More than 50 real estate professionals, including brokers, lawyers, engineers, insurance agents, mortgage brokers, and bankers spent an incredible number of hours striving to make this book into one of the best ever written on home buying. I want to thank all of them, especially those who made this book a large part of their lives.

I first want to thank Lewis Taishoff and Alice Davidson for their insightful tips and edits, which have greatly improved the book.

Second, Dov Treiman is one of the few true geniuses that I have ever encountered. He belongs with the greats Einstein, Freud, Beethoven except his greatest expertise is in real estate law. I thank him for constantly improving my voice, improving the book’s content, and working to make sure each page strives for perfection.

Last but not least, I want to thank Amanda Sam, whom I refer to as my muse. Amanda has spent the most recent year of her life primarily working on this book. She has been an incredible editor and has inspired and pushed me to make this book better and better. Her editing has sharpened my writing and has made me appear a much better writer than I deserve credit for being. She has also been my radar and test audience. If she did not understand a statement or theory, I rewrote the subject until she no longer had any questions. As Amanda attends Columbia Law School, she can start her legal career knowing that she is already a star, even before she takes her first class.

Assistants
Annabelle Tasker
Alana Sliwenski
Alice Davidson
Allyson Lipkowitz
Amanda Sam
Amanda Waye
Brieana Winn
Brittany Amoroso
Charles Aini
Colin Kaufman
David Brown
Didi Hutt
Dina Chadi
Dov Treiman
Elissa Greenfield
Emily Tejerina
Erjon Dega
Giovanna Taveras
Jennifer Beyer
Jeremy Schachter
Junzhao Roger Lu
Justin Marsh
Karlie Church
Katherine Miller-Byrne
Laurie Moldawer
Len Ritz
Margot Warhit
Mary Beth Morris
Miranda Bray
Nan Su
Nicole Wolosoff
Rosemary Liuzzo Mohammed
Ruthea Noteware
Experts and Professionals
Alexandra Hynes
Ali Farahnakian
Anette Kroll
Brandon Wechsler
Brian Scott Cohen
David Feron
Deborah Geiger
Elizabeth Wade
Evan Farmer
George Parpas
James V. Fazio
Jerry Leitman
Jessica Harooni
Jessica Teichman
John David Shkolnik
Julie Teitel
Kristi Gerstel
Len Downie
Lewis Taishoff
Marina Mekhlis
Maura Teitelbaum
Michelle Sedlitz
Perry Balagur
Rachel Gerstein
Richard Cohen
The Team at Wiley
Christine Moore
Lydia Dimitriadis
Maureen Drexel
Peter Knox
Richard Narramore
Susan Moran
Interns
Alana Sliwenski
Amanda Waye
Brieana Winn
Brittany Amoroso
Charles Aini
David Brown
Didi Hutt
Dina Chadi
Erjon Dega
Jeremy Schachter
Junzhao Roger Lu
Justin Marsh
Karlie Church
Katherine Miller-Byrne
Margot Warhit
Mary Beth Morris
Miranda Bray
Nan Su
Nicole Wolosoff
Ruthea Noteware