Written by a 20 yr veteran agent, and the author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Selling Your Home", Katie Severance now offers her insider tips and strategies to buyers looking for a home in this new, fast-paced and changing economy —strategies that will produce a huge profit down the road.

Severance shows consumers how to read market conditions, evaluate a neighborhood and a home that will sell for the most money down the road, and to negotiate like a savvy pro.  This guide is also timely as it covers the effects on real estate of the pandemic of 2020-21, the new “know before you owe” lending laws, climate change, new special inspections, and even bitcoin.

Long-term “smart homeownership” (at least eight to ten years) is the most powerful and dependable path to personal wealth for most Americans.  There are huge potential profits associated with long-term homeownership -- in the tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars.  These profits will likely fund most retirements. But in just the last few years, nearly everything about the process of buying a home has completely changed, from the way buyers search for and find a new home to negotiating tactics, lending laws, insurance coverage and home inspections.  It is imperative to be smarter than other buyers; to out-maneuver them, and stay a step ahead of sellers who may not have a realistic view of the true value of their property.