First Home
What Nobody Tells You About Buying a House (But Should)
You're about to spend more money than you've ever spent on anything — and you're getting most of your advice from people who only get paid if you say yes.
Your realtor earns a commission only if you buy. Your lender earns fees only if you borrow. The seller earns only if you close. Everyone at the table is incentivized for you to spend more and close faster. This book exists to be the one voice whose only incentive is your best outcome.
Most first-time buyers walk in knowing the price of the house and almost nothing else. They don't know what their lender quietly leaves out, which inspection findings should make them walk away, or what the first year of owning actually costs once the mortgage is only the beginning. By the time the surprises show up, the papers are already signed.
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What's inside
- The real readiness checklist nobody gives you — two years of stable income, an emergency fund separate from your down payment, a debt-to-income ratio under 43%, and the credit-score math that can cost you $50,000–$100,000 over the life of the loan
- When you're not ready to buy — even when a lender will happily approve you, and why staying fewer than five years usually makes buying the wrong call
- Mortgages without a finance degree — fixed vs. adjustable, points, APR vs. interest rate, PMI, and the loan types (conventional, FHA, VA, USDA) and what each really costs
- What your lender conveniently doesn't explain — how their product makes money and where the costs hide
- The inspection findings that should make you walk away — and the ones that are just normal wear
- The closing costs nobody mentions until two days before you sign — and how to see them coming
- What year one actually costs beyond the mortgage — maintenance, repairs, and the reserves you need before you ever get the keys
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