Rating: 
Summary: Real Estate Riches
Review: This was the first book I ever read on real estate, and at the time, I found the book to be very motivational and enjoyable to read. After having bought a couple of properties and read a few more books on real estate, I have come to re-evaluate the book. This book is only helpful if you are just starting out in real estate and want to obtain some VERY VERY general knowledge in the field. If you have ANY experience in real estate at all, don't bother reading this book. You won't learn anything new.
Rating: 
Summary: A good intro, but could be more balanced
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book, for the main reason that it made some light bulbs turn on in my head. I thought that it would have been better if it had been more balanced, but overall I thought it was well worth the time and money.My background is as a quant researcher in the equities business, where people live and die if they can or can not beat the S&P by a couple percent a year. This book turned me on to the uses of 1) leverage and 2) tax strategies. Together, these will allow you to do _much_ better in real estate than the S&P. I thought de Roos came off as a bit of a cheerleader, and thought the book would have been better if he put in some caution to be thoughtful and diligent. Perhaps a story or two of deals gone bad, rather than lots of tales of snatching properties for 10-50% of market value, would have made the book more balanced, and thus more credible. Overall though, I've become really excited since reading this book. I will obviously have to go buy other books to get more details, and I will have to learn by doing. But I have now received the required ZING! to get me to really think about real estate.
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Summary: Let's get real here.
Review: Sorry, but there's is just no way that one can simply refinance every few years to pull out their equity for the purchase of new property, and then just go on with life. The author doesn't even care to mention the higher mortgage payment and what YOU are going to do about that. This book does alot to get you all hyped up, but there are absolutely no details or mention of real-life issues or worst case scenarios?
I own almost all of the Rich Dad series, and in my opinion this is the absolute worst!
Rating: 
Summary: Great book
Review: I picked this book up expecting nothing. I came away from it with a tremendous amount of excitement. I'm afraid that I still have yet to figure out how to put it all together and make it work, though. For my money, this was one of the best books I've ever read. It made me very excited for my new investment opportunities. I have not put any of these ideas into action yet but I am really excited about the time when I will be.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful - Great for new and experienced investors.
Review: I like this book. Do not make the mistake of judging this book by it's size. The sections on financing and taxes were especially valuable. Advice is timely and powerful. If your goals is to become a real estate investor, read this book and prosper.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing but fluff
Review: This book was a complete waste of money. Upon finishing the book (easily accomplished in under an hour), I quickly realized that it contained nothing more than pointless verbal cheerleading.
Rating:
Summary: Save your money!
Review: This is a waste of time and money - I have been quite indiscriminate in my reading of real estate investment books, and this is by far the worst. Kiyosaki is obviously more interested in making money than in dispensing good, solid advice. Avoid this at all cost (unless it makes you happy to hear people tell you how easy it is to make money in real estate, supporting that statement with questionable arithmetic).
Rating:
Summary: Utter nonsense
Review: In the first chapter, de Roos poses four questions designed to convince the reader that real estate investing is superior to other kinds of investing. The first question is: "How many dollars' worth of stock can you buy with $100000 cash?" The answer, according to de Roos, is that $100000 cash will generally buy you only $100000 worth of stock. He says investment houses will only let you buy "a very limited number of stocks" on margin and "then only for about 30 percent of the value of the stocks." I have never encountered a stock in my Schwab account that I have not been able to buy on margin. Furthermore, I can margin up to 50 percent. Besides, the reason why Schwab won't let me use more leverage is because IT'S RISKY. de Roos then goes on to suggest that you can easily get a loan to buy a $1 million property by putting down just $100000. How is this less risky than buying stocks on margin? de Roos says: "[You] have an asset worth $1 million that would generate rental income for you. If you had bought wisely, then the rent would more than cover your expenses." Well, what happens if you didn't buy wisely? What happens if you can't find tenants? What happens if the economy goes south right after you bought? All one needs to do is drive up and down Highway 101 in Silicon Valley and look at all the "For Lease" signs to realize that vacancies are a fact of life. I didn't even bother to read any further. If the first chapter of the book is filled with such nonsense, the rest of the book can't be much better.
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Summary: Best book in the RD series
Review: After Cash Flow Qudrant, this one shows you how to make money.Interesting how the bashers keep saying that the real estate boom is over, yet real estate keeps getting better and better.The fact is that real estate is always a great investment, if you know why and how.Read this book and get the facts.
Rating:
Summary: Great first book for a real estate investment education
Review: Although I do not consider "Real Estate Riches" by Dolf de Roos the power-house book that Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and "Cashflow Quadrant" are, it is a great place for the real estate investment novice to start. This book (a part of the Rich Dad Advisor series) lays a sound foundation for why real estate is the best investment vehicle for a long-term investment strategy--as well as potential short-term financial gains--over other types of investing. It then covers the basic concepts and "how to" of getting started in your own real estate invenstments. I really enjoyed the stories from New Zealand and Australia, as they give it a nice international flavor and perspective. However, this book is only a starting point for the aspiring real estate investor, and you will need to absorb other books to gain a more full understanding before starting out on your own. I highly recommend Wade Cook's "Real Estate Money Machine", which details a strategy similar to the one Robert Kiyosaki describes in his books. Other books on financing, buying foreclosures, etc... are available through Amazon.com and will help to give you a well-rounded education in real estate investing. If you are not currently an investor, I would recommend reading Robert Kiyosaki's first two books ("Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and "Cashflow Quadrant") to get your thinking straight about money, investing and business in general. Then also read this book, Wade Cook's mentioned above, and perhaps one or two more specific to real estate--and you'll be prepared MENTALLY to get started AND be successful in real estate investing! Remember, it is your financial literacy or lack of it that will determine your success or failure in whatever investment vehicle you choose to pursue. "Real Estate Riches" is a great place to start, but like most books on real estate, not a complete "diet" on the subject.
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