Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home

by Ilona Bray, Ann O'Connell

There’s no place like home!


Ready to say goodbye to your landlord? With help from Nolo’s Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home, you’ll not only find the right house for you, you’ll have fun doing it.


Learn how



research the local market and listings
choose a house, condo, co-op, or townhouse
create a realistic budget
qualify for a loan you can truly afford
borrow a down payment from friends or family
protect yourself with inspections and insurance, and
negotiate and close the deal successfully.



You’ll find insights from numerous real estate professionals—agents, attorneys, mortgage specialists, a home inspector, and more. It’s like having a team of experts by your side! Plus, read real-life stories of over 20 first-time homebuyers.

472 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 7, 2025

About the author

Ilona Bray is an award-winning author of books for adults and children. She is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and received a law degree from the University of Washington. In her role as an author/editor at Nolo.com, she specializes in real estate, immigration law, and nonprofit fundraising.

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful guide, all the info you need in one place. Definitely more comprehensive and legally minded than the other similar book I read which was written by a realtor. It anything too much info maybe? It’s a bit overwhelming to read. The size of the book is a bit daunting but fortunately you can use the index to look up specific topics.

[Beige Alert · Rating 3 out of 5]

They should rename this book "Why Buying a House Could be a Terrible Economic Decision You Will Regret for the Rest of Your Life"

Seems like a decent guide for making that poor decision - we'll see as the next few months roll out.