Product Description

The Virgin Homeowner is Janice Papolos's answer to the house buyer's blues. Using her own experience, Papolos initiates readers into all the workings of a house. She moves from the initial terror of home inspection to the mysteries of plumbing and electricity, stopping at all points along the way--including septic systems, roofing problems, insect infestations, environmental issues, childproofing, ventilation, and fire safety. In addition, Papolos offers clear instructions on how to handle minor household repairs and helps the new homeowner to understand the quirky vocabulary essential for having an intelligent conversation with a repair person or contractor. Best of all, The Virgin Homeowner provides readers with the confidence and piece of mind they need to make owning a home more of a dream and less of a nightmare.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #653289 in Books
• Published on: 1999-03-01
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Amazon.com
Janice Papolos describes her own first-home experience this way: "Part of the problem was that I had a mystified awe of the house. I swear there were times when I viewed it as more intelligent and powerful than we were.... There was a time or two in which I felt the house was being downright vindictive."

Ranked as "Most Useful to Homeowners" by The Wall Street Journal, Papolos's humorous and helpful book is the definitive guide for the first-time homeowner. Few experiences in life are more intimidating and complicated than one's first home purchase, especially when the new homeowner is perhaps a bit inexperienced with home repair and maintenance, as many (if not most) are. Starting with the basics of what you need to know to make sense of the initial, prepurchase home inspection, Papolos heads right into the "Inner Mysteries"--the plumbing and electrical systems--then on to heating and cooling, septic systems, insects and other pests, security concerns and measures, proper ventilation, child-proofing, and much, much more, topping it all off with an annual calendar of seasonal maintenance, advice on paint colors, and a thorough index for easy reference.

The goal is to remove the intimidation for the homeowner, and at the very least, permit him or her to talk knowledgeably with home-repair professionals, as necessary, without coming across like an idiot. This is a great reference book for any new homeowner, and probably would open the eyes of many longtime homeowners, as well. --Mark A. Hetts

From Library Journal
While some readers may not like her title, Papolos has produced an excellent owners' manual for the first-time homeowner. After buying her first house, Papolos realized that there were many things she should have done differently or instances when she should have paid more attention to experts. By writing this book, she is giving the reader the opportunity to learn from her mistakes. Beginning with how to get the most out of the initial home inspection, Papolos takes the reader through a house, describing each system, its quirks, and its potential problems. Later, she covers pest control, security, and safety. This highly readable book will prove useful to both new homeowners and those just thinking of making a purchase, and veteran homeowners will undoubtedly learn something, too. Recommended for all public libraries.?Jonathan N. Hershey, Akron-Summit Cty. P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Card catalog description
Few experiences in life are more unnerving than moving into your first home. All at once you and you alone are responsible - not the landlord, the super, or the co-op board. Not only do you have to keep all systems in working order, but you have to keep potential disasters at bay. Where is a rookie homeowner to turn? To Janice Papolos and The Virgin Homeowner - a clear, authoritative, and entertaining initiation into the arcane new world of home ownership - and the only book written exclusively with the first-timer in mind. Virgin homeowners will learn all the ins and outs of such previously obscure and/or scary subjects as fire safety; the need for proper ventilation; and radon, lead, and other threats to a healthy house. In a warm and penetrating closing chapter, "Finally Home," Papolos addresses the emotional aspects of putting down roots in a new community.

Customer Reviews

Here is what I got out of it:
I *adore* this book. I first bought the 1997 version (I hear there is a new one?), right around the time we closed on our very first home in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The house was a 1963 ranch style home.

Someone mixed this up with a novel-style book. In fact, it is a narrative-style. I am a "reader," so I appreciated the narrative spiced with good humor admist all the technical bits. Like the author, I was moving from a city I loved to a town I liked but did not love. It covered a lot of ground and helped me feel less alone in the emotional experience of first time home ownership (particularly involving a relocation). The narrative style made it a very quick read for me, despite how inadept I am mechanically.

What the book gave me primarily was an understanding of how the systems of homes work, and what that meant for me as "the average inexperienced homeowner." You can't get that in a how-to and fix-it book. Generally, those books look very narrowly at systems and their failures. This book gives you a basic foundation to actually *understand* the how-to and fix-it books.

There may have been pieces of information missing, which the author might want to consider adding to a future addition, such as what a previous reader mentioned about the question of whether to wash air conditioners annually. But I found the author provided a good basic guide to maintaining a home. Advice included everything from what type of firewood not to burn in a fireplace to how to how to pest-proof a home. The author also advises her readers on how to find quality home care professionals, how to establish good relationships with these professionals, and what type of regular contact is necessary with these folks. In the case of "when things go wrong," she gives a basic guide as to what to look for, what to do for immediate steps, and when to call a professional. This includes everything from a sink clogging to a furnace not giving off heat. She gives good "starter" advice on purchasing replacement equipment when it comes to the major components of a system: toilets, water heaters, air conditioners, and so forth.

When I sold my first home, there were even a few tidbits in the book that helped me with that process too.

Now I am finding myself in the middle of purchasing my second home, this time in New England (yep...I moved cross-country and am in a whole new world of home styles and needs). Though this book is geared to the "virgin" homeowner, I am still finding it to be a very helpful guide. So far it has been useful in figuring the right types of questions to ask as we've been hunting for our new home.

This last week, we put an offer down on a house (a 1920s colonial), and in the coming week, we'll be doing the inspections. I am pouring over this book right now, soaking up so much stuff I once knew but have forgotten. And I feel waaaaaaay more prepared this time, having this book before my home inspection, whereas last time I didn't get it until closer to our closing. It has already helped me hire an inspector with whom I feel I can place total confidence, and I feel like I have been asking the right questions and seeking the right kind of information this time around to really know what I am getting into.

The section on home inspections has some great little tips that will really be useful for me in making the most of it, and now I am re-reading all of the "home systems" sections. I already have a list of great questions to ask about my home's systems during its inspection, and I know exactly the types of things I will be looking for in the report...and how anxious I should get about each possible problem.

Not only that, in both the case of purchasing my first and second homes, the book has helped me avoid major anxiety attacks during critical moments in the process. Even the author's occassional affirmation that you will be in a financial panic any time you buy a home is helpful.

I only wish I bought this book much earlier the first time around. For such a small book (the perfect size for a book of its type), it contains an amazing amount of information, as well as helpful and supportive narrative.

For what it is worth, though I am gushing about this book, I can see a few limitations. For instance, in the child-proofing section of the book, I think the author's advice is overly limited in scope and she also recommends some products in that section that I have used and found to be unhelpful or "cheap" in make.

Nonetheless, the book overall is a complete and total gem!

Not for everyone
I found no value in this book. Reading it felt like a chore instead of a learning experience. The way it was written, it felt like the author was talking to her girlfriends at a Sunday morning get together.

A lot of reviewers seem to enjoy the book, unfortunately, I'm not one of them.

This isn't a how-to book, it's background information!
I recently bought an older condo and having been raised in a traditional family (Often told to "go help my mother") I wasn't prepared for the hows and whys of how houses and their appliances work. I needed a basic education.

This book will give you the background on how various parts of your home work - the electrical system, the water/drain/vent system, your plumbing, appliances - everything! I'm loving finally knowing what some of these things do.

As other reviewers have mentioned, it's NOT a how-to book. I don't think this was designed to help the homeowner diagnose and FIX a problem. It's more to help us understand how they work so we can at least rule things out and communicate to a repairman without being intimidated.

It is probably more appealing to women since it's written by a city girl who moved to the suburbs and realized she knew nothing about this stuff. I feel I can relate to her, maybe that's why I enjoy it even more!