The Rudiments of Real Estate

""This book teaches buyers how to think: what drives value, what to ignore, and how to line up money, timeline, and neighborhood without panic. The financing chapters are worth the cover price alone. DTI, reserves, credit moves-explained in plain English with zero scare tactics. Readers will qualify smarter and sleep better, and lenders will thank them."" -Cheryl B. King, finance and empowerment strategist, and author of Your Worth: Portfolio of a Life Well-Lived ""Tom Ravert's book aligns buyers with data, process, and ethics-and that lifts the whole marketplace. The 'power of place' chapters are superb-schools, transit, zoning, and block-level feel, explained for normal humans. If more buyers read this, we'd have healthier expectations and better neighborhoods. The Rudiments brand is one to follow."" -Alan Way, Executive Director, Private Clients, LOUIS XIII Americas, Remy Cointreau Group ""Rudiments is the pre-flight checklist for homeownership I wish every first-time buyer had. It takes the turbulence out of the process-budget, neighborhood fit, market mechanics-and turns it into a clear flight plan you can actually execute. I love the discipline of value, not vibes and the reminder to pay for bones over finishes. That's how you land safely on a payment you can live with and a place you'll be proud to call home."" -Mario McGee, Founder and Chief Pilot, Bario Aviation ""A finance writer's dream: no jargon, no gimmicks, no 'timing the market' fairy tales. Just the math of a payment you can keep and the psychology to resist FOMO. Readers will come away more patient and more decisive. Ravert's appraisal roots show. He translates cycles into choices, not clickbait, and keeps readers anchored to 'A Price You Can Live With' instead of the payment they'll regret."" -Claudia Cataldi, president, Brazilian Press Association of Electronic and Digital Media-RJ ""Too many guides promise shortcuts; Rudiments offers competence. The Market's Mood and Math framework helps buyers stop 'timing' and start underwriting their own decision-leaving room for savings, repairs, and sleep. That's real consumer protection."" --Roger Carlton, former City Manager of Miami Beach, and author of Managing Paradise ""Rudiments is the rare finance book that expands access. It shows first-time buyers how to get from curiosity to keys with ethics and transparency, and it quietly raises the bar for lenders and agents along the way. Ravert replaces superstition with market mechanics and practical sequencing-budget, neighborhood fit, then offer. That sequence saves real money."" -Elliott W. Wislar, CEO, Clearbrook, and author of Voyage to Victory: Stories and Strategies for Resilience, Risk and Reward