Like most newbie’s starting off I’ve tried to educate myself in the area of property investing. I believe in getting opinions/strategies from many different sources (books/forums/websites/talking to people) and putting together a plan that fits in with your own requirements. Amongst many others I’ve read Steve’s book and I’ve read Michael Yardney’s, both of which I found educational, helpful and inspiring. I’ve listened to Steve’s CD’s from the masterclass which I firmly believe is an amazing educational package and totally inspiring.
From all this I had a clearer understanding of my goal and what steps I needed to undertake in order to achieve it by using the various investment philosophies and finding a middle ground that I was comfortable with given my limited experience. I found an area that had potential, good growth and have been researching all the things needed to give me an informed opinion. I was ready to begin!!
Then on the weekend I read “Truth about positive cashflow properties†by Margaret Lomax and I must say it has shaken my confidence. Within the first chapter she was already bagging people like Steve and I could tell from the comments she made about that she really had never really bothered to investigate what was being said at these seminars. I have always steered firmly away from consultants and advisers whose first course of action was to bag the opposition. To me that is not good business. However I believe it is still a good thing to listen/read everyone option in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of what is out there.
Whilst some of her points are valid on trusts and line of credit financing I found the book to be completely uninspiring. It has shaken my confidence and now clouded my thoughts. Rather than inspiring me it has done the opposite.
I am unsure of where to start. I am thinking this morning of perhaps finding a buyers agent to help me get started. To point me firmly in a direction. I think the best thing at this point is to listen to the masterclass CD’s once again and get back the inspiration that was stolen from me. I am determined not to let the “dream stealers†rob me of what I wish to attain. Steve I want to thank you for providing excellent resources and motivation. With your help and the help from like minded people in this forum I wil keep the Dream Stealers from my door.
The reason so many people make and lose money is because everyone adopts their own strategy. People make money in the most rediculous unheard of ways (eg the guy who traded a paperclip).
Point is, everyone has an opinion and everyone can make money. The trick is finding your niche. Yours may be +ve cashflow or you may find you do better buying and fixing up. Either way you need to approach investing with a methodical eye.
I have not read the book you talk about, but maybe this lady just fails to find the right +ve cashflow properties?
And just to confuse things the same set of statistics can be used to both support or reject your own strategy.
There is no one silver bullet, find yours and follow it!
Where to start? Determine how you want to invest and then ask the forumers here for their thoughts.
If you really want to have a go at +ve cashflow, start your search, find some potentials and ask away. Wont cost you a cent!
BUT NEVER GIVE UP!
Hi Island! Nice comments. I too have read both books, and enjoyed both. Steve’s is a lot more gung-ho, Margarets more slow and steady. I admit to feeling the same way a bit, and while I admit it was essentially Steve’s book (the second one, with the MAPPERS in it) that got us fired up, there are so many ‘seminar junkies’ that have been ripped off blind by armchair property ‘guru’s’ that a few warning don’t go astray. A lot of the so called ‘easy money’ some of these property books mentioned is long gone, and you can be left feeling a bit out of it if the elusive ‘killer property’ cannot be found. A lot of the members here have stated you simply have to get out from the office, and go hunting, scouring and doorknocking. Good, but depending on your circumstances can be most difficult? Naturally this is my personal opinion, but based on some I have seen, is FORGET the financial planners. (Although Margaret Lomas I would exclude from that based purely on what I have read) and take in whatever info you can from books like you have read, others that have an interest in real estate, and then make a start…small and simple for the first one or two. We have settled for stuff that is a few dollars casflow negative (only $7 a week) but it got us started, and with the 3 or 4% growth so far will return money down the track. Don’t get discouraged though…….As Matthewc73 said, get your own little strategy worked out, and you will not look back. There are a few forum members doing this full time now (although a lot of them drive ordinary cars but that’s another story!) against what a lot have said, and it sounds like they ae going really well…..gotta take my hat off to them. ANyway, enough waffle from me……let us know how you go! [specool] PS If you really want to get fired up, check out Paul Connors latest book, get real get rich (No I don’t agree with it all, or know him, but if you want motorvational, that should take care of things for you after Margaret Lomas book!)
I know how you feel, islandgirl. I’ve done most what newbies do to arm themselves with knowledge.
I felt my foundation shaken, as most would like to believe Positive Cashflow Properties motivation and its worth in gold. Then, along came others with their refined researches and due diligence proved building wealth is a personal thing (with their experience come the judgment); there’s neither a right nor a wrong way to approach it. In the end, the well informed (not the faithful follower) will achieve their goals in a timely manner and justify to have done so with their successes.
I’ve bought, read and listened to Steve’s materials. Personally, I have to stress, I agreed with Lomas and Wakelin approaches and have accepted the fact the positive cashflow properties are rare (and may lack growth potential in the long term). So, it is imperative one needs to set the right goal using the right asset class (not just properties, I hate to say) to arrive at the short, medium, and long term projections that matters.
Given that I’ve been forwarned by my accountant, I have decided to go into property in the coming months with my eyes open and regardless of the market performance. As Wakelin puts it; “Slow and Steady wins the race”. Hmmm, better stop here… it sounds a bit like a testimonial for their services.
Please keep an open mind and listen to many opinions to make an informed decision that you can call it yours.
CT
Hi Islandgirl
I have read 20 or so books on property investing (including Steve and Margaret) and attended many seminars. Both Steve and Margaret come across to me as single approach prescriptive “religious zealots” to me.
My suggestion would be to keep absorbing information, keep reading and realise that no-one is “right”.
There are many property millionaires in Australia and elsewhere who did it their own way. Some stick to a single formula they know, others mix and match. Some only do houses, some only do apartments. Some only do positive and some only do negative gearing deals. You need to do your sums and find your own level of comfort.
Unless you are really stupid (or let yourself get badly conned) then it is hard to lose money if you do your due diligence with every deal. As always buyer beware and if it is too good to be true – it probably is.
Suggest you pick up a subscription to API magazine and read the many ways other ordinary folk have got into property investing in dozens of different ways and made a success of it.
Cheers
Yes I would definately agree and that is the big think I have learnt thru reading the various approaches. Everybodies individual circumstances are different and the key the good investing is picking out the approach or combination of approaches that are going to work best for your circumstances.
And once again, knowlegde is power. By reading and understanding the various philosophies your toolbox is a lot bigger.
Hi
My husband and i read lots before starting out and we gave Margaret Lomas a miss because A .it was hard to find positive cash low with good capital growth and B not what we needed at our pont in time in the investment market . jan Somers Book was the one we could relate to and started us on the investment path. there is no right and wrong and we have done many things the books say not to do but it has all worked out. There are many paths that can lead to the same end, it depends how comfortable and confident you feel as to which way you go. Oh and if things dont work out dont give up just try again another way
CheersHi IslandGirl,
I've read all Margaret's books and have been a Destiny client for over 3 years. My investing is only done her way these days and it has worked well.
I can't remember her ever slagging anyone off; she does always give you the heads up on the different strategies, dangers, benefits etc around.
She is nothing but professional and has lots of integrity. She has even won Australian Business Woman of The Year.
Her method is safe, sure, long-term investing. She doesn't sugar-coat or beat up her philospophy, hence it may come across as uninspiring.
I found it the opposite; here was a way to get rich safely and securely and with no hit to my hip pocket.That inspired me.
Margaret Lomaz and McKnight are 2 very different investing strategies one has a target audience of mum/dad keep it safe and work in a job all your life type investing and the other is more aggressive and geared towards making money now and replacing your income. Neither is right or wrong.
Thats why you need YOUR OWN PLAN, if you have a solid plan in place you can very easily dismiss what is not for you without getting confused with every persons different strategies. It took me a total of 2 minutes to work out that reading lomas books would not be worth my time it does not fit in with my own investing strategies. Some McKinights fit in but not all and the only reason I know this is because I know where I'm heading!
Start with the end in mind and work out what you want to achieve first before working out the means of transport to get there. Catching a bus is not for everyone!
Hi, Islandgirl
It is definitely important to figure out what is it you want from RE investing; it is capital growth, earning a cashflow to replace earned income, want to be filthy rich… from there, the types of strategies would tend to be determined by what you want.
My partner and I are finally looking around for our first home, checking out the suburbs to see what we can get. My very close aunt, who is a big time fan of negative gearing, offered to help by putting my name down on a negative geared brand new property. Being RE virgins, we agreed despite doing our minimal Due Diligence and knowing the amount of negative gearing involved, and later realising that having that property did not suit our purpose of RE investing at the first place. Bless my aunt, though. She later told us she wanted the property, so having my name down is a 'just in case I no longer want it'.
So, now we know that when we look at RE, we have to keep in mind that for our personal situation, we are going for property that will help us make money, money that will eventually replace our earned incomes so that we can work because we want to, not because we have to.
Most important to know what you want out of investing, as that will shape your investment thoughts and strategies.
All the best
Daniel Lee
islandgirl
I doubt you could class Margaret Lomas a dream stealer. I'd say she's more like the voice of reason. I tend to agree with most of the comments in this post about finding a strategy to suit you. When you are inexperienced you don't want to fall into the trap of becoming a romantic. This is when you take everything you hear, particularly at seminars, as gospel.
You need to have goals to inspire you, but don't make them so unrealistic that you set yourself up for disappointment. I think newbies have a tendency to go to seminars and read books, then pluck a strategy and expect it to work anywhere and anytime. Never underestimate the amount of knowledge and experience required to apply these strategies and be successful. It's not going to happen immediately following a seminar or having read a book. Further knowledge and years of experience are necessary.
Some people get lucky (so do lottery winners). They happen to start out when the market is about to boom. They then think they are geniuses and gush to everyone how easy it is. This is not a blueprint for investing success. Good fortune is a good thing to have, but long term you are going to need more than that.
Forget all the hype that screams at you from magazines and promotional material. A lot of this is just crap. Be realistic about what you can achieve and take it step by step. As you progress, if you find yourself becoming very good at what you do, then great continue to take the next step and make haste slowly.
Will leave you with one further thought. Let's say you have a dream to become a best-selling author. If I put it to you that you better have a backup plan and your chances might be slim, would you call me a dream stealer or the voice of reason? However, my comments should not deter you from your dream to write a book.
"Those who say it cannot be done should not get in the way of those who are doing it" – my favourite Chinese proverb.
Regards, Tracey in Brisbane
To be truly educated in anything, including property investing, you should be exposed to all points of view. You should toss some of these ideas around with like-minded people who can then help steer you in the right direction. Islandgirl, I know that this is an old post but I was recently going through what you went through in August 2006. I had read books written by Jan Somers, Steve McKnight, John Fitzgerald and Dymphna Boholt. I had gone to seminars and listened to Margaret Lomas, Michael Yardney and the Reno Kings. Like others in this post, I didn't notice Margaret or anyone else bag someone who has got a different investment strategy. However, I must say that I still got very confused.
The good thing is that I meet regularly with 5/6 others who are at my stage of investing. They have no hidden agendas and have been terrific sounding board. In fact, I had breakfast with 4 of them this morning and had a great time discussing some of the ideas that we have gained from books, seminars and DVDs. Without this group, I wouldn't have had the confidence to buy the properties that I have over the last 2 years.
You know there is such a thing is information overload where you are thrown so many ideas that you become too unsure to act. I know someone who has gone to seminar after seminar , a shelf full of books and hasn't made a single investment.
4 years ago I jumped in totally ignorant and bought 2 properties in SEQ. Both have doubled in price but I was lucky, I didn't have a strategy in place and had no real goal, Just a vague thought of financial security for my kids and I.
I have a mix of 'money tree' CF+ and negatively geared but high growth properties. I really believe that it is the high growth properties that are the real winners but it doesn't hurt to have a foot each side.
Milly has beaten me to the punch but I whole heartedly agree with her. It is so easy to become overwhelmed with all of the information on hand in regards to Property Investing.
I think most of us would like that first step to be devoid of as many mistakes as possible and so the more we research the more we learn of the many many different ways of investing in property and achieving our goals. Trouble is, often the advice can be conflicting and you can stand on the edge of the cliff just waiting for conditions to be perfect. That's where I am at the moment. Standing on a cliff, waiting for all conditions to be just so. I could be up here a long time…but I'm determined to jump early in 08.
Of the three people I personally know who have invested in property, not one of them has been to a seminar. None have read any book on PI and only one has ever picked up a copy of API. They've all just jumped and learnt on the job. Yes they've made mistakes, yes they've done it tough at times but all are in a much better position now than they were before embarking on their investing.
Phil
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