Forum Replies Created
Hi Quentin,
Regardless of who Robert Kiyosaki truly is, I think one thing is much more important:
John T. Reed attracts visitors to his website by slagging off about his competitors. He sells his own products, and in a couple of his attacks on others he recommends his own products. He is completely closed-minded on many topics, and tries to make himself look good by putting others down.
Other than that, why worry about what everyone else thinks of Kiyosaki? Read it and worry about what you think about it. His book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” got myself and countless others started, regardless of how much of the story was fiction or non-fiction. The principles he tells you to follow are sound, and the book should be treated like any other book or seminar (or “guru”) – get whatever you can out of it, and don’t lessen it’s value because some negative person is trying to hold the world back and sell some products at someone else’s expense (would you have ever heard of John T. Reed otherwise?).
I’ve been to one of Kiyosaki’s seminars in 2000 which showed that he is physically doing exactly what he’s teaching you to do. Would I go back a second time? I doubt it, I’ve already received most of what he has to offer.
Concentrate on keeping your own integrity at an impeccable level, and don’t worry about the “gurus” too much – their level of integrity with create their future, so if Kiyosaki is a “conman” then he will have a disastrous future. If he lives by integrity, he will have a prosperous and happy future.
Kind regards,
Marcus.
Hi Rob,I just completed a wrap 5-6 hours from where I live and work. It’s very hard at the start (where I’m still at), however I know others who have done this and it becomes easier the more you do. You’ll need to have the motivation to travel a great deal, and/or get someone to show the houses for you.
Alternatively, you can get special lockboxes that you can put keys into (leave it at the property itself), and give the combination to people who sound interested and trustworthy over the phone.
Get their driver’s licence details, and make it sound like you don’t usually do it but are trusting them as they have been pre-qualified – also mention that you plan to be around the house shortly after them, but can’t be sure exactly what time (this way they think if they cause any damage, you will know it was them).
I only met the buyer in person for the very first time yesterday as I handed over the keys – you’ll be surprised how motivating it is to find new and more efficient ways of doing things when it’s going to save you hours of travel.
Regards,
Marcus.Hi Fireman,
“Australia’s Money Secrets of the Rich” by John Burley and Bruce Whiting (as Robert has recommended), as well as “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George Clason, are both absolutely exceptional books on budgeting and general money management. I’d suggest reading “Richest Man…” first and then following the exercises in “Australia’s Money Secrets…”.
Regards,
Marcus.I realise you’re asking from a largely structural and borrowing-power point of view, but from someone who has been in a business partnership gone bad:
1. Put everything in writing before you begin, nomatter how much you trust them. This isn’t just so you’re legally protected, but also so both of you understand exactly which angle each person is coming from. After doing this, then write down your understanding of what the other person expects to make sure you’ve interpreted it correctly. Don’t skip this step (which I did), don’t just jot down a couple of things – do it properly, sign it, and review it regularly.
2. It’s very hard to maintain a business partnership and a friendship, but not impossible. Keep them completely separate. Even if you trust the other person completely, it doesn’t mean the business side of things is going to work out. A few years down the track the friendship will be even stronger if you do it this way.
3. Never, ever lie about anything to your business partner. Ever. Don’t exaggerate, don’t go behind their back, don’t be disloyal – be upfront about EVERYTHING. If things are looking shaky, speak up early and try to work it out. If it’s not working out, cut the business relationship immediately and save the friendship. You can still help each other grow as people (financially and otherwise) without being completely involved in each other’s deals.
I could go on for hours, but I won’t. My former business partner and I still have a friendship, and money itself has never been a trust issue (we still have complete trust in each other in this regard), but a great deal of damage was done to an extremely valuable friendship because one party didn’t speak up when they weren’t happy with things and we had unrealistic expectations of each other at the start.
Please keep this in mind, it took me 2 years of some very difficult learning experiences to understand all of this.
Regards,
Marcus.I’m a little surprised to see Mr Burley’s name thrown into this discussion. He is a man of magnificent integrity, and I can’t see how he would be expected to know about the Joe Gutnick case unless he spends a great deal of time following internet case law, and also can’t see how this possibly makes him less of a “sophisticated investor”.
I also don’t consider the Joe Gutnick case to necessarily be linked to looking for investors internationally. The case was in regards to libel, and the result was that negative comments posted on a US website used by Australians led to the case being heard in an Australian court. That’s all at this stage, any further implications are yet to be seen.
I have no comment either way on the other people you are discussing, but I think the way John has conducted himself for many years deserves the respect of not being dragged into this issue with sarcastic and attacking comments.
Personally, I never publicly advertise for investors due to the reasons that have been discussed (the need for a prospectus for public offers to 20 or more people). However, it is a subjective issue with varying opinions so I would suggest discussing it with a solicitor and making your own judgement call based on the level of risk you are comfortable with.
Regards,
Marcus.My understanding is that anyone of any nationality or citizenship can buy property in the US under a Las Vegas registered company. I don’t know the full story, but Sage International (www.sageintl.com) may be able to help with setting this sort of thing up – I’ve heard about them on some tapes previously.
Regards,
Marcus.I’m not sure how your offer works with the bank, but I’d first of all recommend getting out of the deal now unless the Exchange of Contracts has already taken place (and any cooling off period has expired). Never be afraid to pull the plug on a deal if it isn’t working out – put it down to a learning experience, and get pre-approved for loans where possible.
If, however, you’re already 100% legally committed, I see your best options as:
1. Call (or write to) a whole heap of mortgage brokers explaining your situation NOW – as long as there is no marking of your credit report happening, what’s the worst that can happen? I’m sure some of them have experienced the same situation before – you may just be using someone not really a specialist in fixing this particular sort of problem.
2. Find an investor to take out the loan (either under their name, or as a guarantor). You’ll obviously have to give them a cut, but it may be cheaper than your current options. I can’t qualify for loans myself so offer 1/4 cashflow (plus 1/4 contract profit if refinanced/cashed out) to the person who takes out the loan until I get full investors on board. It may sound overly generous, but if you’re putting the person’s FHOG at risk and want them to be happy being caught up in the deal for potentially 25 years, it’s a pretty fair deal. Run the figures against what it will cost you to pay the additional deposit.
3. If you’ve got it substantially under market, then pay the extra deposit and try flipping it (obviously before Settlement would be optimal).
4. If you get really, really desperate (ie. committed to deal, Settlement looming, and extra deposit still won’t get you a loan) let me know – I’ve been told of a broker that exists in western Sydney (can try and get you their details if you like) who may be able to assist in such a situation. I’ve never dealt with them – I keep them in mind as a contingency only. The additional cost there would probably be $3,500 (plus a 9% interest rate) on a 10% deposit but it beats failing to Settle, losing your deposit and possibly being sued by the vendor for any further losses.
Regards,
Marcus.
[email protected]Get calls from people who would qualify for a normal bank loan? Join the Wrapper Referral Program at http:\www.positivegearing.comjoin
Edited by – [email protected] on 17/11/2002 10:52:40 PM
Hi Sooshie,
My personal opinion is to get into the deal for as little money down as possible. The extra 10% of the purchase price you put in is only earning the underlying mortgage interest rate of 5-7.5% p.a. (plus mortgage insurance savings which aren’t substantial enough to improve the figures too much).
On the other hand, if you could use that other 10% on a separate deal to return 20, 30 or 40% plus p.a., then why would you lock away the extra funds for returns under 7.5% p.a.? For me, the most important thing is getting each dollar to multiply as fast as possible.
Of course, there are many differing opinions that may make the alternative a better option for you (I believe Steve likes to pay off the underlying mortgage as fast as possible), but for the way I do things it would take exceptional circumstances to lock $1 more into a deal than I have to. The more cash I have ready to invest, the faster I can do deals and the more cashflow I can get churning out (which means, of course, getting out of the rat race faster!).
Work out how much the difference adds up to over 20 years and see how much it will cost you to put in the extra 10%, and see if it’s worth the perceived risk reduction for you.
Kind regards,
Marcus.
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***********Hi Rodger,
The majority of agents aren’t investors themselves, just salespeople. Whether or not he was telling you his real experiences, you’ll find the more agents you deal with, the more you’ll realise that it’s your game and you make the rules.
Written offers mean that the agent has to legally submit the offer to the vendor, and can save a great deal of confusion over the terms later. I always submit written offers only.
When I first started out I was trying to impress the agents. Then I realised that nomatter how you look or act, it’s putting your money where your mouth is that really matters to them and I’m not in this business to worry about what other people think about me.
You’ll be surprised how quickly you pick up on things – tapes can give you a lot of value, but the experience of getting out there easily eclipses it.
Good luck,
Marcus.Hi Rodger,
I’ve only been in the game a couple of years, but the .25% deposit clause is standard as far as I am aware (I’m located in NSW). It’s pretty fair in my opinion as if you pull out of a deal after Exchange of Contracts (and there was no real justifiable reason for it such as an undisclosed problem with the property), you may be causing great inconvenience to the seller.
The .25% is a small price to pay for those extra couple of days to pull out – with the properties I deal with, it’s only about $250. Cancelling a deal at such a stage could easily mean the vendor has to find the cash to cover some extra repayments, and they would have to go through the hassle of putting the property back on the market.
Regards,
Marcus.BayCorp give you a score based on how many times more likely than the average person you are to default or not default. It’s based on a range of factors, but any blemishes on your recent credit history will damage it an incredible amount.
They don’t seem to take into account too much that you eventually fixed up a bill – it will show on the credit report that you fixed it up, but it won’t change their calculations of your risk score very much (although it obviously looks better to someone viewing the entire report).
My suggestions would be to either:
1. Speak to mortgage brokers – it’s in their interest to help you get a loan and make your credit look as strong as possible (ethically and legally).
2. If your last default or minor problem on the credit file was almost 5 years ago, just wait it out a couple of months until the whole lot disappears completely.
There is also a service available through BayCorp where you can subscribe to be e-mailed whenever anybody marks your credit report in any way (including just viewing it). I’ve found this comes in quite handy myself. I don’t believe you get to see the risk score they give you, though.
Good luck,
Marcus.
