Book excerpt: Buying a property isn’t easy. It’s not meant to be. It’s one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll make in your life. But it is worth it. At thirty, journalist Nicole Haddow had an unstable income, no financial plan and only credit-card debt to her name. But less than two years later she was a homeowner. In Smashed Avocado, Nicole explains the steps she took to purchase her own home, and interviews other people who have found diverse ways to enter the property market, including rentvesting, flipping, Airbnb, tiny homes and buying regionally. She shares practical tips from property experts and the acquired wisdom of a new generation of homeowners – down to the micro-details. She even thrashes it out with Bernard Salt, the man who said young people should stop splashing out on expensive brunches if they want to own their own home. Nicole’s story is inspiring and optimistic – but, most importantly, it’s realistic. The home ownership dream might look different today, but it’s still possible to make it a reality. ‘A refreshingly real, informative and thoroughly researched must-read for anyone struggling to enter the housing market’ —Lucy Feagins, The Design Files