Lifecorp

Heh Rob good for you and welcome to the forum.

Hope you enjoy your time with us.

Hello Garry once again, This will be my last comment on this thread. I do not doubt your comment in telling us "phil" is a really nice guy. If you want to deal with these people then please proceed that is your choice. One question I have is how certain are you that the properties he is presenting "stack" up and what process does this company do to match the property investment cash flows with the individual client. Please call TDFT and they will tell you that if he does not have a license he is acting as a buyers agent selling cheap? properties which requires a license to act in this capacity (you can call it any name you like but if it looks like a dog smells like a dog and barks like a dog there is a good chance it is a dog) … I stated before that you are a sophisticated investor due to your qualifications (ex-vet 55 on a disability pension) however TDFT and ACCC are more interested with "unsophisticated investors" being advised by unlicensed sales people in areas they are not qualifed Example: Yesterday I was invited to inspect a managed resort development in Nelsons Bay that was taken over by the liquidator and was advertised as 40% discount … sounds great ????? There are 120 units in the complex and 25 were in the rental pool the rest are for sale and the development is 4 years old. The occupancy rate last year was 73% over 25 units and the units averaged 30,000 net income at about $300,000.00 each some much cheaper. There was a mortgage broker there with 10 clients trying to convince them to buy and he was adding $20,000.00 on the discounted price as a fee for finding this great investment … the liquidator told me he will not get paid unless he can show a RE license … no more on that. We are in a recession right that will get worse b4 it will get better, IMHO. Nelson Bay is loaded with managed apartments therefore lots of competition. If they sell another 50 and they get put into the rental pool what pressure will this apply to the 73%/25 last years occupancy rate? After the inspection the 2 people I had with me and myself walked into 7 real estate offices and spoke with sales staff and owners – about one in three apartments in the area are up for sale by executives and investors under pressure because of the tough times, plus the occupancy rate in the area has dropped by 50% as stated by the agents. The mortgage broker did not disclose to his buyers that the current occupancy rate has dropped by 50% (section 54 trade practices act) the broker did not visit one single agent in the local area (why is that I wonder) If you are buying from an unlicensed person get them to sign a person financial guarantee that if the properties don't rent and you need to sell it then they will buy them back from you. You also need a detailed letter of understanding from the sales person about the figures they present to you and get these guaranteed as well – if they are that confident that the property is a ripper deal then they won't have a problem guaranteeing them – or Garry is this being negative, that's an old sprooker spiel anyway. The question here is would you buy one of the apartments I described? … I wouldn't. The mortgage brokers clients were thinking that they were getting a bargain (fools gold) and were all young unsophisticated investors dripping from the mouth. Garry the broker was a really nice guy just like "phil" but IMHO was driven by the fee and not statistics about the true state of the region and the possible mess he could be getting his clients and friends into. With "proper" education and qualifications a licensed person is trained and is also responsible to evaluate an investment for his/her client or investor. The broker was beautifully dressed and well spoken and had good knowledge of finance but in my opinion he knew nothing about due diligence. Good luck Garry with your decisions and investment choice and others as well … I have a saying well one of many but this one is appropriate here I believe. The money you have today comes from what you did in the past – the money you have tomorrow comes from the decisions you make today. Einstein said: you cannot expect to get a different result in life if you apply the same thinking that got you into the problem in the first place … change your thinking change your outcome. Philip Sigglekow

we need help we are a family mom dad and 5 kids we have 50k deposit and have put a deposit on a property ,,sale price of 110k …we are on a pension and get 1915.96 per f/night ..we need 60k ….we dont qualify for bank finance ….we can pay 350 per week …..we have been renting at 350 per week for many years ….the property we are trying to buy is able to generate at least 300 per week …we would pay any monies we make straight of the loan ..we own a toyota parado 2004 grande ..and a 1996 musso combined value at 50k ..we would sell when we got over to our new place in wa …we dont wont to sell them in a fire sale as we wouldnt get true value …monies for car sales would be paid of loan …we have our freinds comming with us and thay can pay 200 p/week which makes weekly paments at a min of 550 per week ..we are eligable for the 14k first home buyers grant ..that will be paid of the loan asap …we also have a 1988 isusu furnature truck that is worth at least 10k we will sell that as soon as we move over to wa ..we dont wont to sell till then as we would then have to pay for a removalist and thay quoted 8.5k ….pleas help ///////ph paul 0408819344 …ps can pay 15 % interest

Hi Philip,
Sorry for delay. Have spent weekend in Sydney at Rich Dad, Poor Dad 'Seminar' and just returned. (Will review pathetic seminar in another thread)
Anyway Philip I don't disagree with you comments on Nelson Bay. I used to fish there 30 years ago and that's all I know about it so won't comment on 'that' deal.  The events as you tell them are a great reason for the regulations/licensing rules but Lifecorp to date have proven to me to date to be nothing more than just a 'Lazy Man's' researcher.  The proposal shown to me is exactly what I would do myself in seeking deals only they've identified the area/property etc and one the work for me.  However, again I'll repeat I am only so far into the process and still investigating.  They might yet hold required licenses. I don't know that and won't till I get to ask or call TDFT.  Even so it's a learning event to go along and find out what they have to say and to date everything they have claimed has been shown to be true. This is NOT a recomendation or a statement that everything they say in future will be true.
To directly answer your 2 questions;
1.how certain are you that the properties he is presenting "stack" up – Well when presented the property I started my due diligence. I have researched RP Data, Cencus data, compared with like properties on the web, have a personal friend (a Real Estate Licensee for 35 years) look using his resources and spoke with my brother who grew up in the town about the area etc (I didn't due to a family split) .  So far the property compares well.  There are some cheaper deals available but these are not brand new houses. There are some dearer ones as well.  This goes for rents and prices.
2.what process does this company do to match the property investment cash flows with the individual client. – Lifecorp do nothing in this regard.  They sent me to an independant mortgage broker to have the finances looked at.  The Broker (who has been here in NQ for many years) came up with several 'plans' and some recommended instutions to borrow from (in exactly the same way as all brokers do).  With my permission this broker told lifecorp that I would qualify for 'X' amount with 'Y' down and 'Z' repays with several banks and CU's.   I should add here that while I thanked the broker I advised them that I would stick with my own bank as the manager there has stood by me many times in the past. (Please no attacks on my bank this time – they have NOTHING to do with this arrangement)  This allowed Lifecorp to present a few brand new houses in a range that is in the bracket I can afford and also in the prime 'investment category'  (ie 4bed, 1 car, 2 bath $300k – $400K). The property was presented as a 9 page Excel printout not that different to Jan Sommers PIA spreadsheet and others I have seen.  I have similar software and tested the figures and they stack up.  The extraneous data (vacancy rates, median prices, forecasts etc) also gel with my researched RP data etc.
So far no-one has asked me for any money other than my initial $275. If I had done the work to find, research plan to this level it would have cost me far more than the $275 in money, time and effort.
Regarding wealth4life.com's comments I agree that this has nothing to do with the NB deal but while Philip has correctly raised a legitimate issue about licenses for me this is about informing others what I know about Lifecorp and how they operate not about "sales people greedy on getting commission".

OK, its been a while but here is an update on MY dealings with Lifecorp – THIS NOT A RECOMMENDATION JUST MY OPINIONS AND A FACTUAL ACCOUNT OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED.

2 days ago I settled on a property shown to me by Lifecorp. EVERYTHING they have spoken of has rung true though I am yet to receive the cashback (that many devlopers offer the public) that Lifecorp negotiated.  It's only been 2 days now.
The figures that Lifecorp provided me more than stack up.  They were conservative and I now have a cashflow positive property with repays of $315pw and rental income of $340pw before any deductions.
I don't kow if the solicitor that Lifecorp recommended was any cheaper than any other but they knew the deal and the exchange and settlement went smoothly.
I did NOT take up the Property Managers that Lifecorp recommended as I believe I personally got a better deal with another.
I did NOT take up the finance options shown to me by the mortgage broker that they recommended.
These decisions were all mine and Lifecorp is happy with them. (in fact they are already showing me more deals!)
I believe that the deal I got was sweeter than if I had approached the developer/sales team individually (as proven by a friend I sent out to check) and the inclusions provided are comprehensive.

If I have any misgivings it is that this process seemed too easy.  Being used to doing all the legwork myself I felt a bit 'left out' of the process.

Finally, did Lifecorp get a commisssion?  I believe so however I have 2 things to say about this.
1. If they did the work of lining all this up why shouldn't they get something?
2 Frankly I don't care if they got a gazillion dollars out of it.  I have an investment deal that I am happy with and that I would/could have found myself if I did enough legwork.

Hi Volitans

Congratulations on the purchase of a property you are happy with.

I agree with your comments about "who cares how much money they make".  I bought my first IP nearly six years ago for a grand total of $90,000.  I bought through a buyer's agent who charged $3,500 for finding the property.  At the time, everyone I knew told me I got ripped off and the agent was charging a huge commission for finding me a cheap property.  I then started researching the area where I bought the first property and went on to buy over 20 properties in that area, without using the buyer's agent.  Three years after my first IP purchase, my husband and I retired.  We were both under the age of 40.  I now do property development for the fun of it and we live a completely amazing life. 

Who cares how much the agent made?  I know I did extremely well out of the deal and am completely happy with the $3,500 I had to pay him.

Cheers

K

LOL!!! Good on ya ROBROK!!!

Perhaps it's just me, but I suspect 2 days may be too short a timeframe to assess the Lifecorp proposition.

Sorry, only saw the first page.  Didn't realise there was a conclusion in there somewhere.  So, Lifecorp get the thumbs up then?

At this risk of getting a solid head kicking from EVERYONE……you used their solicitor? And the other thing is you probably could have used the word "Lifecorp" a few more times!

D