Neither, in particular. Property is a very expensive commodity to trade, because of high entry and exit costs. I'm a long-term investor and I'm just going to ride it out. Though I do think there will be some good bargains around the next couple of years, and I plan to expand my portfolio as opportunities arise.

I don't respond to overall market conditions, as I don't rely entirely on the market for profit. I only buy properties where I can instantly create equity (by buying under market value, developing or improving, and/or obtaining favourable finance terms) and then hold.

Don't sweat the small stuff. Really.

I have really mixed feelings about NLP. My predominant sentiment is that it's just so creepy.

Anthony Robbins is a master at manipulating a crowd and creating mass hysteria, and he sure can pump a crowd. He works people up into such a state that they're going to feel great whatever he says, at least for a short while. But these techniques – which are very well known in social psychology – make me cringe. If you have valuable information to present, then you shouldn't need to use "psychological manipulation" to get your message across. 

And it seems to me – admittedly no expert and quite prepared to be corrected – that his whole message could be summarised as 1) decide what you want out of life, 2) believe that you can achieve it, and 3) go after it.

One big concern I have is that people who are into network marketing (I don't want to start on that, but let's say I'm far from a fan of MLM/NM) seem to love it, but they seem to go for years "improving" themselves, and very few of them ever seem to actually achieve anything tangible. They're always "in the process" of manifesting success, but I don't see too many results. And they use MLM/NM techniques to distribute the "free" seminar tickets, for crying out loud. And just the fact that somebody who'd be attracted to MLM would also be attracted to NLP makes me highly suspicious.

NLP also seems to be full of pseudo-science, which I loathe. Statements like "quantum physics has proved …" where the thing they're talking about – such as thoughts changing reality – has NOTHING to do with quantum physics. NLP fans also seem to love Dr Emoto's research showing that prettier water crystals form when you breathe on them saying positive words than negative words. PUH-LEASE!  And many NLP practitioners seem to be right into other junk science like alternative medicine, faddish nutritional supplements, and organic food.

And of course, if you've been through the NLP training, I'm sure you're already programmed to read my post and say "oh, she's so blocked and negative, I'm not going to allow her negative energy into my thoughts". Just like cults say about "non-believers". It seems very cult-like in many aspects.

Now, that's a lot of negative energy that I have towards NLP. The only thing countering all this negativity and arousing some curiosity in me is that I know a few people that I really respect who seem to advocate it. This intrigues me – these are people who seem to me to have no need for such a thing as NLP, as they're already very successful. I have no idea why they're attracted to NLP.

But perhaps there are some forumites out there who can enlighten me as to the attraction of these courses…. perhaps I'm really missing something. If I have it totally wrong, I apologise. I'm not meaning to be offensive – just sharing my sincere perceptions, formed over a number of years of interactions with those who've participated in NLP training.

If the contract never went unconditional, surely the real estate agent is obliged to release the deposit back to your friend immediately. (At least I think they would be in QLD.) It would be up to the vendor to take legal action to prevent release, rather than the onus being on your friend to try and get her money back. The default position if an unconditional contract falls over is the deposit being refunded.

The vendor may have "instructed the agent not to release the deposit", but I wouldn't have thought the vendor had the power to issue these instructions, ie no obligation on part of RE agent to comply. On what basis has your friend had previous advice that the vendor is entitled to withhold the deposit – is that when the RE agent thought it was because she missed the 4pm deadline? If so, advise the RE agent that the vendor's position is now that she did not make legitimate endeavours to obtain finance, in which case, that's not grounds for the deposit to be withheld; it's grounds for the vendor to pursue your friend in court (which I don't think they'll do anyway).

I've written a blog entitled "Developing the right property investing strategy for your circumstances" which I hope you find helpful as a starting point.

Milly, as much as I might feel sorry for Jack, I think you're being very unfair on the landlords. I'm not commenting on their technique, as it sounds like they could be nicer about it and they certainly should abide by the law, but in principle, I don't think it's fair to say that the landlords can't have access to their property because an old man lives in it. Jack's not their responsibility.

I truly hope Jack finds a fantastic support living environment that suits him better anyway.

I would always use a solicitor rather than conveyancer. The title search wouldn't show drainage problems, the "plumbing and drainage search" did. Always do all searches that could affect your decision to purchase – which is potentially all of them. Ask for advice and don't go stupid, but don't just do the absolutely minimal suite either.

It may be common practice to put off a lot of work until the contract goes unconditional, but it's a recipe for disaster. I bought a particular property a year ago, where six weeks after settlement we discovered enormous problems with drainage of the property which showed up in searches. My solicitor hadn't done searches until after the contract had gone unconditional, and even then hadn't provided me with the search results. Had I known about these problems prior to the contract going unconditional, I may have been able to renegotiate the price, or I would have made sure that I didn't get a finance approval. (As it was a problem that cost nearly 20% of the property's value to fix.)

In QLD, anyway, it is professional negligence to act in this manner and in contravention of the QLD Law Society conveyancing protocol – though it's still a common practise. For your own sake, insist on the searches being done, and seeing all the results, before going unconditional.

And to add insult to injury, because I'm a clever girl  and managed to develop this property anyway and make a profit despite this disaster, my solicitor is negligent but my damages are assessed at nil – it doesn't cost him a cent! I can't prove how much less I would have paid if I'd known, and if I'd cancelled the contract, then I wouldn't have made the development profit. So the law says that his negligence caused me to make a profit that otherwise I wouldn't have made. The whole sorry debacle will be in April's API – it nearly sent us bankrupt.

I'm with Jaffasoft insofar as I wouldn't bother trying to retrieve my $1, but I certainly wouldn't use the word "disgusting" to describe those who view things differently.  On principle, I would collect, I just can't be bothered with $1. If it were $10, I'd be more inclined to add $10 to the rent to compensate rather than chase it separately.

I think it's important to keep perspective; so many investors seem to be "penny wise and pound foolish". If we paid as much attention to structuring, having the right insurance, and purchasing the right property, then these issues (hopefully) wouldn't be deemed worth our attention. And I get that it's not "either/or", that you can do those big things properly and also get your $1, but it's about mindset. I don't want to exert any of my effort on trivia; I want to keep my eye on the big picture.

Kind of like how I don't believe in being frugal with small stuff – the mental effort/discipline required to save a few bucks on groceries or petrol could be far more profitably spent elsewhere, negating the need to be frugal with these items. (And yes, of course it's different if I actually didn't have enough money to pay for the groceries, but those in that situation presumably aren't on a property investing forum!)

Oh, mez67, I am sorry to hear that the house was in such bad condition. Thanks for sharing your situation with others so that hopefully they will learn the lesson cheaper than you did! I do hope that doing the subdivision retrieves the situation for you.