BiggerPockets

Hi Guys,

I just bought the book Real Book of Real Estate by Robert Kiyosaki. I cant seem to find any reviews on this book. Has anyone read it? What are your thoughts on this book or this author? It seems like in this book he's using a compilation of different authors.

The reason I bought it is because it's a recent publication so, if it is a good book, it will apply to the current state of the real estate market. That's my thinking behind it anyways.

Can anyone comment. Thanks.

IMHO

Most of these type books are motivational fluff. They tell great stories, which lead to the "free seminars" which then lead to the trips to the table in the back of the room. :)

If using money as a tool to make more money is a new concept to you, chew your family out for raising a moron. ;)

I have not read the book, probably would not ever read the book. People trying to get into this game focus on the fluff, while they get no technical details of the: who, what where, when and why

Those details hold the difference between a cliff and a profit

For further enlightenment about the subject
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=1982669&page=1

Like you Nick, I bought the book because it was published after the real estate market bubble popped. I read it and found a few nuggets but for the most part, it's a lot of elementary fluff covering many areas of real estate written by his cronies who are plugging their products and services. :roll:

Thanks for the replies guys. Jeff, the technical info IS what I'm looking for. I dont need motivational reading, I'm motivated enough on my own. Can y'all recommend a book with the technical detials?

Thanks.

If using money as a tool to make more money is a new concept to you, chew your family out for raising a moron. ;)

That was HILARIOUS! True, but hilarious!

People trying to get into this game focus on the fluff, while they get no technical details of the: who, what where, when and why

...and HOW MUCH! In all honesty, I don't think most wannabes need anything but the motivational nonsense because they're not going to do anything anyway. I think a lot of people are just trying to convince themselves that they have the potential to do big things, when in reality - they don't! I can't think of any other reason that people are so gullible as to buy this guru educational stuff they should know is nothing but a pipe dream.

I love that infomercial on Saturday mornings with the jello babes (they constantly jiggle) that make wild proclamations that this guy makes 'UP TO' $5,000 a month, then the next guy makes 'UP TO' $10,000 a week and the next guy makes 'UP TO' $100,000 a day! I can't even remember what they're selling, but I do remember the jiggling babes in their sun dresses! I'm pleased to report that I beat them all, because I make "UP TO" a million dollars an hour! Have I ever made a million dollars in an hour? No and almost certainly never will. I didn't say that I did - I said "UP TO". Of course, you could even make that claim if you flipped burgers at McDonalds!

I also think it's hilarious how all the gurus follow the same pattern, even for their infomercials. They ALWAYS have hot women, hot cars, water (a swimming pool or the ocean), a mansion, and tall drinks with umbrellas in their infomercials. The implication is that if you buy the guru's product, you'll get the same thing.

Even that's a scam. I have the fancy car - a Mercedes SL500 convertible - that it driven so little that I had to charge the battery yesterday. Even though we don't drive it very often (only on beautiful sunny days), I still get to pay the insurance and yearly registration on it. Where could I drive it? Maybe to collect rent and have every scumbag in town sue me? Can't do that! I have a pool, but what they don't tell you on TV is that it doesn't look as nice filled with algea, water skippers, and frogs! To prevent that, you have to continually put in chemicals (hundreds of dollars a year) and actually get out there and vacuum it. They also forget to mention that the pool heater sucks down propane like it's the engine on a 747! I could have probably bought another house with the amount of money we've spent on propane in the past 15 years! I'll have to admit, that I don't have a mansion and don't want one. We've already got a house that has 5 rooms we never use. If we could only have a bigger house with a few more empty rooms, we'd be happier I suppose! I do have a blender and I occassionally make daiquiries, but we don't have the little umbrellas. As for the jiggling babes - may wife said an emphatic - NO (so there goes that dream)! Yes, my wife's a dream squasher!

It's funny, because I hadn't ever thought about it until today, but the gurus are even lying about the "stuff". They only tell the wannabes the good side of the stuff. I haven't ever heard a guru yet that talks about algea in the pool or paying for the implants for the jiggling babes! I wonder if you have to pay for the implants, if your wife won't allow you to have the jiggling babes?

Mike

Mike, thats funny dude.

I'm the wannabe. But I need to educate myself. I'd rather spend UP TO a few hundred bucks at the book store than thousands from making real life costly mistakes in real estate. Someone as green as me needs fundamentals first. Is there a book out there that can give me this?

Nick,

Here is what I recommend. If you are a complete newbie and don't know anything about real estate investing, buy the Carleton Sheets No Money Down course off e-bay for next to nothing and go through that. Get one of the courses with the bonus DVDs. This is an excellent beginner's course because it goes through the business in a logical order and covers all the basics of the business, whether that's flipping or rentals. That course will give you the fundamentals of the business.

Then, decide which area of real estate investing you intend to pursue - wholesaling, flipping, rentals, etc. Once you've done that, you should read the appropriate forums on BiggerPockets including the archives. Ask questions on the forums to answer any lingering questions and you should have a very good understanding of the business - a much better understanding than you will get from any guru book, course, bootcamp, mentoring, or coaching! Better yet, it won't cost you a penny.

Finally, join your local REIA (Real Estate Investors Association) and make friends with the successful investors in your area. Your new friends will be happy to help and they will also know everything about your local area.

Good Luck,

Mike

I'm a big fan of books in furthering my RE education (there is no REI group where I'm at). I own literally several several dozen books.

Some suck. A few are really great. But even if I just learn ONE THING from a book I consider it money well spent (whether it's a new sentence to add to my lease, or the list of 'dangerous dogs' that cause the majority of 'bite suits', or whatever -- then I have added that one thing to my knowledge base).

There are some good threads here on books people have found valuable. Also, if you look up a book on Barnes & Noble they have a section that shows you what other books on that subject customers are buying.

Networking with people is great, which is why I frequent BP. But I've personally also learned much from books and continue adding to my library.

Robert's books are the first books I started reading on these subjects and I have to admit it is what motivated me to get off my ass.

I like his books, and just keep an open mind. I read enough books to get multiple perspectives from experts and then form my own decision.