How are the newbies going?

Hi nu gen,

Good thanks. Thanks for asking. Not looking at buying for some time yet though.

Forever learning here. Just met my neighbour who had a drive-by valuation done on his place only last week. Same house (in a complex of 12), same bank, and same purpose – debt consolidation. His valuation was $15K greater than mine. I’m waiting for my broker to call me back. I’ll get that LOC somehow.

Kind regards, Phil

For me it’s all about the numbers. I bought my two current IPs on the basis of a few GIF images and on the basis of the various inspection reports. One place is a 2150km away, the other is 1370km away. But the $ numbers stacked up. I keep in touch with the agents and inspect no less than annually. Seems to be working so far… My current mentor? The spreadsheet.

Thanks for that Terry, I just think that it is ‘fear of the unknown’ for these people and i am trying not to let them put me off, i think that they have been frightened off by recent reports of investors on today tonight programs showing stories of people who now can’t afford to keep their properties coz of recent interest rate rises, but surely if these people researched a bit before they went into this, they would have taken rate rises into account?? [?]

Dear nu gen :o)

I joined the forum on October 26, so I am a bit of a newbie too [] It doesn’t matter how old we are, we can be as new as an over-supplied apartment not yet off the plan!

In answer to some of your Q’s:

How long did it take you to buy your first IP since getting involved? Me and my girlfriend bought a little apartment when she was on 13k and i was on 17k wages. We had a 30K deposit, and we just went in with absolutely no idea what we were doing. We sat the mortgage broker down on a milk crate in our back yard, and we never looked back :o) Of course, prices were cheaper 9 years ago, but we did ok. no sooner than we had that than we jumped in again, buying an even cheaper one. Then we divorced and split them- que sera sera.

Who has influenced you and do you have a mentor? I don’t believe in mentors- I just do my reading and I discuss things with friends or people who have similar interests. I read as much as I can- I read all newspapers I can online and every other article I can lay my hands on. Some of the stuff I read- elsewhere and on here, isn’t useful to me. I just decide what makes sense to me, and what fits in with the way I want to live my life. I don’t do heroes, gods, or guru’s. I like to think as independently as I can- it makes me feel freer that way.

Have you learned anything the hard way or has this site saved you from doing many things wrong.
I think we all make mistakes in life. I have made many- i make them every day :o) It’s part of being an adult, i think. Wish I was still a kid though- then I could just blame my mum I must say though, I learn much from this site. I like posting and communicating people, so this is a much more “2-way” process than merely reading a book.

I have just bought my 3rd IP, nu gen- even if you make some mistakes along the way (for example, 9 years ago, I had no clue about property and only started reading about it *after* I had bought the property- and sites like this didn;t exist much 9 years ago- well, they might have but i didn’t know about them!

It’s good to get advice and share information between people. But ultimately, where, why and how you invest is up to you.

I still ask my solicitor, RE agents, and bank manager all sorts of questions- probably the same ones over and over- because I find some of the processes difficult to get my head around. They don’t seem to mind- presumably they make wads of cash from us- it’s their job to be patient

It’s a nice question you’ve asked

kay henry

Tadine,
Often negetive comments are the result of a lack of knowledge of those offering it. If you have researched and conducted due diligence completely then you are armed to make an INFORMED decision. I myself recieve little support from family and friends regarding my property portflio (except hubby), so what!. When we purchased our first IP you should have seen the fear on everyones faces. When we bought the second the reaction was more like “How Can They Afford That” almost like we were Real Estate Greed Mongers. I won’t be mentioning 3,4,5,6 etc, but once i reach 20 or so i might drop some numbers over a family get-together– Just for my own enjoyment []
Regards,
Traci

I have been reading the post on the forum for over six months and I am not sure if I have ever replied before.

I began purchasing investment properties about just over 12mths ago. My sister was being moved from one place after another and she was very unhappy so I got over my nerves bought a house she now rents. I did know at the time I had bought a positive cashflow property. Then I convinced the other half of the benefits of doing this and with my partners help we found this website.

We then took the plunge again in February 2003 and then again in March 2003 and again just two weeks ago. So we now have four investment properties and they all have enjoyed huge capital gain and all are positive cashflow. (the rent covers all costs inl rates and ins). We are looking at repeating our success here in NZ but seems a little harder to get finance in NZ.

Anyway we will get over that. We are very happy with the results the capital growth was an unexpected bonus just went for the income.

Anyway that’s our story.

hi Nu Gen,

well i’m a newbie too.. currently after learning a huge curve from the purchase of a vacant land JV with dad, i am excited to get an IP too.. but i have to wait :

1. to see how the market is going
2. to get my residency status end of next year to start buying IP, hence not needing to satisfy FIRB anymore
3. Get that degree so that i can start working to satisfy the bank and earn income

So in the meantime i’m just learning more and laying out plans to retire by age 30. 22 now so that’s my 8 yrs plan. I’m taking in all the information so that i know what to do when i actually start sprinting in 2005.

It’s a Must, not a choice that’s definite.

Regards,
Kev

quote:

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Any opinions on buying a property without inspecting.

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I bought my first place without inspecting it (I only saw photos), and I would happily buy more without inspecting.

As long as you know all the numbers and you ask enough questions (like “Are the neighbours yards overgrown with weeds?”), and of course get a building and pest inspection. Some lovely photos of the place wouldn’t hurt either!

By the way, when I did finally get to see the place that I had bought, I was expecting the worst, but was pleasantly surprised – it was even better than in the photos

-Ian

Hi all,

I’m an older newbie and some might say not even a newbie. I have recently returned to vendor finance after getting 2 babies off to school and reading John Burley’s material. I started my career off at 18 and ended up doing 100’s of vendor finance sales for the state government, who had decided they didn’t want to own railway homes anymore and sold them on terms to the railway emplyees who rented them. Funny how life goes full cricle sometimes as all that conveyancing, title searching, surveying, valuation and selling to tenants experience is now useful again.

I’ve always remembered how we would go to a country town to knock on tenants’ doors to explain how they could buy the homes they rented, (which they could never have done any other way.)

Then a few months later we would be back in those towns and the homes we had sold on VF would be painted, have flowers growing in the garden and have new picket fences and pretty curtains up. I learnt about pride of ownership and how important the family home is to people.

Now, it’s lease options for me. See you at the top – as Earl Nightingale says “the air is cleaner, the view is better and it’s less crowded”.[]

SK