Rob, Pelican (?) & Steve

Thanks for the great feedback. I must admit the sound of all these committees does get me very scared But I guess if we just let the status quo continue, it’s pretty well assured that the Association will fold and we could all end up with a bunch of onerous legislation in our laps that we had no input into.

There is no doubt that we don’t have the funds at the moment to setup and staff a permanent office but IMHO that’s a great goal for the future (much like the Mortgage Industry Association).

My suggestion at this early point would be for people in the various States to get a group of like minded people together and form an association (?). My apologies for not knowing the costs of incorporating an association. Hopefully it’s not too much. Keep it purely State based at the moment and work on building up interest by having regular monthly(?) information meetings with guest speakers.

If this is successful, at some point in the future, the State based groups can talk about some form of Federal committee. That is, keep it easy in the begining, build interest with valuable guest speakers and work on the “big picture” stuff as we get off our knees and start to “walk”.

Something like $20 per head to hear the speakers should cover costs and, of course, before and after the speakers we get to “plug” the State Association.

I’ve seen this idea of meetings with great speakers work exceptionally well for a group of John Burley, Keith Cunningham “people” on the Central Coast of NSW. Their last meeting was full to capacity.

I will be back in OZ at the end on Jan. and would love to get together with the NSW “stars” soon thereafter. Please email or PM me with suggestions for a location, time and place.

Cheers, Paul

PS. Other States – go for it. What’s the down side? If it all falls in a heap, we’ve had the opporunity to listen to some very interesting speakers!

Hi Robert

Rick is a very approachable guy. May I suggest that you take all the media reports about him with the “grain of salt” they deserve and give him a ring for a chat.

He is also someone who has helped a lot of people set up their own real estate investing businesses and a lot of us also frequent this forum because we also recognise Steve’s brilliance in this field.

IMHO it would be a great idea to move away from discussions about individuals and talk about how to save (or improve) the Vendor Finance Association.

Cheers, Paul

Hi FireCaesar

Assignment of Contracts: One can usually assign a real estate contract of sale in Australia by adding “and/or nominees” after your name on the contract of sale (or after your entities name). However using this technique in some Australian states can have “stamp duty” (a state based tax) implications and I’d definitely suggest you check with a switched on lawyer/accountant before you use this technique.

Foreign Investors in Australia: There are special rules in place for foreigners investing in residential real estate which don’t apply to other forms of investment in Australia. These rules are are under the scrutiny of the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). In general these rules do not allow foreign investors to buying existing residential real estate, other the some “tourist type” projects which have received special approval from the FIRB to be sold to foreigners. However foreigners are generally allowed to buy vacant residential land and build a dwelling on it. As mentioned earlier, a look at the Board’s website will give you more.

I hope this helps.

Cheers, Paul

Hi DP

A short answer to your question is that you’ll have to go out and find “money partners” for your deposits and closing costs.

However may real suggesion is to invest in your education first. Wrapping, like all investing, has risks involved. The right education will allow you to mitigate these risks down to a manageble level.

My first suggestion is to grab Steve’s second book asap. Thereafter I’d suggest you devour Steve’s Wrap Kit or Rick’s Wrap Pack.

I hope this helps.

Cheers, Paul

Hi Brooke

Karen and I have sold 3 distant wrap properties using what Rick Ottan calls “the Silent Salesman” and our potential clients showed themselves through our houses without us ever having to go there.

The “silent Salesman” is really just a big padlock which you attached to something relatively impoveable on the house. It has combination tumbblers on the front and when the correct combination is entered a sliding door on the side of the lock opens and hey presto, inside is a key to the house.

We simply get full contact details of prospective buyers on the phone (including their drivers licence number) and ask them if they’d like to have a look inside. They all seem to be very happy that they can have a look around inside by themselves and we’ve never had and problems with this method of showing our houses. If we don’t like the sound of them on the phone, they don’t get the offer.

I hope this helps.

Cheers, Paul

Hi Rich

I got the following post from the forum on the Vendor Finance (Wraps) Association’s website at
http://www.financewraps.asn.au

“Hello All

Just informing the associatation that our company now has developed and fully tested some loan products uniquely designed for Vendor Financier requiring mortgage finance, with full disclosure to the lender about wraps.

The products have been running officially since 1 January 2004 and have tested the products with no problems from the lender over the past 2 – 3 months.

There are a number of various products to suit all types of investors needs E.g. low doc, standard veriable, line-of-credit etc.

The products can be modified and improved upon if there is sufficient volume coming through as a collective group. Once there is sufficent volume, things such as interest rates and fees can be negotiated further with the lender.

Unfortunently I do not view this forum to often and request if you can forward any questions directly to my busines associate Mr David Cook via email [email protected] or Commanding Heights Mortgage Solutions Pty Ltd direct telephone line 02 4926 2277.

David is happy to forward to you, product sheets and further information on these full disclosure mortgage products.

Our company formally known as Sollner Pty Ltd has been renamed and split into two companys called Commanding Heights Finance Pty Ltd and Commanding Heights Mortgage Solutions Pty Ltd (Mortgage Brokerage company). All mortgage related quesitons and brokerage requirements need to be directed to Commanding Heights Mortgage Solutions Pty Ltd – Mr David Cook.

Regards

Peter Sollner”

I hope this helps.

Cheers, Paul

PS. I’m in no way associated with this company.

Hi Marissa

There are plenty of successful wrappers operating in WA. If you are looking to contract them, I’d suggest you join the Vendor Finance (Wraps) Association of Australia. Their web site is at:
http://www.financewraps.asn.au

I hope this helps.

Cheers, Paul

Hi Risky

All our wrappees pay an extra $30 per week and aren’t bothered by bills, i.e. we pay the council rates, water rates and building insurance. They love it. At the end of the years we do a “wash up”. If they owe us money we collect it and if we owe them money we can send them a cheque or take it off their loan balance.

We sell the concept to them on the basis of, “gee, we wish we could spread all the bills throughout the year into a weekly payment”. And as people have already mentioned, you definitely don’t want any nasty surprises in relation to unpaid rates and insurance.

We operate in NSW and this concept has been incorporated into our Installment Contract by our solicitor.

I hope this helps.

Cheers, Paul

Hi KP

Just before we instruct our solicitor to draw up the Instalment Contract we use, we get our wrappees to pay us a $650 “non refundable document preparation fee”. We explain to our wrappees that this is what it costs us to get the contracts drawn up and reiterate that it is “non refundable”.

I hope this helps.

Cheers, Paul