Hi Giddo,

I don’t think that you have read the book too well, because some of the Mappers were buying property in cities, doing reno’s/subdivisions etc… and then selling.

Apart from NZ, nobody on the MAP were buying in “REMOTE or RURAL” areas, (some did buy in large regional towns).

The moral of most of the book was – “find a problem and fix it”. I think Steve was referring to cashflow properties, as properties that will make you money in a short space of time. Not longterm buy and hold and hope.

Good luck,

Del (ex mapper)..

Hi all,

Nobleone – as far as the Mill goes, there is only about 250 people working there these days, (unless it has changed recently), I believe it used to be somewhere around 3000 people a few years ago…

The population of Tokoroa is 15,000ish, and so the if the 250 or so working at the mill go on strike again, doesn’t bother me so much. I would love it to get back to the 3000 or so again, and the town to buzz again though.

Westan – that’s fine, I realise you were just comparing areas within Tok, and I fully concede that especially now that the boom has hit “almost” everywhere in NZ, why invest in towns with “problems” when there are other similar priced towns that “appear” to have much more going for them.

I guess it depends if your main criteria is for capital gains as well as cashflow. We invested in Tok, only for the cashflow, and we were lucky enough to have invested there in the early days, and have made some nice gains as well.

I like Tokoroa, and I feel there are other towns in the North Island that I would NOT invest in, no matter what, (such as Mangakino – near Tokoroa, and even Taurmanaui. A lot of people may disagree about that town, but that is why investing is a personal thing, and you shouldn’t follow the “herd mentality”….

Muppet, we will be in NZ in April again, and so I hope that you can save some of that lovely weather for us!! I will try to catch up with you this time. We will certainly be popping into Tokoroa.

Regards,

Del

Hi Loanwolf,

Yes, I can agree with the profile from Marisa…

It fits us almost to a tee!!!

We are leaving our large farming business in Vic and have bought a Queenslander 500 metres from the beach, to beat the stress etc….

We have 2 kids aged 6 and 7. We aren’t waiting until they leave school, because by then they may not want to leave their friends….

We shift this December.[biggrin]
It will be a LONG year![confused2]

Regards,
Del

Hi Matt,

How are the units going???
Good to see you back here….

(sorry most people won’t understand)!![biggrin]

Regards,

Del

Thanks Alex, I will have a read!

Cheers,
Del [biggrin]

Hi Kristine,

2 weeks vacancy is OK, and you should expect that in Invercargill.

Is the rent you are asking at the correct MARKET price?
What comments does the property manager have about your property?

I’d be trying to make my rental property there more attractive then the next vacant house there.

Does it have good heating, etc..
Is the garden low maintenance?
Is it in need of painting etc..etc..

Perhaps a bit of expense by you now, will help to rent it out. What about giving away 1st week rent free or something?

Good luck,
Del

Hi Zac,

I think that it is partly your PM’s fault for not contacting you earlier, but it is also partly yours for letting things get out of control.(sorry)…

We make it practice to keep in regular contact with all the PM’s and ring them AT LEAST once a month to find out how the tenants are going and making sure they are up to date with rent….

Once the PM’s know that you are REALLY interested, they will keep you in the loop and do it for you.

Good luck with chasing the money,

Del

Hi Aussie & all,

Basically I agree with you…

I don’t like that so many people attend one of Steve’s Seminars or something and they feel that they have to quit their jobs on Monday morning, to do “property fulltime”….[baaa]

People need to plan to “scale down”, not “shut down” in this kind of economic market.

Of course there are exceptions, and some people can make a real go of “property”, but many can’t.[confused2]
For many this “freedom” of quitting a job, will just cause hardship and disappointment.[blush2]

There is always time to do your “day job” and to be a “property investor” at the same time.

When you have a million or so, in REAL equity, then perhaps look at quitting.

Just my thoughts.[buz2]

Del

Hi Surfermark,

As for Australian Accountants, I can definitely recommend our accountant. (We invest in NZ as well as Australia).

He is based at Warragul in Victoria. About 1hr from the GPO.

His name is Paul Bright (director)
Armitage Downie
Accountants & Advisers
PH 03 5623 6322

He has been our accountant for 5 yrs and he has helped our business immensely. He is also great guy and an investor himself. He knows NZ well.

Let him know that Will & Del recommended him.

U gave spoken a fair bit to Steve McKnight & David Bradley’s accountant. He is also a great guy, easy going and very up with the tax rules.

His name is Mark Unwin
Williams Partners Pty Ltd
Southbank Melbourne
PH 03 9682 5288

Good luck with a good NZ Accountant!
We have been disappointed with ours of late.[confused2]

Del