This book is packed with expert advice, home inspection checklists, and sample documents, to arm homebuyers with the knowledge and insight they need to make smart purchasing decisions. It guides readers through the entire process of buying a home, showing them how to determine their housing needs, assess the marketplace, search for and evaluate different kinds of housing, make an offer, and close the deal. Special chapters cover buying from builders, working with real estate agents, finding creative financing, and reducing the tax bite. Readers also learn to recognize the red flags that should warn them against buying a property.