Apparently I'm considered "Rich" or "Loaded"...

[sash]

Hey at least you are honest.....I 100% agree with what you are saying.....the perceptions thing is huge in Sydney....where you are judged at every corner....

Love the story below.....it reminds of some of the total toss pots I have run into in the past. Some of the guys I work with are like that also....mortgaged to the hilt....and fancy 100k+ plus cars. ..2 kids in private schools costing 30k....mortgage of $1m+.....living in a $1.5-$2m home. To the outside the are the epitomy of success in corporate Australia. Most have incomes of 350-500k.

Look deeper and the stress from their job and juggling their finances is killing them!

Looks like you have decided to sell your PPOR...good on you to making a firm decision to move forward....

He is rich.

A $250k loan on a car says so.

Will it last though?

And, speaking of that - and you guys won't believe it, but if you don't believe me I'll give you the phone number of my r/e agent who is selling our PPoR - we have only had one low-ball offer on it....

And - I swear on my mother's grave this is true - he was a 50 something guy, going through a divorce, renting an apartment in Port Melbourne...and drives a Maserati.

He even drove down into the garage to see if the car would handle the transition from the road to the driveway, and down into the garage (bit of a slope).

He is a highly ranked dude at Foxtel, apparently.

You are right about perception though; we own a nice house, and we have our own business, and an IP...but we are flat broke most of the time (and we are not spenders - we are pretty sensible with spending - otherwise we would be bankrupt).

But most of our friends and family don't really know how bad it is because we don't say much, and all they see is the outside story.

 

[gottabespotless]

But yer perceptions are funny sometimes. May as well take advantage of them

Yes. It works the other way too.

I work a retail job - commonly associated with very low pay. I'm sure most of the customers I serve assume me to be living pay cheque to pay cheque; living on a can of spaghetti and struggling to pay off a second-hand car loan, such is the stereotype of someone working a low-skilled job.

The reality is that, although by no means rich, hubby and I are comfortable financially yet I believe that wearing my work uniform to open houses and saying what I do for a job has helped us when negotiating with agents when purchasing property - 'we can't afford to make a better offer...' I doubt the Maserati driver with his big salary job would be as successful at convincing the agent of the same.

Yes, perceptions - use them to your advantage.

 

[Scott No Mates]

I have known people who have returned a new roller as it didn't fit in the driveway. They settled for a Merc.

So checking out the driveway and garage is just one more tick on the due diligence and something else that the agent has to work with when negotiating.

 

[lizzie]

Our best friends know about it, but not the size. Mind you, we met through a forum meetup, years ago now.

awwwww - that must make me on the outer outer circle of "best friends" ... but honestly ... I don't care how many properties you have - and I assume you feel the same way.

It's about the friendship and life itself - not a comparison or bragging game

These are the sort of people the OP (and other investors) need to find as friends ... those that are interested in what you are doing in life - not what you own/owe

 

[skater]

I don't care how many properties you have - and I assume you feel the same way.

It's about the friendship and life itself - not a comparison or bragging game

That is exactly right!

 

[evisional]

I believe that Beachy tried to discuss about 'other people perception'. He did not mean show-off his wealth. He does not consider him as 'rich'. Posters should read through all his posts and clarification.

 

[sash]

Thats how I took it also......perceptions of wealthy by other was the discussion point...

I believe that Beachy tried to discuss about 'other people perception'. He did not mean show-off his wealth. He does not consider him as 'rich'. Posters should read through all his posts and clarification.

 

[rugrat]

It's funny, but the older I get, and the larger our household income gets, the higher the threshold for 'rich' rises in my mind. I've done 'dirt poor' and now I've well and truly exceeded my old ideas of rich. I certainly don't feel like I am though. But its becoming easy to see why the pollies lose touch with the average joe. Its a bit like childbirth. You forget most of the pain, and what you remember is only fuzzy memories.

 

[LoneWolf]

As someone has once suggeted to me, what does it matter what other's think of you, because it does not matter

Just be grateful of what you have, that's what i do

 

[dabbler]

Many people are by and large stupid.

Frankly, my advise would be do not reveal to anyone who does not need to know, the state of your affairs or business.

PS I remember a person whom I considered a friend when I was young, who was trying to get in a fist fight with me cutting to the chase, his reason for wanting to fight was that I was "rich" due to where I lived, what this knitwit did not know, is, he had more than me, if I needed money for something I had to work, or borrow and pay back to parents......his family paid for his car ! I worked for mine.

 

[WilliamB]

Yes. It works the other way too.

Oh absolutely, I meant that purely generically.

Yep, I remember years ago at a Brad Sugars presentation he was talking about how, even though he drove an S-something merc tank, he bought a hilux and always used to go to property inspections/deals in that because of how he believed he was perceived. That always stuck with me.

I also have a couple of mates that buy far cheaper cars than they would like, because of how they believe their clients would perceive them, so they don't trigger the "am I paying you too much" query

It's a funny old world sometimes.

 

[MIW]

Hey at least you are honest.....I 100% agree with what you are saying.....the perceptions thing is huge in Sydney....where you are judged at every corner....

Love the story below.....it reminds of some of the total toss pots I have run into in the past. Some of the guys I work with are like that also....mortgaged to the hilt....and fancy 100k+ plus cars. ..2 kids in private schools costing 30k....mortgage of $1m+.....living in a $1.5-$2m home. To the outside the are the epitomy of success in corporate Australia. Most have incomes of 350-500k.

Look deeper and the stress from their job and juggling their finances is killing them!

Looks like you have decided to sell your PPOR...good on you to making a firm decision to move forward....

Yes I have similar story to tell, the next door neighbour, a celebrity sports person, has private business, is on TV from time to time, yet rents the place. Kids are in private schools, they drive expensive cars, wife travels frequently with friends, they have a bookkeeper, a cleaner, a gardener, yet the kids tell me they cannot afford to buy the place and cannot own a pet...
On the other hand I have few extremely wealthy friends, and yet there's nothing to show off.....great, beautiful and kind people they are.
So I suppose that's the life we live in now, but I always say to my family and friends, they either take me or like me as I come as I do not plan to change for anyone, we are only people after all.

 

[BayView]

I also have a couple of mates that buy far cheaper cars than they would like, because of how they believe their clients would perceive them, so they don't trigger the "am I paying you too much" query

One of my friends has been the Club Pro at a well-to-do private Golf Club for 20 odd years.

He has bought the same car - silver Ford Falcon every time the car was up for renewal, just so the Members of the Club don't notice he has a new car, and so they don't take that attitude towards him.

The joke is though; he doesn't earn all that much...maybe between $80K and $100k per year. Most of his Members would earn at least that and quite a few earn well above that.

Not a lot for the hours he works and the responsibility....yet it's OK for a doctor etc to drive around in top-end cars and we don't seem to begrudge them for it (at least; I don't).

 

[dabbler]

Just fell over this...lol

 

[willair]

After looking at that,you would never be late for work after waking up beside someone like that..

 

[attrill]

Rich, poor, it's all relative.

If you want to feel rich, go and hang out in a third world country. If you want to feel poor, go and hang out with Gina Rinehart. (if you could)



just a thought..

 

[JDP1]

OP- the Ss forum is closing soon. Before it closes, can you give us an update on the progress you have made?

 

[beachy]

Still same ol, same ol...all good.

Shame about the site finishing...sent a message to Ian Somers thanking him and Jan for a great job done in creating the best property forum in Australia, and actually received a thank you back, so I felt quite chuffed by that.