What do you think?
Rate this book
Keep Calm . . . It's Just Real Estate: Your No-Stress Guide to Buying a Home
Egypt Sherrod knows how to take nervous prospective home-buyers by the hand and lead them through the process. She does it every week as host of HGTV's highly-rated show, Property Virgins. Now she translates her reassuring personality onto the page, with this "No-Stress" guide to buying a home. Egypt takes readers through, simplifying all the many steps of the process, and giving them invaluable information, including:
-Top ten things to consider before buying a home
-How sticking with one agent works in your favor
-Eight ways to be an attractive homebuyer on paper, and ease the mortgage-approval process.
-What to do in a bidding war
-Why you should NEVER overlook the home inspection
-And much more!
Egypt blends her professional know-how and her personable touch with this down-to-earth guide, providing plenty of anecdotes, handy lists, and even a glossary to ensure that readers keep calm...and experience the thrill of home ownership.
-Top ten things to consider before buying a home
-How sticking with one agent works in your favor
-Eight ways to be an attractive homebuyer on paper, and ease the mortgage-approval process.
-What to do in a bidding war
-Why you should NEVER overlook the home inspection
-And much more!
Egypt blends her professional know-how and her personable touch with this down-to-earth guide, providing plenty of anecdotes, handy lists, and even a glossary to ensure that readers keep calm...and experience the thrill of home ownership.
- GenresNonfictionHow ToAdult
225 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 10, 2015
35 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
August 30, 2015
This is a very insightful and straightforward introduction to the home buying process. Easy and entertaining read as well (for learning about real estate!). I would recommend this book to any Property Virgins!
February 4, 2017
A simple yet effective primer for home buying. Having looked a little into the process before, I don't feel that I learned much more than I already knew but the refresher was excellent. Sherrie also has some great lists of, say, things to ask your title company or questions you can use to generate your future home wish list.
Most important, this book was accessible. For the average homebuyer, this is the right book to read. Concise, funny, and story-driven, the book guides you gently thought this important process.
Most important, this book was accessible. For the average homebuyer, this is the right book to read. Concise, funny, and story-driven, the book guides you gently thought this important process.
January 29, 2017
My wife received this book for Christmas since we'll hopefully be in the hunt for our first house sometime in the near future. Excellent, easy-to-read outline of the entire process with great advice for first time homebuyers along with all the key terminology that will crop up during the search. Highly recommended for those in a similar situation.
August 27, 2019
Pretty handy for those who are thinking about getting into the home-owning game. Lots of the basics are covered here, and lots of space is given to things like the inspection and title companies. Love the chapter on pitfalls to avoid.
November 1, 2015
An easy to follow fun read that got me so educated on the process of buying a home, that my realtor continues to compliment me on how knowledgeable I am! Found a home and got an offer accepted in a week.... guess that's pretty good!
September 7, 2015
Pleasantly surprised by the usefulness of this easy to read book. Perfect for an overarching guideline for someone looking to be a first time homeowner.
December 6, 2022
I've been a fan of Sherrod for a long time now, and my colleagues knew that I was entering the house-buying market. Cue my pleasant surprise when I saw her book sitting on my desk one morning. I would love to see this book updated for in-general purposes (it's 5-6 years old at the time of this review) and because the pandemic really screwed things up for people. There's also lots of incredible first-time home-buyer programs out there!
But as a book for what it is, I found this to be a pleasant read, like I was having a conversation with one of my favorite HGTV hosts. She also discussed the very real, emotional aspects of buying a house (Am I ready? Am I really ready?) in a very real, calm way.
If you're thinking about entering the market, I'd recommend this book. She gives you an overview of the process so that way you're not going in lacking knowledge. Though many things have changed, many things have remained the same, and you'll want a knowledgeable realtor like Egypt Sherrod to have your back.
But as a book for what it is, I found this to be a pleasant read, like I was having a conversation with one of my favorite HGTV hosts. She also discussed the very real, emotional aspects of buying a house (Am I ready? Am I really ready?) in a very real, calm way.
If you're thinking about entering the market, I'd recommend this book. She gives you an overview of the process so that way you're not going in lacking knowledge. Though many things have changed, many things have remained the same, and you'll want a knowledgeable realtor like Egypt Sherrod to have your back.
June 27, 2024
Keep Calm . . . It's Just Real Estate: Your No-Stress Guide to Buying a Home by Egypt Sherrod, with primary contributor Amber Noble Garland, is a practical and accessible guide to navigating the home-buying process. Egypt Sherrod, known for her role on HGTV's "Property Virgins" and "Flipping Virgins," distills her expertise into this no-stress resource. The book offers essential advice for first-time buyers and relocators, covering topics such as preparing to buy a home, working with real estate agents, navigating mortgage approvals, handling bidding wars, and understanding home inspections.
September 23, 2018
I have never seen her TV show but, I have now read her book. She mentions that one of the ways to find a house to buy is looking at rentals and offering to buy the house. I never thought of asking some who is looking to rent an house if they want to sell the house. I also liked the information about how to find a good real estate agent. I also liked the chapter on closing. I liked the real estate terms chapter. I
thought it was one of the best real estate books I have read.
thought it was one of the best real estate books I have read.
February 7, 2018
Quick and easy read. It certainly simplifies the home buying process and makes it seem doable. I’d recommend it to anyone seriously considering purchasing a home.
October 12, 2018
Quick and easy - straight to the point.
December 12, 2018
Easy to understand and funny. Took the edge off the stressful and overwhelming amount of info when considering home ownership.
April 12, 2019
A well written book for first time homebuyers. Easy to read, great information to follow. Will recommend to family and friends.
January 22, 2020
practical and helpful knowledge with good stories and examples sprinkled throughout.
May 24, 2020
One or two things are outdated now, but the simplicity of every step explained with practical advice was very helpful.
May 26, 2020
Good introduction to real estate and I learned a few things in it - but nothing profound
October 12, 2020
Lots of good information for first time home buyers
January 26, 2021
Excellent! Can't wait to buy a copy and use it in the home buying journey I am beginning.
May 1, 2023
good stuff to learn here
May 3, 2023
Thinking about taking the plunge and buying a house.. this book had a lot of helpful information about parts of the home-buying process that I was not familiar with.
July 9, 2023
Great quick read! Helped me define my goals, wants and needs in my home.
February 20, 2017
Had some bad typos (Geoff being switched to Jeff on the same page!) but easy to read and informative. Can't wait to own my home, likely in the year 2050
November 17, 2015
This is a great book. Someone got it for me as my partner and I are looking to buy our first home. Till now we have only rented. This book makes it so easy to understand all the ins and outs of what your broker and agent are talking about. It really does make it easy to understand the whole game of buying, from start (finding an agent) to finish (moving in). For instance, I have asked, "Why do they call it a short sale if it can take so much longer?" I was told by our broker in a way I still did not understand so I just smiled and let it go. Egypt explained it in her book and in a simple way so that I finally got it.
I also love how easy it is to read. It's like she is right there holding your hand and talking to you in person. This is a must have if you are thinking of buying a home.
I also love how easy it is to read. It's like she is right there holding your hand and talking to you in person. This is a must have if you are thinking of buying a home.
April 30, 2016
I guess it's kind of obvious why I'm reading this book.
I've been thinking about buying a home with my husband since last June, but I knew Dave and I weren't ready yet, so I chose to do some research instead, just to see how I should prepare. I looked at several books, but kept coming back to this one. So I went ahead and got it.
For someone who needed a step-by-step explanation of what to expect, this was a great book. Egypt Sherrod kept the language simple and understandable, yet extremely readable. I actually had fun reading this. It gave me a plan to follow, and kept my expectations realistic.
If you're looking to buy a home, this is a good book to refer to. Definitely recommended.
I've been thinking about buying a home with my husband since last June, but I knew Dave and I weren't ready yet, so I chose to do some research instead, just to see how I should prepare. I looked at several books, but kept coming back to this one. So I went ahead and got it.
For someone who needed a step-by-step explanation of what to expect, this was a great book. Egypt Sherrod kept the language simple and understandable, yet extremely readable. I actually had fun reading this. It gave me a plan to follow, and kept my expectations realistic.
If you're looking to buy a home, this is a good book to refer to. Definitely recommended.
July 13, 2015
Just finished this book. only took me 3 1/2hrs to read so its a pretty quick book to get through. I don't completely know how to rate it. I thought I would learn much more than I did from the book. I think this book is geared more towards complete and total property virgins. Like this will be my first house I will be buying but I was still knew the process some what from family members and my real estate agent. A cool thing about the book is the glossary in the end of real estate terminology. Al,in all I don't find it to be a bad book, just more geared to people who have no clue at all of what they're getting into.
Read
February 5, 2022"Don't settle for a home that you have to work really hard to convince yourself you like."
I'm getting closer and closer to buying a house and to prepare - in true Ravenclaw fashion - I've been reading books. Despite the differences in US and Canadian real estate, I learned some useful stuff in Sherrod's book, and the writing is engaging and easy to follow.
Still, I find the constant 'listen to your real estate' lines a little much, under the circumstances. I'm already reading your book, I'm inclined to take your advice, just give it a break.
I'm getting closer and closer to buying a house and to prepare - in true Ravenclaw fashion - I've been reading books. Despite the differences in US and Canadian real estate, I learned some useful stuff in Sherrod's book, and the writing is engaging and easy to follow.
Still, I find the constant 'listen to your real estate' lines a little much, under the circumstances. I'm already reading your book, I'm inclined to take your advice, just give it a break.
August 24, 2015
I have not seen the author's show on TV, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The author definitely knows her stuff and explains things in common language. For some, the tone may be too casual. At times it reads a bit like a cheery blog or magazine article. There are many "this one time..." type stories throughout the book used to illustrate her point. Lastly, I appreciated that the author wrote the book for home buyers of any income level and that there is a glossary of terms in the back.
April 8, 2016
Awesome!
Buying a home is more than what you see on HGTV and the process can be a bit discouraging. Reading Egypt's book definitely has me feeling confident that I'm asking all the right and necessary questions. I also feel like I'm covering all the basis. We're currently in our due diligence stage and this book has helped me a lot.
Buying a home is more than what you see on HGTV and the process can be a bit discouraging. Reading Egypt's book definitely has me feeling confident that I'm asking all the right and necessary questions. I also feel like I'm covering all the basis. We're currently in our due diligence stage and this book has helped me a lot.
January 17, 2017
I used this one I was thinking about purchasing a house. The author is a real estate agent, so of course she thanks going with a real estate agent is the best option. She does a pretty good job convincing the reader. It also has a ton of information regarding the vocabulary of real estate. Very helpful.
September 29, 2020
It's not exactly great literature, but this book was just what I was looking for. Sherrod gives a great intro to the home buying process and easy to understand advice. It's a short book and simply written which makes this generally dry subject easy to tackle. I'd recommend this book as a starting point to anyone that doesn't know where to start in the home buying process.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews