Hi Rick,

Robert Kiyosaki's methods do work.... While I don't invest in property like Kiyosaki does, a friend of mine is a successful property investor after being inspired by, and following, Robert Kiyosaki's books (and he's read beyond them too)....

The essence of his property investing technique is this: borrow from the bank to make your purchase, and then make sure the rental payments (from your tenants) at least cover your bank repayments. If it *more* than covers your bank repayments, then you get a regular cashflow from it too. That's the guts of it....

It sounds simple, and my friend assures me that it is. :) He started about three years ago, and a few months ago he just bought his second investment house.... He's doing this while he's working a job, and also finishing off his studies too!

By the way, he also did well with a "chattel-type" of property deal.... My friend's first purchase was an empty piece of land. A couple years later, he sold the land for a nice profit....

But what if you don't have enough money for the down payment on a piece of property, or what if you can't get a loan? You can also get started in property with REITs.... Real Estate Investment Trusts (known as "Property Trusts" in Australia). This is what another friend of mine did. (I don't think Robert Kiyosaki mentions this angle....)

A REIT is when a group of people collectively own a piece of property or a portfolio of properties.... By buying REITs you become one of the group of owners, and you'll get a dividend payment a couple times a year which is the return on your investment.

It's a good way to get started in property in a small way, because you could probably get started with as little as a few hundred dollars.... REITs are generally bought and sold on the stock market, but because they are essentially property they are inherently more stable than most stocks.... Your return generally comes from the dividends you get, rather than from changes in the price....

Anyhow, I'm a big fan of Robert Kiyosaki's books.... His goal is to try to get you to change the way you think. :)

- Dien