Kiyosaki has argued that debt can be a wealth-building tool when used to acquire income-producing assets.
David A. Perez, an enrolled agent and founder of Tax Maverick AI who said he uses a similar strategy as a multifamily real-estate investor, called Kiyosaki’s approach “a great strategy” and said carrying large amounts of property-backed debt is “actually very normal.”
Perez said borrowing against a property’s equity generally produces a tax-free loan because the property has not been sold, though the additional borrowing can increase mortgage payments, interest costs and reduce cash flow.
However, John Poole, founder of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based consultancy JPTD Partners, sounded a more cautionary note.
“I think there’s good debt and there’s bad debt, and then there’s $1.2 billion of debt, which you better know exactly what in the world you’re doing,” he told The Post.
“Leverage works beautifully on the way up, and if it’s not continuing on that way up, then it’s like a chainsaw financially coming down.”
Poole said borrowing against appreciated assets can make sense in limited circumstances, including as an estate-planning tool, but warned against relying on the strategy indefinitely.
He over leveraged himself and he incorporated each property separately, so when his empire falls, only the properties that fail can be taken from him.