End of an Era

Hello Ian and Jan, Sim and all others who have created and contributed so much to Somersoft over the years:

I was introduced to Somersoft by some buyer agent customers of mine (now, that's certainly another era!) and so became Somersoft Member #20, officially joining this version of the Board 1st March, 2001 although I had been posting for a short while on previously versions of the Forum

I bought all of Jan's books and have suggested to many people that they may find Building Wealth Story by Story to be not only entertaining but significantly helpful in their investment journey

For myself, what can I say?

Somersoft became so much a part of my life that at times I felt as if I was glued to the computer. Not only have I made good friends through the Forum but I have also developed a whole career: Because of Somersoft, I discovered Mortgage Broking in 2003 at a time when few Australian loans were written through Brokers, and to my amazement am still writing loans in 2015!

And some of my Customers have come from the Forum, which I found very humbling and was always grateful for. Thank you. And some have become good friends, for which words will always be insufficient.

The Somersoft Forums have been beautifully managed, administered and moderated, with good manners, respect and an inherent truthfulness sadly lacking in many other groups or forums. Jan's books and Ian's Investment Programs did not exactly amount to commercialisation of the board and we have been able to enjoy a unique, ad free environment over the past 16 years.

To my fellow posters, thank you for your contributions, your wit and cynicisms, your examples of what to do and what not to do and all things great and small to do with property investing

To Ian and Jan, Sim and all the Moderators over the years, thank you for making this uniquely Australian space possible. Who would have thought you would have been providing this facility so graciously and for so long?

It is indeed the End of an Era, and while we can all move on, let us not rush away without reflecting on how important the Somersoft Forum has truly been.

May the road rise to meet you, and until we meet again

Lotsa love
Kristine
And OO, thanks for taking the time to let me know, I appreciate the opportunity for one last post!!

Hear hear, very eloquently put . My sentiments exactly.thanks
 
The quality of advice by industry experts is a wonderful feature of this website. For some time I have been advising people with property questions to post here in the certain knowledge the answers would be accurate. Many thanks to those that made it happen. Leaving the website online read only is an excellent idea, and may provide some historical perspective in 50 years as the 2015 Greek-Euro crisis lingers and Sydney property is 80 times the average annual pay.

If I had to choose one word to describe this website it would be "trust".
 
Even though I was an infrequent and late member, this community inspired me to continue to grow and give, so thank you very much for that opportunity!
Wishing lots of health, happiness and success to all that allowed for contribution and that contributed!:)
 
I am speechless !

I cannot believe Somersoft is coming to a end !

I wish to thank for everyone for contributing to the forum in making it a success it is today. Special mention to Beanie Girl, RetireRich101 and Max for your help.

I see everyone at Property Chat !

Andrew
 
What a shame, it has been enjoyable to be here from learning how to buy my first PPOR to on going financial resources. I'm confused though that it would not be sold to someone else to take it over. From a financial side it must be worth a bit if marketed right? Forums can sell for millions that dominate an industry. it's like giving away a few IP's.
 
I'm confused though that it would not be sold to someone else to take it over. From a financial side it must be worth a bit if marketed right? Forums can sell for millions that dominate an industry. it's like giving away a few IP's.

This was answered in the FAQs in the second post in this thread.
 
I wanted to say "thank you" to Jan and Ian and Sim and everyone who has made Somersoft such a valuable second home for so many of us here (and it seems to the many lurkers and readers who don't post or join).

I was almost convinced I should avoid the new forum (for about ten minutes) :D but it is sad to know this one is coming to an end.

Thanks to all of you :).
 
Thank you to Ian and Jan and everyone who made this forum possible. It's been life changing in so many ways.

  • New friendships formed
  • New skills and knowledge
  • Values challenged
  • Ideas and goals crystalised
  • Strategies created
  • A place to share triumphs and tribulations.

I am happy to hear the posts with all their wisdom, friendship and humor will live on and continue to shape people's lives for years to come.

Wasn't expecting to feel so sentimental.

The end of an era. *sob*
 
Wow, I can't believe this is the end. It was only the beginning for me! As a young investor Somersoft has been so helpful in so many ways. Thank you Ian, Jan and Sim. Also would like to thank Rixter, Redom and Michael X for helping me on my journey.

See you all on PropertyChat!
 
A very big thank you to Jan & Ian Somers. Many years ago when we were living in Sydney, and newly engaged, we received a flyer in our letterbox about a financial planning seminar. Sure why not, I thought, nothing to loose. We attended the evening, which was quite average. But we received a free copy of Building Wealth through Investment Property. Wow- this is gold I thought.
Then proceeded to scour the Sydney bookshops for Building Wealth in Changing Times and More Wealth From Residential Property. We even had the wonderful opportunity of seeing Jan speak in Sydney. That was great.
Fast forward 16 years, five children and living in six countries around the world, and I still love those books and the fundamentals of property investment.
I've increased my book collection 100 fold and met some wonderful people along the way. While I haven't contributed significantly to the forum over the years, I've absolutely loved the wealth of information and knowledge.
It's been invaluable.
Thank you very much
Elizabeth :)
 
Just adding my voice to thank Jan and Ian for the forum, and all those many people who have contributed to the forum over the years. May you all prosper.
 
Really sad to see you guys go! It was such a good, clean and quality forum that Australia had for so many years! Why don't you check with Whirlpool forums on the business model that is sustaining them and get some ideas to keep this going! Anyways, looking forward to join and continue the legacy you guys brought along at property chat form! thanks again and good luck!
 
This truly is a sad moment for Australian Property Investors. I hold Somersoft in the highest regard as it really is Australia's number one forum for all things property.

Thank you so much to Jan & Ian, the admin and mod team, the long standing and frequent contributors and every member that has been a part of this community.

Truly devastated to see this site go into cryostasis.
 
Thanks to the Somers, Sim and the moderators. I haven't been around much lately due to being occupied with other ventures and look forward to contributing and learning on the new website. This site and more importantly the people behind it have contributed very positively to much more people than they probably realise myself very much being one of the benefactors. Lets go with the flow and back Sim to make the new site an even better success.
 
Much appreciation to Jan, Ian and the mod team led by Sim.
Only 7 yrs on here for me but my time on SS has been one of the inspiring forces behind my property success. At the time of joining I was holding 1 ppor, a duplex and a block of dirt. I just calculated that my net worth has more than tripled since I joined this forum. I hope to continue on in the new forum and be able to give as much as I learn.
Thanks for the support, education and debate.

Cheers, RS
 
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