Customer Reviews

The Tao Gal's Guide to Real Estate: Finding the House of Your Dreams with the Helpf of Six Women and the Ancient Art of the Tao

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I recently got The Tao Gals Guide to Real Estate in the mail and couldn't put it down. I had millions of things to do but I just could not put it down.

In my life I have bought three houses. The first house I was a single woman. The next two houses I was married. However, being married did not make the process any easier on any level.

Once again, I find myself single and deciding whether to buy or not to buy.

Fortunately, reading The Tao Gals Guide to Real Estate let me go through the entire "deciding to buy, house hunting, buying, refurbishing," process without having to do it all again.

This deeply personal book helped me take a look at the financial, spiritual, and mental health considerations when buying a home. Yet, there is a nuts and bolts aspect to the book that I desperately needed.

Thanks to this guide - the personal stories, tragedies, successes, and work sheets- I could make a rational decision. I now know what it would REALLY cost. I was able to make a decision that is based in reality and not fear.

Because the women in the book were so honest and clear about their journeys it helped me with mine.

This book is invaluable!

As a man who, with my wife, has bought two homes in the past five years, I wish this wonderful book had been available to us before we did so. I've gamely waded through tomes offering financial advice before, but this is altogether different, a book about real estate that is built on storytelling -- with narrative skills reflecting the literary pedigrees of its co-authors. It's quite serious and ultimately decodes the daunting abracadabra of escrow fees and loan packages, but meanwhile it's a great read! The title could just as easily be "Real Estate for Humans."

This book has given me some valuable information and insider tips about
buying a house, all written in a way that I can really relate to as a single woman.
It has given me confidence, and also makes me feel better equipped to deal with whats coming in my house hunt. It's like having an understanding girlfriend with you all the time - one who knows all about real estate!

I definitely recommend it!

If you're thinking about buying a home don't do anything until you've read this wonderful book! The strength of this book is the collective experience, wisdom, and heart with which the information is shared. It really appeals to the way women think and learn.

I usually find how-to books dry and difficult to absorb, but The Tao Gal's Guide to Real Estate presents practical information on everything from finding the right real estate agent, to qualifying for a mortagage, and surviving escrow in a straightforward, easy-to-understand way.

The authors, Bernadette Murphy and Michelle Huneven, share their personal real estate stories as well as the stories of the other women in their Tao Gal's group, which is a group of six women who meet weekly and read from the spiritual text, the Tao te Ching.

My favorite part of this book was the way the authors told a personal story and incorporated the spiritual wisdom of the Tao te Ching along with practical advice on how to handle one of the most stressful events in life.

At the end of each chapter, they include a Tao worksheet that addresses the emotional aspects and anxiety behind buying a home. I felt very comforted by the information and the way it's written made me feel like I was a member of their group.

There's a wonderful glossary at the back as well.

This well researched book succeeds because the practical information is coupled with spiritual wisdom and it's written in an entertaining, heart warming, revelatory voice that celebrates the incredible strength of women and the power of community!

It's very satisfying and I highly recommend it!

I think the information you need to get you going is in chapters 5, 8 & 9 and I felt like it was a long slog to get there. There is a lot of filler to get through. The book focuses on buying a house -- not an apartment.

the book meanders through buyers' different scenarios : the woman who has inconsistent income, the woman who has evil parents, the woman who has bankruptcy in her past, the woman who meets the dishonest loan officer.... etc etc... but the same information could have been presented without all the girly storytelling which struck me as childish.

All that being said, if you can cut through the fluff, it does (finally) lay out some useful information, somewhat demystifies the process, and helps you expect the financial double-talk. They have some questionnaires at the end of each chapter that could be somewhat useful.

I am not sure I would recommend buying this book. There must be something out there that is more to the point and gives the same kind of information.