Hi all,

Having been somewhat involved in the NII programs (Henry Kaye) and feeling pretty disappointed with that involvement I’d strongly recommend people to steer clear of them. Without going into all the detail I’d concur that the people at NII use unethical tactics to get money out of people, that they are motivated to get the sale not really help the individual and that their seminar prices are absolutely over inflated for what you get out of them. In addition their cross selling techniques, which are carefully presented as “we’ll do all the work for you” type services, do come at a heafty price that virtually erodes any potential gains you could make in the short to medium term. NII also heavily emphasise -ve geared property in their seminars which is another downside, especially if you consider the comments on this site about the virtues of PCF property and the costs of -ve geared. In some ways the whole approach reminds me of some of the methods used to sell multi level marketing programs to potential participants.

Obviously, look into it yourselves by all means, but for what it is worth – my opinion is you’d be better off buying other books or attending a cheaper more realisticly priced seminar. At the very least be cautious.

Gus.

FYI – I am going to Steve’s seminar in May/June and I am very much looking forward to the learning and the resultant benefits from implementing some of the strategies etc.

Oh to be in your shoes! [^] It sounds like you may be in the enviable position of being able to contemplate retirement from your day job, and not have to worry about where the money is going to come from! Still it is wise to plan this carefully to ensure you don’t blow it so to speak. If you are able to invest in PCF properties with the proceeds of your lifetime of work and other investments, you should not have any concerns about keeping the wolves from the door. Renovating and selling can be great particularly if you do it in a rising market, because you can acheive a significant capital gain quickly. When things slow down it is a little different, but moeny can still be made. I’m sure you have more experience in this area than I anyway. I guess it really depends what you want to do with your life, and it appears that you have a measure of financial freedom to be able to advantage of numerous options.

While not insurmountable there are a couple of things you might want to consider before you move across. Your structure will be an important question to answer as you will want to protect yourselves and your assets, and insure the income your ventures generate remains ‘within the family’. Another thought is what type of investing do you want to be involved in – capital intensive or low capital outlay, high growth or high income related investments. Obviously each will have an impact on your cash flow levels and regularity. Another question about this situation you may want to investigate is the ability to borrow money to invest if you don’t have a ‘regular’ job. Obviously having access to low doc loans will help here. Nevertheless, what an exciting prospect to be able to contemplate such a lifestyle change. I wish you all the best.

Gus

“To reach new lands you must have the courage to leave the shore!”

Hi Dorothy,

By way of encouragement – most of us have been throught those nervous first stages, some of us still have questions and are learning all the time. It sounds like you are taking the right approach – research, asking questions etc. When the right one comes along (and it will) you’ll know it and it will look good (numbers) and feel good to make it happen. THis is all part of the fun of investing. It does get a little easier as your experience builds.

Happy hunting

Gus

Hi Kutty70,

Have you considered forming a partnership or seeking a money partner amoungst friends or family? Even if it is just to share the deposit, you can create a suitable deal where all will benefit.

Gus

p.s. 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing!

What a cynical world we live in, and probably with some justification. We can find the dark side of everything if we look hard enough, but we will never be happy or successful if we take the cynics view of the world. I can accept that there are ‘scams’ out there and we need to be careful, however I’m just glad that there are genuine people around who want to share knowledge and help others like myself. When I increase my knowledge and financial situation I’d like to help others too, because it makes me feel good and I hopefully won’t need the money as much, so I can relate to Steves stated motivations.

It makes sense to pay for books and seminars because I believe that people really value what they pay for and people should get paid for the work they have done. Obviously overcharging is an issue, but from what I’ve seen of Steve’s pricing it is relatively good value.

Signed: Ready and Willing to Learn
aka Open Minded

p.s. Steve, I’m not advocating a price rise!!! ha ha ha

Hi guys,

Popped or slowing? In my view based on some auctions and sales I have been to lately in Melbournes Eastern Suburbs, speaking with friends and reading newsletters etc there has been a slow down. Evidence of this is:

1. Reduced numbers of bidders at auctions thus reducing the competition and therefore prices.

2. Many investors are warry based on two issues a) they are over committed and are waiting to generate the next deposit(used their equity in negatively geared property) and b) they have noticed vacancy rates increasing and rental return dropping.

3. It appears that it is getting a little harder to get bank finance as the banks appear to be tightening their lending criteria perhaps in response to their internal views that the residential property market is a little over blown.

4. Uncertainty about the war and it’s impact on the economy has made some people a little more cautious about getting into debt despite interest rates being a there lowest level in decades.

5. Auction clearance rates are falling as published in the various newsletters I get.

Having said that there are always bargains to be found if you do your research. I wonder if there could be some fire sales in the not too distant future as over committed people need to liquidate. Certainly a motivated seller is a great vendor to deal with.

Gus

quote:

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I like Gus’s
CASH IN YOUR WALLET, TIME ON YOUR HANDS

Pretty cool.

But hey Gus, do you REALLY need all Steve’s groovy stuff as much as me??? Come on, I’m desperate here! If you get any more ideas, feel free to tell me them first and offer me first dibs on plagiarising them.

---

Thanks Susiemac, appreciate the encouragement. We’d all like to win, and it appears there is some pretty stiff competition. You’ve got some good ones too like “Tell me why I don’t work Mondays”. Perhaps that should read “I’ll tell you why I don’t work Mondays?”

A couple I thought of especially for you is “Trading Places: Making money your slave” or “Make your money go to work so you don’t”.

All the best of luck.

Gus

Hi Steve,

I must say I value your honesty and desire to help me and others do much better financially. I certainly appreciate the support, education and encouragement to pursue my dreams, not to mention your no bull dust approach. I am committed to action and hope to develop the skills (with your help) to be a great property investor who wishes to share the benefits with others.

With regard to your book the key thought that is going through my mind is “What’s different about this book?” I’ve read many books, attended many courses and seminars produced by a number of different people. They have similar thoughts, strategies and outcomes. The key message that needs to come out in my opinion is: This book is exceptional because it is this…….and it isn’t that.

Obviously being an advocate of positive cash flow property investments this is a key point of difference. However most others talk about issues such as living their dreams, their sincerity, their success stories, their credentials, not being a get rich quick scheme, easy to do etc etc. Even Amway and other MLM do this. There is no PoD in talking about aheivement of dreams although we all hope to gain from investing in this manner.

I personally believe in your message. I respond to your sincerity and want to be mentored. Perhaps you can tell us a little more about why this material is going to be different and how reading it will transform our financial situations beyond where we currently sit?

I understand that the reader has to take action in order to really benefit, however most people are procrastinators whose shelves are littered with books, that they have bought with the best of intentions. What can you tell the reader in the introduction that will help them to feel buying this book will be a ‘proactive life changing event’ not just another symbol of their lack of action?

If the content is not going to be that different could you differentiate on format and delivery? Could the book content be structured like a ‘step by step guide (similar to your exceptional Wealth Guardian program) that make the reader, stop, think, act etc before moving on to the next chapter? Using real life examples and cases studies to illustrate a point and get the reader to think how they could handle it and demonstrate that understanding. Perhaps your PoD could be involvement. This book promises to draw the reader in, tell them how, show them how and let them experiment (like paper trading in the share market?) and inspire them (by building their confidence) to get in there and make it happen.

In my view for this book to be really ground breaking your approach needs to focus just as much on the ‘you can do it’ aspects as much as ‘this is how you do it’.

Steve – I look forward to your book as I do your Masters Property Investment event next month. Look forward to meeting up for a chat. I wish you all the best with this endeavour. Thanks for the opportunity to comment. [^]

Hi everyone,

A very interesting topic. I have visited with financial planners in the past and a member of my family is also a FP. Two observations I have made in relation to Steves thoughts are:
1. They know alot about the ‘administrative rules’ governing their industry, (the funds, the paperwork, the forms, indemnity clauses etc) but they know very little about investment, the dynamics how to make money (except for themselves). They virtually ignore property, and focus soley on share based managed funds. They know the funds (brands) and historical returns, but usually don’t understand the funds strategies, the people etc, preferring to rely on ratings agency recommendations as their main means of evaluating the funds suitability. My view is they tend to follow the herd, rather than proactively seeking out the next growth opportunity based on their research of the world / business / consumer trends etc.
2. They tend to be commission and incentive focused. They get paid upfront and get a commission trailer on the funds under management in many cases. So whether the fund performs or not they still get paid unlike the contributor. As others have pointed out, most of the work they do is based on editing proforma ‘plans’ based on computer generated information so they really do little thinking about the actual value of the investment decisions. An example of the incentives on offer – say a planner put $X amount of business through a certain wholesale group, then they will be entitled to a trip to an exotic island location or something like that. I’d hate to think that my money was to be allocated to a fund based on the need to make up the numbers to secure the FP’s next holiday!

Anyway suffice to say I have never had a great degree of confidence in the PF industry. I would not like to have them manage my money. In my view, structually there is no incentive for them to work hard for their money or for their clients.

“The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it” – George Bernard Shaw

Hi Northy,

Great question with endless possibilities. Personally I would look at $300 a month extra income and say “not much you could do with that…I think I will need a bit more to achieve my goals” Keeping it in your mortgage (offset acc.) is a good place to have it while you wait for your next opportunity. Clearing credit card debt or high interest personal loans is another option. Another thought is to use the additional cash flow to borrow ($50-$60K), then invest in another property (perhaps a wrap or a JV with another investor), or some high interest yielding assets (solicitors funds / mezzanine lending etc) while you wait for the next opportunity. As Anthony points out the next big opportunity may be a property with higher capital growth potential. Of course you could always invest in your lifestyle – new car, holiday etc. It’s all good, it just depends what your goals are. Given I’d like to replace my current income generated from my job, I’d be inclinded to find another CFP property that returned another $300 per month or more.

Good luck and remember “to reach new lands you have to have the courage to leave the shore”