Hi,

I’m not one for jumping, clapping, hugging etc (well maybe hugging my wife [biggrin]) but I don’t do that sort of activity at the football either. Lots of others do though because they are enjoying themselves or participating etc. There are different personalities some of whom express themselves best that way. Should we judge them just for behaving differently?

NLP is just another area in self development that along with everything else helps us to expand our understanding. Is this bad? I’m not necessarily a “believer” however, it pays to keep an open mind.

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. NLP is not the only area where evidence may be lacking. Indeed there are many things in medical clinical practice, for example, that lack well defined research methodology. The literature is abundant with flawed research.

NLP of value? Maybe – who knows. We don’t need to get hyped but we may still get something out of it. And if we feel confident enough about ourselves then there is no harm in letting those who want to enjoy the “hype” do so.

Is hype in the eye of the beholder? [blink]

pr

Isn’t it interesting how things are viewed in isolation and taken out of context? The mentoring program is one aspect of Steve’s business, but then there are other aspects including this forum.

I notice that you have numerous posts on this forum markpatrick, implying that you either find it valuable or at least interesting. There is no compulsion to read or contribute yet you do. It takes some effort to maintain a forum site and Steve also gives up his time free of charge to respond to fellow investors’ questions.

Each of us has a choice and we are free to choose whether we buy a book, attend a seminar or enrol in a course. You pay to go to university, without any guarantees of graduating or of becoming wealthy. None of us looks at the universities as using us and making money off us, yet we focus on that issue when it suits.

All I can say is that Steve and Dave and his team provide a great service to those of us who wish to take advantage of their exerience as part of our residential property investing education.

As for forking out money and expecting miracles, one way to increase the likelihood of success is education (learning with open mind). Some obviously view the mentoring as a worthwhile investment in their education and they are entitled to hold that view. Although education is not an asset you can sell, it is an asset that can improve the results when purchasing other types of assets.

The alternative is to fork out lots more money in an investment that fails, and unfortunately there have been many uneducated buyers who lost lots more than the investment in Steve’s mentoring program.

pr

I have the game also and can highly recommend it.

pr

Hi f1

I know that feeling well but as Koshy says, patience is important. Opportunities present themselves when you know what to look for, and often aren’t obvious unless you do know what it is that you’re looking for. When they present you then have to act.

Have you read Steve’s books? In residential property it is extremely difficult to find an IP that is already CF+ unless you are investing in NZ or USA. In the Masterclass Steve educates you on how to create a CF+ IP.

Alternatively you can invest in commercial property but generally the amount of money you require is greater.

Education is the key.

Good luck

pr

Hi again,

Great goals with which to start out. Many people indicate a desire for financial freedom but that can be very nebulous and mean different things to different people. Do you have a clear idea of what that means to you and what sort of PASSIVE annual income you would require to achieve that? It is important to be specific in order to set the goal and work towards it, and also to be clear in the understanding that true financial freedom involves passive income rather than active income.

You have stated that you would like a couple of residential IPs over the next several years, which is fine but will that be sufficient to provide you with financial independence?

Finally, although it makes sense to legally minimise tax obligations the wise gurus say that the purpose of investing is to make money rather than to make losses, and so investment decisions based purely on tax considerations are fraught with danger. Minimising a loss through tax dedeuctions is still a loss. If you make a real gain after claiming expenses and getting tax benefits then that’s fine but many of the deductions are based on depreciation which is simply effectively a deferred tax. Some properties are marketed to investors on the basis of tax deductions but close scrutiny reveals the flaws.

Financial independence utlimately requires cashflow on a passive income basis and so properties that produce cashflow meet that requirement while those that don’t move you further away from your goal. Capital gains are great but unpredictable. There are still CF+ investments to be made but at any given time they may involve residential properties or commercial properties or shares.

Best of luck in your endeavours.

pr

Munjy, in those days the best we could do was to get one year leases with one year options in that area and with those tennants, even Spotless. Spotless and the butcher stayed on for 5 years and 7 years respectivley.

After they left the REAs found new tennants and we were too naive and ignorant and just accepted the agent’s recommendations for the new tennants. The leases were again annual and really protected only the tennants because when they left before their lease expired they simply left…. no way of getting our rent once they disappeared. Eventually sold all those shops and we did make some CG but it was much less than it could have been.

JTW, I wouldn’t say that I would never invest in strip shopping centres again because I learnt from the earlier mistakes and there may be good investments out there. Like everything it’s always important to keep an open mind. In particular the area we were in was not good. Only 5 or 6 shops in the strip, in a lower middle class area. In a major shopping centre with lots of shops and demonstrable stability of tennancies that reflect the presence of good businesses then that may be fine. What we look for now is just that but with good tennants on at least a 3 year lease who have good businesses and assets. That doesn’t eliminate tennants defaulting but it does reduce the likelihood, decreases the risks, and increases the chances of recovering rent should they default.

pr

Hi hkr

I realise that you feel that trusts seem too mcuh for you but you shouldn’t discard them on that basis alone. There may be some scope for what you are trying to achieve.

Discuss the problem with your advisor (accountant/solicitor/investor) and explore the various solutions prior to your final decision.

Are you intending to negatively gear the investment properties or are you wanting to have them CF+?

pr

Hi JTW and welcome

Were you specifically looking for commercial property? This is still where the greatest returns are at present.

Questions:
1. What type of commercial property? eg industrial, retail etc
2. What zoning?
3. Who is selling and why?
4. Single or multiple tennants, and tennant history as well as leases and options.

I’m sure that you are aware that, if you get a good tennant with a good business and the property becomes an important part of his/her business you will be able to increase rental at or above market which will then increase the value of the property. Not only will you get good positive cashflow but you will be increasing the likelihood of capital gains.

Cheers

pr

Hi operator and welcome

It’s interesting that you ask what should you be doing. It is probably more appropriate to ask what others would do and then wait for the range of responses, which may be quite diverse. The responses are all well considered but they are based on individuals’ goals, circumstances and experience which may well be quite different from yours.

As Simon said, you probably know more than you think. If you haven’t already it would be wise to work out what your goals are and then work with an appropriate advisor who has a full understanding of your financial situation and specific circumstances as well as your goals and then put a plan in place that you can action. You then control the decision of what you should do and it will be based on sound assessment and reasoning.

Education is a journey and an ongoing process. We all need more education, some of which is based on theory and some based on experience. There is no set point at which everyone is ready to invest. Therefore, understanding the market is important but making the move at the right time is a learnt art, which can start at any time.

By the way – you are doing very well as a newbie to computers and the forum.

Best of luck

pr