approval, to submitting offers, to home inspections, to the closing process, and everything in between!
