It was eye-opening to hear real estate advice from 2005, even with his warnings about the dangers of over-leveraging yourself and the signs of the bubble bursting.

If I had read this book a little earlier on in my home buying/investing journey, and definitely if I had read it closer to the time it was written, I would have given it a higher rating. Because it was written around 2005, much of the information was outdated, and some of the tips the author gave regarding obtaining financing seemed quite risky. It's no surprise that a crash was on the horizon based on the general tone of overconfidence about mortgages and real estate of the day.

Nonetheless, I still gleaned a few good nuggets of home-buying/investing advice. Things such as considering getting into a "hot market" as it's cooling off and many are scrambling to sell. Also, idea that "it's not so much about timing the market as time in the market," which allows you to actually get rich in real estate slowly rather than wasting time and resources trying to get rich quickly.

I appreciated the overall idea, laid out in a step-by-step way beginners can understand, of intentionally using your personal home as your great, long-term wealth-building tool. There were a lot of practical tips for those just starting out - just please be more conservative when choosing your financing!

While some of the examples in the book seemed a little extreme, there was one main example of two homeowners to which the author kept referring that I found very helpful and practically inspiring. I keep thinking about that in my own life now! To sum it up, the author said, "You can read these examples and get skeptical or jealous or you can get going!" I love that taking action was regularly prompted throughout the chapters - because knowledge does no good unless you do something with it. Being that this book seemed aimed at people just starting out in this process, I think that encouraging taking practical action steps was a very good idea.

In summary - the book is worth reading to give you a long term perspective on home buying and a glimpse into the trends of another real estate era, but there are probably more thorough, advance, and definitely more recent books on the subject out there.

There was a really good lesson in this book wich made me hopeful. It was a narrative of a couple who never sold their first home but rented it out and they became very weatlthy by the time they were retired. This encourages me because since we are renting our first house ONLY because it didn't sell, that maybe it will be better for us financially in the future. Overall, I was pretty disappointed in this book. Most of the book was about how to shop for and buy a house. Most things I knew already because I have gone through that two times.

step one in me buying a home is probably "move back to philadelphia"

I thought this book was pretty terrible based on the advice that It gave. This book was written in 2005 which is important to consider because it was during the real estate bubble. The author encourages everyone to buy a home no matter what their circumstances are. They could have no money down, credit card debt or financial instability. The only thing that mattered was homeownership. Many people that bought homes during this time were foreclosed on because their home is overvalued when they purchased it. He encourages people to overextend and cites that real estate is going up at a rapid rate as a justification. I’m sure this book got many people in trouble if they purchased based on his advice in 2005. The redeeming quality for this book is that some of the proceeds are donated to Habitat for Humanity and other organizations to help people become homeowners. Instead of this book look up Dave Ramsey! This book was helpful and the information provided on how to purchase a home, navigate the mortgage market, pick a real estate agent, etc.

Solid audiobook. Listen, Learn and Grow.

Some great info. Some outdated info (it was written over 12 years ago). Some completely misinformed info.

A great book for those who have zero knowledge about buying a home. It is a much more fun read than other books on this topic.

Buying a home in order to take a tax deduction rarely makes sense. David writes, "The best way to stay poor is to pay more than you have to in taxes." Close. The sentence should read, "The best way to stay poor is to pay more than you have to." People who buy a home in order to get a tax break aren't asking the correct question. The question they should as is, "How do I reduce the amount I pay." More often than not it is cheaper to pay the taxes you'd otherwise have deducted than to pay so much interest to a mortgage company in order benefit from itemizing on your taxes.

Worst book ever. Read it because it was recommended by a friend, and it's clear we should not be friends anymore.

Good tips

Good book on investing in real estate

Good Concepts, pretty basic. Lots of info on loans, etc.

Definitely a good plan. It has helped me realize some of the places where I was wasting my money and helped me eliminate most all of my debt. Consider this book before going to those "debt elimination" services.