Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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.

Most people go through their lives blindly following a set way of accomplishing the act of living. A few question that path. Rob Roy has produced a book that can lead to a profound change in doing life. If you want to step out of the normal and to reexamine the way most people go about finding and buying shelter then read this book. Based on a few simple and old ideas, this book leads you down a path toward financial independence. How to acquire shelter and not end up owing your life to financial institutions is a mind opening exercise, well worth the price of this book. Step by step he teaches you how he accomplished his goal of mortgage free living. Even more importantly he encourages the reader to do the same. What would you do if you had a mortgage free home? Following his strategies could open up a whole new world for the reader. A world of infinite possibilities!

Far from being just another book about ways to buy real estate, Rob Roy's book 'Mortgage-Free' encompasses an entire way of life that can set you free from the oppressive, credit induced, treadmill existence that ever-increasingly dominates & enslaves people to debt & by doing so greatly decreases their quality & enjoyment of life. Rob combines Thoreauvian based economics & plain old down-to-earth common sense with wisdom gained from his many successful years of Mortgage-Free living. He offers hope, inspiration & practical, proven techniques to those who would dare to actually take charge of their own lives & realize that there are alternatives to huge indebtedness. Filled with genuinely useful information & examples, Rob reveals not only his own personal triumphs, but also mistakes he has made along his own Mortgage-Free journey & he does this in a very readable, entertaining, as well as enlightening fashion. Buy a copy or use one of Rob's own money saving techniques if you must & check with your local library- Either way I think you truly owe it to yourself to read this book before you set out on your own personal home-ownership journey. Good Luck to you all!

One of my pet peeves is related to certain books. So many are mislabeled or mis-titled. If one is trying to find an informative book, a how-to book, or a generic non-fiction book by just looking at titles, chances are you will be disappointed and/or mislead. There are many exceptions of course but it seems especially true with books on making money, or saving money. "Mortgage Free!" falls into this last category. It is really a book on building your own structure, be it an alternative or contemporary one. The major thrust of the book is owning your own home free and clear and is written to that end. This book does not give the reader anything that he couldn't find in other more complete books. There isn't any new earth shattering information here.

A wonderful spin-off of building your own home can be your bottom line in home ownership. Maybe the books title should legitimately become a sub title with the main title being something like, "Build Your Own Homes" followed by "And Eventually Become Mortgage Free." If one, for the first time, has come to the conclusion that there must be a way to build your own house and by so doing greatly reduces the amount owed, then this might be a place to start. As for strictly buying a book on reducing a mortgage and becoming mortgage free in less than 30 years, you certainly can do better. Only the first 25 pages or so address mortgages and principle/interest, living costs, etc. (these are the major costs with American society.) The rest of the book is about finding land (again there are much better books available), and building a home, with the last chapter on people who live in mortgage free houses. With all fairness to the author I don't believe he had any intention of merely reducing ones mortgage in half or whatever. He sees that there is much more value in having a house totally debt free and in as short a time as possible. And I would agree. My main complaint with the book is that there is not much new. Almost everything he talks about has been published earlier and in some instances much better.

Roy start his book with the basics; how to save money in your current situation. Many of these suggestions are simple, yet effective. I especially liked his comment that "eating out is entertainment, not sustenance". Roy shows us how to reduce our monthly expenses so that we will be able to save enough money to buy property with strategies that are later developed in his book. Another section that was extremely useful to me and my husband was the section where Roy describes all of the things he did wrong when he first purchased land and built on said land. I am sure that learning of his mistakes will prevent us from making those same mistakes when we decide to buy our land and build. As a couple looking toward homesteading in the near future, this book was worth it's weight in gold to us. I am sure we will refer to it often in our quest for our little slice of the American Dream.

Mr. Roy's book is a great primer on thinking about different strategies for owning a home that don't involve the normal process. The book is primarily based on the idea that if one can or wants to live a life outside of the consumerist norm then it is possible to own a home. Primarily, he advocates that the person who wants to own a home and not spend the next thirty years of their lives as an indentured servent to the bank that they should do as much work as they can themselves. Anyone who is interested or willing to do the work in building or renovating a home, has a low income, wants to maintain a simple life but doesn't know where to start will find this book has useful ideas to get you started. Those who desire to live in the best neighborhoods, are uninterested or unwilling to do the work on their own home, or not likely to accept a simple lifestyle will likely scoff at the notions this book presents.

The main thrust of this book advocates that people choose not to participate in the suburban "keeping up with the Jones's" lifestyle. For some this may be a revolutionary idea. This, of course, is not a new idea but is not one that is commonly embraced by Western civilization. For those that are already outside of the consumerist mainstream this book will probably not cover any new ground. He does provide a sensible arguement against the "death-pledge" (the Old French etymology for "mortgage"). There are a great many people that believe that the only way they can ever own a house is through the 30 year loan route. Mr. Roy makes a case that if one has the desire, discipline and patience that they can own a home without going to the bank to get a loan.

The book provides a general set of strategies that are primarily useful in rural area. The author recommends that one lives a simple lifestyle, builds on land that would not be considered particularly valuable by others, the home is built by the owner using as many salvaged (inexpensive but high quality) materials as possible, and that the builder reduces as many living cost as possible. One example of cost reduction is the use of some sort of temporary structure on the property while the home is being built in order to reduce or eliminate the cost of renting or paying on a mortgage in another home.

The book provides a good overview of methods that have been used to achieve home ownership in rural areas. It does address the idea of the same sort of idea in urban areas by saying that it's not bloody likely. This reviewer tends to agree with that but others may have differing opinions.

This is not just another book on buying real estate. If one applies the strategies Roy presents you can only improve your standard of living. This is just not a book of theory. Roy is living what he says and gives numerous examples of other families going the same. This book is a must have for anyone that is considering building their own house and becoming self-sufficient. The book contains various strategies on achieving mortgage free home-ownership and includes an though appendix of resources.

This book could serve well as a "bible" for anyone interested in stepping out of the rat race! Mortgage-Free! : Radical Strategies for Home Ownership is an excelent read! This book contains good down to Earth, anecdotal, practical, useful information for aquiring land, planning and building a healthy home for you and your family, and finding quality life outside of the mainstream dog-eat-dog society. This book is an excelent primer for anyone who wants better!