Are we more savvy than we used to be ?

[XBenX]

In my rereading of the archives Ive noticed the trend of blantant advertising etc from investment groups, developers, seminar gurus etc which is thinly disguised as feedback from someone who has bought the good/service.

I thought this post was quite laughable :

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Re: Investor Clubs - my 2c worth
From: Robert
Date: 12/13/99
Time: 9:23:40 PM

I have just 2 days ago purchased my first of "hopefully many" IP. I went through an investment company called RAINE & HORNE INVESTMENTS. I completely understand your reservations about the "Dodgy" Investment companies in the QLD, Brisbane areas. Fortunately QLD has a few laws guarding investors. NOTE These laws only cover companies that are QLD based (a NSW/VIC based company are not subject to these laws).

One of the first is that a QLD based company is only allowed to receive a certain amount of commision. (These are also set for the other states but have been known to enter a grey area when it involves buying in another state). This is the main law protecting a potential investor in QLD.

But as I mentioned I have brought my first IP through RAINE & HORNE INVESTMENTS and will buy another one in 6 months time through them. As always DO your own research, I have lived in Brisbane for 10 years and know the area I purchased. But if you are intending on buying in Brisbane take a holiday up there and have a good look around first.

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My question is are we more savvy today ? Is that why these ppl no longer bother posting these thinly diguised advertisements anymore ? Maybe in the "old" days more ppl used to bite.

 

[XBenX]

Just to knock out my 100th post - maybe I work for Raine & Horne (sorry thats RAINE & HORNE) and this is just a clever way to advertise.

j/k's

 

[Mike]

Although that post does appear to advertise that group, the author is a long-time contributor to this forum and I don't think is associated with that group other than as a client. Just take it as an overzealous endorsement. One mention of their name would have sufficed.

Mike

 

[XBenX]

haha fair enough then, guess I choose the wrong example...

I thought the use of caps and repetition smelt of a fake ad type post. Never hurts to be skeptical of information i spose (as long you dont discard everything because of it thought)

 

[geoffw]

Mike,

I don't know if this is the same Robert who is now a wrapper and Freestyler etraordinaire- doesn't matter if not. If it is, it shows how much people can grow so quickly. If not, well, people can grow anyway.

So many people I have met in here have grown so much in such a short time. It's great to see. That's why we're here- to learn, and to get better in what we doo in theIP scene.

 

[Chris G]

It's now become........."I've just got back from FREESTYLERS. I love FREESTYLERS. They're putting on a FREESTYLEinar with a guy who's company has lost most of its value over the last 12mths!! It'll be great. Tickets to FREESTYLERS seminars are sooo hard to get. Better ring FREESTYLERS right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yours in FREESTYLERS
Rob

hehehehe......just stirring.....wonder how many people will dob me in to TW?....

Cheers
Chris

 

[Mike]

Yes Geoff, that post was done by Robert Forward and, as Chris humorously pointed out, he is still overzealous. Both Robert and TW (The Wife) did grow from this forum and others are also on their own personal growth journey. I also feel I have developed a lot of knowledge and self-confidence thru the forum. For a laugh I'll post a bit of one of my early posts which shows how nervous I was to post replies on certain topics.

Mike

 

[geoffw]

It would be interesting to look into the future- say four years- to see the posts from people who are just beginners at the moment.

 

[Lissy]

Hello everyone
Here I am on a balmy tropical island, sipping my umbrella drink (non alcoholic of course) and spending a moment or two checking my bank account balances (very healthy) and catching up with old friends to start the year 2007....
I like this idea, more more!!!!

 

[Mr Ed]

Geoffw,

It would be interesting to look into the future- say four years- to see the posts from people who are just beginners at the moment.

I sit here as that beginner and ponder at what I might learn over the next 4 years, if I can learn at the rate I’ve learnt over the last 4 months I’ll be one happy chappie.

Mr Ed.

 

[bundy1964]

Originally posted by geoffw
It would be interesting to look into the future- say four years- to see the posts from people who are just beginners at the moment.

GW your post count would be over 6k by then

After 4 years I think I would just be finishing my appretiship in IP's

I may of even bought Dales book and read it by then

bundy

 

[geoffw]

Heya Bundy,

If you haven't read Dale's manual by then (or even know most of the principles) you deserve to be shot

MrsW would have had something to say about the time I reach the 4K count you mention before four years

And I expect you to have had AT LEAST one property PA between now and then

 

[Mike]

Check out this exchange between a couple of newbies back in Feb 2001. Notice the complete lack of confidence in my reply. The best way to grow out of that is to keep posting and reading the posts by the seasoned forumites. Try answering questions that will stretch you even if you think others can give a better answer. Eventually your answers will improve and so will your enjoyment of the forum. Your investment techniques and strategies will improve as well. Just have a go.

Quote:

We are in the delightful situation now where we have a large amount of equity in our house (~$170000), a high disposable income, no debt and a nice bit of rental income coming in.

We are assessing our investment options from here and attempting to develop an ongoing investment strategy.

Given that we have such a large amount of equity available to us, I was wondering how best to make use of it.

The key is that we want to avoid negative gearing if at all possible.

My question to everyone is... what use is equity ?

What can I use it for (in relation to property investment) ?

The only thing I can think of is, if I can find a property (or properties !) that has a high enough yield... I can theoretically borrow 100%+ (using the existing equity) and still not be negatively geared.

Are there any other creative suggestions out there ?

Sim'

Hi Sim'

As a newbie, I generally avoid answering these sort of questions but I've got to get my feet wet sometime, so here goes:

As I understand it (thanks to the forum posts) you can either mortgage your home to the bank and use the equity for the 20% deposit required to avoid LMI on a 100%+ I/O IP loan in which case you are probably going to end up negatively geared but still able to leverage >$500,000.

Or, sell home and buy again, realizing a profit of $170,000. Use this to buy IP's at <100%, thereby positve gearing. Drawback of this method is amount leveraged will be considerably smaller than negatively geared option. How'd I do?

Regards, Mike

Hi Mike,

I think your post was technically accurate enough... don't be afraid to post ! People here are generally pretty good with gentle corrections when people make technical mistakes !! It helps us all learn ;-)

Yes, I am certainly looking at borrowing against my existing property to finance 100%+ of a new IP but I do want to be careful about -ve gearing, so I'm not rushing into that strategy. Rather than cross-collateralisation, I would have an equity loan on my existing property which would allow me to borrow 20% of the funds for a new IP and save me the mortgage insurance.

As for selling... that's definitely not an option, and not for any financial reasons ;-)

The property we bought was bought to live in... we spent 18 months searching until we found the "perfect" place, and then went all out to get it ! Fortunately after 18 months we knew what the value was and I think we got a bargain, but we were still prepared to pay in excess of 20K more that we did !!! There was a lot of emotion attached to the purchase, which we make no apologies for ;-)

Unfortunately, we only got to live in it for 9 months before I got offered an interstate job that I really wanted... so we moved out and got tenants in. Hence I became a property investor by default ! Since then, our tenants have helped us pay off our mortgage (we never actually think of it as an IP... we will be moving back into it in the next couple of years).

So as you can see... selling is unfortunately not an option. Recent valuation has seen a compound capital growth of over 8 percent per annum over the last three years... not brilliant, but not bad for Adelaide !!

Sim'

Feb 2001

 

[Sim]

Check out this exchange between a couple of newbies back in Feb 2001

Yeah, thanks Mike

From what I remember, I had been hanging around the forum for about 3 months at that point. Things have certainly changed for me from those days !

I do agree that your confidence has grown immensely since then - and we all appreciate your contribution !

 

[Kevmeister]

Wow... Feb 2001?

I guess it shows how quickly ones becomes learned in the ways of investing. I thought both Sim and Mike were endowed with decades of investing experience.

I think more importantly thought, you have both gone out and *done it*, and I am intending to do the same...

Now, I'm sure I submitted at least a couple of questions to the previous forums, but I just can't find any ...