House Poor: Pumped Up Prices, Rising Rates, and Mortgages on Steroids: How to Survive the Coming Housing Crisis - Hardcover

Fletcher, June

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9780060873226: House Poor: Pumped Up Prices, Rising Rates, and Mortgages on Steroids: How to Survive the Coming Housing Crisis
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0060873221 ISBN 13: 9780060873226
Publisher: Harper Business, 2005

Synopsis

Skyrocketing home values, cheap money, and enticing home equity offers in recent years ... millions of us took on bigger mortgages, bigger houses, and bigger debt. But disturbing signs point to the end of the housing bubble:

  • Home sales and starts are at all-time record highs;
  • In some markets, prices have ballooned by over 100% in the past few years;
  • Interest rates are rising, while consumer debt stands at a record 110% of disposable income;
  • In some cities, real estate investors are creating "vulture capital" funds to buy condos cheaply when the market collapses.

This indispensable survival guide will address questions that include:

  • Should I take equity out of my house in these uncertain times?
  • If the U.S. market tanks, how can I sell to foreign investors?
  • How can I tell when my hometown is likely to boom or bust?
  • Is it too late to buy as a first-time home-owner? How about as an investor?
  • What are the best tips to protect my home investment?
  • What are the best tips to increase my investment?
  • Should I just get out of the market now while prices are still hot?
  • Where are America's most vulnerable housing markets?

Today's real estate developments could make you house poor, but this is the book to keep you house proud.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

June Fletcher has been the Home Front feature reporter for the Wall Street Journal since 1995. In 2005, she also started writing the weekly "House Talk" column for realestatejournal.com, an online section of the Journal.

Reviews

Fletcher, who writes the "Home Front" feature for the Wall Street Journal, puts the current housing market hype into perspective in this guide for owners and investors alike. Though written during a two-month period last spring, her book is, nonetheless, packed with an enormous amount of information and advice. Is the market bubble about to burst? What kind of financing is best for me? How much value does a room addition really add to a property? What's the advantage (or disadvantage) of a zero-interest loan? Fletcher answers the questions, defines the terms, and introduces a host of financial options clearly and concisely, making plenty of suggestions to help home owners and investors sail confidently through the slowdown most analysts predict is on the horizon. Summaries in the form of "Survival Tips" are handy chapter refreshers, and an extensive bibliography of books, articles, and Web sites opens the way to a wealth of additional information, whether an individual is considering refinancing, preparing to sell, or thinking of investing big in the housing market. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Harper Business
Publication date
2005
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0060873221
ISBN 13 
9780060873226
Binding
Hardcover
Edition number
1
Number of pages
224
Rating
  • 3.00 out of 5 stars
    10 ratings by Goodreads