Many of my new home-owning clients ask me for suggestions of some books they can read about owning their home to get started on the right foot. Others who aren’t first-time homeowners may be looking to brush up on upkeep, organization, or remodeling. Whatever the reason for your interest in our post, we’ve taken the time to compile our favorite collection of the Top 10 Best Books for First-Time Homeowners!
These are the books that I recommend to my clients when they’d like to indulge in some literature about their new home-owning adventure.
1. Real Simple: The Organized Home
NJ Real Estate Geek Ranking: 4 out of 5 Stars
If you’re a fan of the Real Simple magazine, this book is right up your alley. Real Simple: The Organized Home is full of great ideas for home organization. If you’re moving from a small space like an apartment or condo into a single-family home, you’ll learn very quickly that there is a great difference in keeping things organized. Many of my clients have enjoyed this book and used it to help stay on top of home organization.
Pros: Beautiful pictures and imagery. Just like the magazine’s style, the photos in this book are simple, clean, and to the point. The book is also organized by room. This lets you filter through to what you’re looking for or skip a section that doesn’t apply to your needs.
Cons: Some of the suggestions can be a little unrealistic depending on the amount of space you have in your home. If you’re dealing with smaller spaces, you may want to check out this book: Small Space Organizing: A Room-by-Room Guide to Maximizing Your Space.
2. 100 Things Every Homeowner Must Know: How to Save Money, Solve Problems, and Improve Your Home
NJ Real Estate Geek Ranking: 5 out of 5 Stars
This book has become the “Holy Grail” for some of my new home-owning clients! 100 Things Every Homeowner Must Know is the first in the “Family Handyman” series of several books from Reader’s Digest. This book features tips and instructions for completing minor repairs and regular maintenance tasks around your home on your own without breaking the bank.
Pros: An excellent, must-have resource. This book has a searchable index where you can target your specific need and comes loaded with pictures and demonstrations to help you through each repair or task. The instructions are beginner-friendly and easy to understand (even if you’ve never fixed a thing in your life!)
Cons: This book is not an in-depth resource for every problem within a home and doesn’t cover bigger tasks such as installing insulation or things like that. It’s best for minor repairs and maintaining your new home.
3. The Home Owner’s Manual: Operating Instructions, Troubleshooting Tips, and Advice on System Maintenance
NJ Real Estate Geek Ranking: 2.5 out of 5 Stars
This book is great for anyone who learns best from visual diagrams. While not as informative as some of the other books we have on this list, The Home Owner’s Manual brings its fair share of value to the table. The author of this book, Dan Ramsey, is a licensed building and home improvement contractor who really knows his stuff.
Pros: The diagrams and images serve as a good informative visual for those easing their way into home maintenance and ownership. There’s also quite a bit of humor and personality written into this book which makes it enjoyable to read.
Cons: In terms of a reference or resource, this book isn’t the best as the information is a bit thin. If you’re looking for something with more informative “meat” to it, this might not be the best choice but still would bring value.
4. How Your House Works: A Visual Guide to Understanding and Maintaining Your Home
NJ Real Estate Geek Ranking: 4.5 out of 5 Stars
This book is yet another “Must Have” for my first-time home-owning clients. How Your House Works provides you with exactly what the title suggests. The text is easy to understand and the images make everything very simple for those who are completely new to homeownership and repairs.
Pros: Every page of this book has a full-color illustration, along with the text, to give you a better understanding of how things work in your home. Another great feature of this book- there’s a section dedicated to telling you what to look for before calling a professional (plumber, electrician, etc…) which can definitely help you save money.
Cons: This book doesn’t give you a step-by-step approach to solving common household problems. Its main focus is to help you understand how things work in your home. That way, you have more knowledge when going about making repairs.
5. 101 Saturday Morning Projects
NJ Real Estate Geek Ranking: 2 out of 5 Stars
Another installment from the Reader’s Digest Family Handyman series, this book contains over 100 DIY projects to keep your home in tip-top shape. The projects in this book come in quite a variety. Everything from fixing a running toilet to woodworking, to installing a dimmer switch. In terms of project ideas and do-it-yourself improvements, this book has some great stuff included! I usually recommend this book to clients who already have a little experience with home upkeep since some of the projects can be a bit challenging and/or require some sort of technical skill.
Pros: A LOT of variety with great directions. This book has a ton of options for ways you can improve your home and stay on top of maintenance with step-by-step instructions, however…
Cons: In my personal opinion, this book is not for the amateur and doesn’t quite live up to their claim of “no project over 4 hours”. The projects in this book really are great but you’re definitely going to need some skill or background knowledge of the things in your home before you embark on some (not all) of these projects. If you’re a dedicated DIY-er, savvy with tools, or an average “handyman”, these projects are much more attainable. Overall, I think it’s a great book of projects and written very well. Just be prepared to adjust your expectations for completing each project based on your skill level.
6. Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes
NJ Real Estate Geek Ranking: 4.5 out of 5 Stars
If you’re from New Jersey or really anywhere in the North East, you’ll know that some homes around here are old. They’re beautiful, filled with charm, and history but some are very old. Purchasing an older home is an adventure in itself. This book is perfect for you if you’ve purchased an older home. Written by experienced, licensed contractor George Nash who specializes in restoring older homes, this book has guides on how to do almost everything- from replacing a foundation, repairing windows, what materials to use, the best updates to make, and most importantly- how to do all of these renovations while preserving the vintage integrity of the home.
Pros: This book is written by someone who knows and loves old houses. It is clear and easily understood and also provides enough information for homeowners to complete repairs successfully. The best part is that this book highlights that most issues in an old home are in fact repairable and there are only some cases of major renovations.
Cons: Since this book was published in 2003, some of the information is out of date. Nothing serious, but things like materials, technology, etc… there are always newer and better things in the way of contracting and home repairs.
7. Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House
NJ Real Estate Geek Ranking: 4 out of 5 Stars
If you’ve ever found yourself turning to Google with a puzzling home question and found a ton of results all saying different things, look no further. This book will be your new go-to resource for all things housekeeping. Organized and written in an easy-to-understand way, Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House provides readers with exactly that- a clear-cut way to manage almost everything in your home.
Pros: Expert advice for almost every home dilemma you can think of (and even some things you didn’t think of)! This book not only answers questions to make your home life easier, but it also gives you great rationales as to why things are done a certain way. Some of my clients have gone so far as to say that this book was like having a parent’s/ grandparent’s wisdom at their fingertips.
Cons: Some of the info can be seen as a bit dated (after all, products and processes change over time)! Also, make sure you’re buying the right version. (There are two- US and UK).
8. The First-Time Homeowner’s Survival Guide
NJ Real Estate Geek Ranking: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Exactly as the title suggests, this book is a great option for First Time Home Buyers. If you’re buying your first home, this book is definitely a read I would recommend. This book is loaded with useful information about pretty much everything you could think of when buying a home. Everything from simple repairs to improvement suggestions to reducing maintenance and costs and insurance tips. This book will surely get you off on the right foot.
Pros: This book is very informative and I love that it gives product recommendations and ideas that are sometimes overlooked.
Cons: This book covers the basics and gives a great overview of homeownership and all of the stuff you need to survive. However, it’s not the end-all-be-all resource for a new homeowner. If you’re looking for something that goes into more detail or gives a step-by-step approach to repairs, check out some of the other books on our list!
9. Organizing from the Inside Out
NJ Real Estate Geek Ranking: 5 out of 5 Stars
This book is useful for any homeowner! New and seasoned homeowners alike can learn something from this awesome book. Organizing from the Inside Out is an excellent book about organizing your home in a functional and practical way. Written by famous professional organizer Julie Morgenstern, this book has helped a lot of people who struggle with getting and staying organized in their homes. More importantly, understand how to successfully incorporate organizational strategies into their already lived-in space.
Pros: If you’re looking for advice on organizing or books on organizing, there is so much information out there. This book really gets it right and offers great and attainable advice and strategies for keeping your home organized.
Cons: This book was published in 2004. While this is the second edition, some of the information can use to be updated.
If you’re looking for some quick decluttering tips, check out our post on How to Declutter Your Home Before You Sell!
10. Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces
NJ Real Estate Geek Ranking: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
I just had to throw in a book about outdoor spaces! Often one of the last places we look when upkeeping our home but it is SO important! The book was written by the teams behind Gardenista.com and Remodelista.com. The main focus of this book is to give you a guide to creating your outside oasis. With spring right around the corner and the beautiful warmth of weather hitting the Garden State as of late, I just couldn’t resist throwing this one into the running!
Pros: This book is the perfect combo of garden “eye-candy” and how-to ideas. No matter what your gardening level there are little things you can take away from each section of this book.
Cons: The pictures and ideas are a bit on the trendy side. To recreate (and maintain) exactly what is shown would require some intermediate knowledge. However, in my opinion, I think there’s a little something for everyone in this book.
The Takeaway
There are so many great books for First-Time Homeowners. These are just some of my favorite/ most recommended picks for my clients. Whether you’re looking to step up your homeowning game or just buying your first home, there’s something here for everyone. So, dig in!
Thinking about buying or selling? Contact Me or fill out our Home Valuation Form to find out how much your home is worth!
Have any reading suggestions for homeowners? Think I should add another book to my list or have a book that helped you? Leave it in the comments below!
