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

by Bernadette Murphy, Michelle Huneven

At last, a readable, entertaining, and practical real estate guide―the perfect companion for women intent on buying a home.

Once a week, six women living in Los Angeles meet to read from the Tao te Ching and reflect on their lives. One subject arises over and the dream of owning a home. One by one they take on the real estate market. They discover, among themselves, great reservoirs of expertise and experience that keep them sane―and laughing―along the way. Now, the Tao Girls want to share that expertise and experience with women who find themselves similarly confused, frustrated, or disappointed.

The Tao Girl's Guide to Real Estate offers a way to keep your head through it all, to eliminate that sense of helplessness, overwhelming tension, and emotional fatigue so often a part of finding a home. In telling their lively and often amusing personal stories, the Tao Girls also deliver a terrific dose of practical advice for buying any house―from the smallest condo to a suburban family dream house.

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2006

About the author

Bernadette Murphy writes about literature, women, risk taking, and life -- from motorcycles to knitting. She has published three books of narrative nonfiction (the bestselling Zen and the Art of Knitting, The Knitter’s Gift, and The Tao Gals’ Guide to Real Estate); her newest book, Look, Lean Roll: A Woman, A Motorcycle, and Plunging into Risk, will be published in Spring 2016 by Counterpoint Press. She is an Associate Professor in the Creative Writing Department of Antioch University Los Angeles and a former weekly book critic for the Los Angeles Times. Her essays have appeared in Ms. magazine, Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Rumpus, The Nervous Breakdown, San Francisco Chronicle, The Oregonian, San Jose Mercury News, Newsday, BOOK magazine, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and is the mother of three amazing young adults. Her website is Bernadette-Murphy.com.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cheezy title, and the byline promises more than it delivers, but this was a decently written, fun to read, and verrrrry informative book. I would recommend it to any woman who is thinking of buying real estate.

[Elusive.Mystery · Rating 1 out of 5]

A 25 cent bargain, -which shows to tell how fickle the real market is and how a mere two years can make s book out of date -, a fluff book that reads like airport or beach fodder, light and superficial, easily followed, and peppered here and there with occasional valid advice.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful in my search to become a homeowner. I will keep this one around for reference.