Your First Home: the Proven Path to Home Ownership

Publisher Marketing:"Buying your first home is probably the most exhilarating material experience you can have. Nothing else compares. It's where you hang your hat, where you rest your head; it's a source of security, an investment in your financial future. More importantly, a home becomes part of the psyche that houses your most powerful memories. You can reminisce about a rental, but you'll never love it the same way. Your home is where you build a workshop or cement a swing set into the ground or plant a rose garden like my dad and I did. There really is no place like home, especially when it's your own...." - Gary Keller, author of "Your First Home" Written by Gary Keller, Dave Jenks and Jay Papasan, the authors behind national best-sellers "The Millionaire Real Estate Agent," "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor," and "SHIFT," "Your First Home" lays out the many benefits of home ownership, provides a practical eight-step process, and emphasizes the value of working with a team of qualified professionals to ensure a smooth process. The eight-step process consists of making the decision to buy, how to hire a great real estate agent, determining what you can afford to buy, securing the best financing, recognizing the right home for you, crafting a winning offer and negotiating with sellers, spotting serious issues at inspection, closing on your new home and how to maintain it for years to come. You'll also learn about successful creative financing strategies and ways to overcome less-than-perfect credit. Contributor Bio:  Keller, Gary Gary Keller is Chairman of the Board of Keller Williams (R) Realty International. Keller is responsible for providing strategic direction for all Keller Williams (R) divisions and affiliate companies, including Keller Williams University, kw.com, homesbyAuction.com, and the agent-led Eagentc.com. Keller established Keller Williams (R) with partner Joe Williams in 1983. The company began franchising in 1987 and expanded to Canada in 1998. From 1995 to present, Keller Williams (R) has become one of the fastest growing real estate companies in the United States with sales and commissions growth topping 700% during that period. A native of Houston, Texas, Keller attended Baylor University, where he earned a B. B. A. in Marketing and Real Estate in 1979. Keller began his real estate career as an agent and later manager in the JB Goodwin Company from 1979 to 1983. Keller is a member of the Austin Board of Realtors, the Texas Association of Realtors, and the Austin Multiple Listing Service. Keller was nominated and later appointed to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS(R) Board of Directors in 2000. He has served on the Board of the Austin Jaycees, the Board of Directors of the Austin Center for Battered Women, and been listed in Oxford's Who's Who of Young Professionals. An accomplished teacher in all aspects of residential real estate, Gary is a strong proponent of professional education. Beyond his role overseeing the vision and implementation of Keller Williams University, Keller actively pursues mentoring and consulting relationships within and without the company. Keller is married to Mary Pfluger; they have one child, John Christian. He is a musician -- guitar and piano -- and enjoys reading, hiking, traveling, antiques, movies, football, basketball, and spending as much time as possible with his family. Contributor Bio:  Jenks, Dave Gary Keller is the founder and chairman of the board of Keller Williams Realty International, the largest privately held real estate agency in the United States. It is also one of the fastest-growing agencies in the United States, with more than 30,000 agents. Contributor Bio:  Papasan, Jay Gary Keller is the Chairman & Co-Founder of the largest real estate company in N. America.