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

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.

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.

Yes, I'm reading yet another David Bach Finish Rich book! I've just really been enjoying his quick-read books and simple, easy-to-understand approach to financial planning. I thought this book would be a good refresher course to home-buying as we look to buy our second home in a few months. This one focuses on how to use your house to become a millionaire by basicly explaining how to get the best mortgage and save more on interest, as well as how to invest in second and third homes to create even more wealth. All this info is really great considering he gives info that is useful regardless of what the current housing market is doing. He doesn't suggest flipping homes, but as like other investments, buy properties and hold. And as usual, his style is very motivating and encouraging.

Some things in here I know I'm going to use! The best part about this book is that the author repeats many times, that people who buy lots of houses just to flip them are stupid jerks who ruin it for everyone else.

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

Great basic concept which will always work well, buy house, pay down mortgage aggressively then move out and leave first one as rental. But written at top of the housing bubble in 2005 so even with his warnings, book sets very overly optimistic expectations.

It was an interesting read; especially being on the wrong side of the bust. However, I thought there were a number of good tips for all aspects of buying a home. I think it would behoove people to be a little more conservative, but the plan of action laid out in this book is certainly insightful. There are also a number of good resources listed in the book.

The style of writing really does motivate me. I want Clayton to read this book so that we can be on the same page as far as some of the tips and goals for the future!

I am also interested in reading the other books in the Finish Rich series.

Very simple and easy to understand. Covers the basics of owning your first home and how to build equity over time.

Examples were extremely repetitive and I flipped over a lot of pages as they were already covered in previous chapters, though in a different manner.

Fantastic intro to home buying!

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.

Well I think I can confidently say that this is the simplest book on real estate that I have read. Overall this is not a book I would shout out: Read this! But I would say that this is a good book for someone who hasn't purchased a house yet and has no idea where to start. If you fit that category and you want an easy read to give you some information, then by all means, read this book.