Books for first-time homeowners?

[Cady]

Hello all! My husband (of almost two weeks!) and I are in the process of looking for our first home, and neither of us knows much about home repair and general maintenance. We would love to feel more prepared for home ownership. Does anyone have suggestions for books or websites or anything that has been helpful to you? Thank you!

 

[iheartscience]

Does your state have a housing development authority? In my state the HDA offers free first time homeowners classes that you have to take in order to qualify for their special loans. My husband and I made too much money to qualify for the special loans but I took the class anyway and I learned a TON. I got a big free binder/book thing with all kinds of helpful info, too.

And as far as DIY books, I really like the Reader''s Digest Fix It Yourself book.

 

[Cady]

Hi Thing2! Thank you! I checked on the HDA and it looks like in my area it is geared solely toward low-income homebuyers, but I''m going to keep looking because I love the idea of taking a class.

I''ll check out the Reader''s Digest book tomorrow - thank you for the suggestion!

 

[Hera]

I like gardenweb for decorating and they have some other fix it forums that are pretty helpful.

gardenweb home forum

 

[Haven]

I love Martha Stewart''s Homekeeping Handbook.

It covers everything from cleaning, to organization, to maintenance. And it''s gorgeous.

 

[Aloros]

No book suggestions, but find out where your circuit breaker board and water shut-off are when you move in.

I had the unhappy experience of running all around our house trying to find our water shut-off when one of our sprinkler valves broke. I didn''t even know what to look for!

 

[applequeen]

Go to Lowe''s or Home Depot and check out their book suggestions. They have some that are very specific (plumbing, building a deck, etc.) but they also have several that are general and will cover a little bit of everything.

We''ve spent the past year remodeling our house...there isn''t a single room that has not been touched and we''ve done a lot of "how to" research. The book we bought was by Black and Decker (I think...could be totally wrong... but we got it at Lowes) and it''s been a really good resource.

We just finished a total kitchen remodel and actually found Google to be a huge help. Whenever we got stuck we''d run to the computer and google our question...and always found the answer.

Home Depot''s website also has a lot of "how to" videos.

The really important thing is to get a good inspection before you buy a house...that way you''ll know what the issues may be and you''ll be sure you''re not taking on too much.

 

[MustangGal]

We have the Lowes general Fix It book (not sure on the title), but I don''t think we''ve used it much. It looks really good though!

And don''t be afraid to go to your local home improvement store and ask questions. Most of the guys know what they''re talking about, and can help you pick out the right things or tell you how to fix stuff.