Buying a home is one of the most important purchases you will ever make. Whether you are buying a house, a condo, or a multifamily property, let housing expert Jim Morrison show you how to do it right! Topics include: Best practices for building a professional real estate team How to determine how much home you can afford Mortgages and down payments, and how to get the lowest mortgage rates Tips for making an offer on a house or condominium How to handle bidding wars When to waive real estate contingencies What to watch out for when touring homes How to work with home inspectors How house defects impact negotiations This quick guide on how to buy a home in the United States uses plain-English explanations and lots of real estate examples from the author's decades of experience as a professional home inspector and award-winning journalist covering the housing industry. Home Buying In 30 Minutes will give you a foundation of understanding and best practices as you and your real estate team evaluate homes, make an offer on the property, and close the deal.

Author Biography

Jim Morrison is an award-winning reporter and former home inspector whose writing has appeared in The Boston Globe, Banker & Tradesman, and Forbes.com. Growing up just north of Boston in a family with seven kids, his interests in housing and writing were sparked at a young age. His father Al regularly conscripted Jim to hold flashlights and foot ladders while he performed home improvement projects, and his sixth-grade teacher gave him high marks on his first attempt to write a short story. These two formative experiences have had an outsized influence on Jim's professional life. Jim joined his father's home inspection business the day after he graduated high school and he learned how to evaluate homes at his father's elbow. Later, he took over the family business and eventually started writing about inspections and construction for his local newspaper, the Lancaster Times. After 25 years of inspections and a short stint as a condo rental agent/home inspector in Puerto Vallarta, M xico, Jim returned to the Boston area, inspected a condo for a very pretty girl, married her, and launched a full-time writing career. He's been writing for newspapers, magazines, and websites ever since. His work has appeared in hundreds of publications in the United States and beyond. Jim is as proud as can be about his three whip-smart, funny, and limit-testing kids: Seamus, Brendan, and Jamie. Home Buying In 30 Minutes is dedicated to them and especially to his wife Kelli, who is the mainsail of the family ship. When not writing, Jim can most often be found close to home working in the yard, doing home maintenance, or grilling dinner to perfection out on the deck. He's especially fond of double IPAs, great writing, and unlettered travel companions.