Mortgage-Free!: Radical Strategies for Home Ownership (Real Goods Solar Living Book) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The origins of the word "mortgage" are Old French and translate roughly to "death pledge." Rob Roy takes a radical approach here to help the reader understand how mortgages work; explains clearly how, if you have a mortgage already, you can maximize your equity sooner and save tons of money; and how, if just starting the process of acquiring a home for yourself, there are clear alternatives to a standard bank mortgage that will save you massive amounts of money, time, and financial headaches.

Roy covers the following subjects in detail: the grubstake--the essential financial asset that will stay with you for life; how to find land that you love and can afford; how to seize control of the house-building process; how to clarify and simplify your ideas of what you really need; and how to construct a low-cost home. Included in the book is Roy's own personal story of mortgage-free living, as well as those of others. His wry humor makes for an entertaining read, and his ideas, examples, and advice are clear-headed, logical, and hopeful. His financial calculations and charts are clear and imminently sensible while being real eye-openers. Your banker may not want you to read this radical book, but it amounts to a guided, rational plan for home ownership and financial liberation, and will no doubt soon be considered a classic. --Mark A. Hetts

From Library Journal

In this updated version of Money-Saving Strategies for the Owner/Builder (1981), Roy offers his personal experiences and those of others who have successfully achieved the status of living mortgage-free. It is obvious that he has been greatly influenced by Henry David Thoreau, whom he refers to as "the father of the owner/builder movement in America." Roy stresses that to become an owner/ builder requires a high energy level, good health, and the motivation to educate oneself about home building. In addition, he instructs readers in acquiring a "grubstake" (his term for accumulating enough savings to purchase land and build on it), constructing a temporary shelter near the site of the permanent home, becoming one's own contractor, using alternative building materials, and building small. Roy's ideas are radical but worth investigating if your desire is to live mortgage-free. His book is clearly written and offers an extensive annotated bibliography of numerous resources and amortization tables.ABellinda Wise, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Chelsea Green (June 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0930031989
• ISBN-13: 978-0930031985
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #134,369 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 98 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could you live in a 12x16 foot shed?, January 29, 2003

By	Real Estate Investor (USA) - See all my reviews

Find the answer to that burning question in this book, "Mortgage Free" by Rob Roy. I'm not exactly sure what I expected, but my expectations were more along the lines of a real estate or finance book. The title of the book threw me. In reality this is more of a book about building your own house at a low cost, therefore not needing to get a mortgage and a whole lifestyle of low cost living and low impact on the earth. Paul Terhorst's book "Cashing in on the American Dream" is also about living without a mortgage but from a totally different perspective. Here the author Rob Roy, which by the way is a great name, writes about keeping your house small and simple to reduce the costs. He writes of his own experience of lving in a temporary shelter before you build your own house. In his case this was a 12x16 foot shed. He even tells of using printer's plates as roofing material. Not many wifes and kids are going to want to live in a 12x16 shed. The author is a frugal, and conservative environmentalist and writes of that lifestyle. He lives on $5,000 a year of his savings and does not work at a job per se. The author is frugal, cheap, or what ever you want to call it and apparently it works for him and his family. Will it work for everybody, I think not. His job is building houses and writing about it. I did enjoy the book and it was easy to read. It was a learning experience for me and a few of the ideas in the book might be useful, but I'm not ready to sever the electric grid line just yet. There is a very nice appendix in the book with building schools listed as well as an extensive bibliography. This is the first book that I've read of the author, but I would consider others. `I'd also recommend the Les Shur book "Finding Country Properties", the Rlaph Turner book and the Joe Dominquez and Vicki Robin book, "Your Money or your life". If you liked "Mother Earth News" and "Whole Earth Catalog" you'll probably enjoy this book also. On the other hand if you drive a Hummer and live in suburbia with your 2.5 kids, this might not be your cup of tea.

62 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Radical Idea and an Excellent Resource, April 22, 2003

By	Krystle, SelfmadeFarmer.com (Mesilla Valley, NM) - See all my reviews

Once in a while, I read a book that makes me question something I always took for granted. For example, it was Ageless Body, Timeless Mind by Deepak Chopra that showed me people don't have to grow old and brittle before they die. It was Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki that taught me what it really means to be rich. And I credit Mortgage-Free!, by Rob Roy, with being the book that proved how people can own a comfortable, beautiful home without taking out a mortgage.

I decided to read Mortgage-Free! because the title intrigued me. Little did I know that it would be such a fantastic book, or that it would relate so closely to the theme of my website, SustainableWays.com (for which this review was originally written).

I always thought that having a house was synonymous with having a mortgage. But when you really think about it, a mortgage is not much of a good deal. The author shows how most people who take out a mortgage end up paying nearly three times as much as the house they live in is worth. Even worse is the inevitable nature of debt as a work trap:

"An unholy percentage of American men and women are working largely for their houses, at jobs they would not choose were pay not the overriding consideration. I spent nearly five years at that game, surrounded by co-workers caught in the mortgage trap. My escape was made possible largely by our mortgage-free home." -Rob Roy, Mortgage-Free!

It's the author's own experiences in walking the talk that really makes this book and excellent investment. Yes, the ideas may seem outrageous, but Rob Roy makes it undeniable that they are, in fact, do-able. Not only does he describe his own 25-year success in building and owning mortgage-free homes, but he also provides a number of examples of others doing the same thing. On top of that, this book is rich with book recommendations, phone numbers, and other starting points. Basically, he covers every base so well that the only reason you'd have NOT to follow his advice is down-right laziness.

This book will best serve people who are independent, open-minded, and logical. But if you're a die-hard conformist that scoffs at anything unconvential, then this book is not for you. Even though the ideas and methods presented in Mortgage-Free! will be most useful to people living or willing to move to rural areas, anyone can benefit from the knowledge provided in this book. Even now, as I'm flipping through it, I'm continually amazed at how helpful and thorough this book really is. It touches on everything from eating well, to helping the environment, going to college, and so on. This is definitely a holistic, integrative piece of work.

Ultimately, this is a book I felt I had to buy because of its usefulness as a reference. If you read it more than once, you'll realize that Mortgage-Free! isn't really about owning a home. Even if you don't end up owning or building a house, this book will have served you well in that it'll have made you question something that you normally would've accepted. Avoiding a mortgage is just one of the many aspects of a better way to live: On your own terms.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a must if you want to build without a mortgage., October 29, 1999

By	Andre Ballard "andreb0129" (Mt. Vernon, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

The author speaks from experience which is comforting to know, if you are going to venture out into the lonely waters of building your house without a mortgage. Must of your friends and relatives look at you like your crazy when you mention the subject. So to have a book from an experience person on this subject lends much credibility to the book and author.

This book is written well and is easy to read. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.