Metropole Seminar in Perth

[gooram]

Did anyone here go to see Ed Chan and Michael Yeardney speak in Perth on Saturday?

I would be interested in your thoughts.

Because I paid to attend, I'm having trouble admitting to myself that the whole thing was one big advertisement for their services.

That being the case, how can the views about where the best place to invest is be balanced given that they only operate in Melbourne and Brisbane.

Michael starts by asking us why we should listen to him and goes on to explain his history in property and how he prides himself on timing the market. In fact the topic of the seminar was "how to catch the next property wave". So I wonder if he caught the last one in Perth, I suspect if he did he would have told all of us Perth people all about it to get some credibility.

I have no doubt he's good at what he does and he knows his local market, but I can't help but be skeptical of his views. Perhaps my judgement is clouded because I want to continue investing in Perth and he didn't tell me what I wanted to hear?

Anyway I'd love to hear what other thought of the presentation.

 

[yadreamin]

I went to this seminar in Perth 2 years ago and it doesnt sound like the info given at the presentation has changed much at all in that time.
Yes l too think its a big add for their services but that is how they get businesss is,nt it?
I know l wont be bothered attending again.


I too would like to continue investing in the Perth market, but the yeilds are very low and its hard to justify the investment.
I guess we have to get used to a much slower market than what we have had here in the last 4 years. Gotta love that CG though.
cheers yadreamin

 

[gooram]

I went to this seminar in Perth 2 years ago and it doesnt sound like the info given at the presentation has changed much at all in that time.
Yes l too think its a big add for their services but that is how they get businesss is,nt it?
I know l wont be bothered attending again.

I too would like to continue investing in the Perth market, but the yeilds are very low and its hard to justify the investment.
I guess we have to get used to a much slower market than what we have had here in the last 4 years. Gotta love that CG though.
cheers yadreamin

Absolutely!

So, were they upbeat about Melbourne and Brisbane 2 years ago? Saying that Perth had peaked and to send you money east?

What's that saying... "even a broken clock is right twice a day"

I'm only joking, I'm sure there was ,and is, a lot to be gained by taking heed to his advice, despite his bias. I guess there's no denying that Perth has peaked and pockets of Melbourne are in a rising market.

 

[yadreamin]

Absolutely!

So, were they upbeat about Melbourne and Brisbane 2 years ago? Saying that Perth had peaked and to send you money east?

YES

 

[paulie]

I went to the seminar last year, and the information was about the same as already mentioned.

I do like Michael Yeardney's approach and proposition more than your average east coast property spruiker (they seem to be a dime a dozen in perth at the moment - mostly off the plan apartments and greenfields house and land packages), in that he promotes buying dev sites and building on them with the plan to creating some instant equity for the client upon completion. He is upfront about the fees, from memory they where $35K roughly - which is a large chunk of money, but certainly in the realm of what you should be paying for a full service of identify/acquire and project manage a multi unit development.

Whilst I am not sure about the performance of the areas/suburbs selected, as I haven't done nor intend to do the research, and given Metropole only operate in two markets that is all they will or ethically can promote.

In truth the up side of any other Australian capital city market versus perth is going to be fairly strong at the moment if it is capital gains you are looking for, as the majority of the perth real estate market is struggling at the moment with very low buyers numbers/inquiry and a general market sentiment especially from property investors that property has boomed and won't show significant growth for a fair few years.

In short, I believe Metropole would be a better proposition for your money than any other east coast spruiker, if you don't have the time or inclination to do the research and buying yourself.

my 2 cents


Paulie

 

[Dazz]

I was part of a significant SS contingent that went to the Metropole seminar last year, where he stated that Perth was dying and everyone should head toward Melbourne cos that's where it's all at.

There was a good 8 or 9 of us there for the day and I was singularly unimpressed. I had a chat with Ed and after the chat he said he was embarrassed to be up there telling me about property investment and should sit down and let me take the microphone. Ed's presentation was enlightening for me so I didn't subscribe to that. I had a chat with Michael also but he wasn't interested.


I met Michael again at the property Expo recently held in Perth, and once again, he had no interest in chatting with me, after introducing myself, on the finer points of property investing, and basically said he was far too busy enlisting clients to chat with someone who didn't want to buy something from his stall.

Anyway, good luck to him, I'm sure he will continue to look after his clientele....but I won't be buying.

 

[ledd]

Hi Gooram,

I paid to go to the Perth seminar but by the time it arrived I got the feeling it was one big advertisement and decided not to attend. Your comments confirmed my suspicions and I'm glad I didn't waste my time. I just wish I didn't pay $75 for nothing!

Previous to the day I emailed Michael telling him I felt the numerous emails advertising the event had got to the point of spamming, especially since I already had a ticket.

In his response Michael made no apologies for the emails and defended his decision to do so stating he was first and foremost a businessman and that was how he sold tickets. He told me to delete them rather than get upset. Funny, but I didn't realise I was upset!? I thought I was offering feedback.

I also spoke to Michael at the Expo and found him distant but that's OK as I'm sure he had met a lot of people and it would be pretty hard to stay on top of things the whole time, I guess, so I didn't read too much into that.

However, I was chatting to Jack Henderson about investing in units in Melbourne. He informed me of the finer points of his strategy in between checking out and sometimes smiling to the women that walked past. I was a bit put off by that!

I've read Michael's two latest books. I really liked The Property Millionaire book and would recommend it but I think I ought to have stopped at the books.

That's my Metropole Experience in a nutshell!

Cheers,

Mark

 

[frehnejc]

Yes I agree, read the books you will get a lot of good information out of them and some further motivation, but just be wary of some of the hidden agendas of the books these guys write. The books are sometime just a primer for you to get more information on the services they provide.

 

[jaymm165]

I went to the expo and as a fairly new investor with our 2nd IP about to settle on Friday, I was interested in the talks on using equity to build an IP portfolio. Even though a lot of this is already covered in Michael's book, it was good to hear it was well and for $75, I was ok with that. One would have to be naive if you didn't think that there would be a sales pitch. And why shouldn't Micheal do that as any business person would.

However I don't plan on doing the big 3 or 4 day seminar as we can do things with the help of The Investor's Club and I happy with our results to date.

The only thing concerning me now is our plan of using our LOC for the short fall might not last if the government are going to crack down on lo doc and no doc loans, which is the way we would have to go for our next property and when one retires, unless the properties have all turned CFP, you would need no docs to draw down the equity. Or maybe I've missed something here?

Jay

 

[coopranos]

I paid to go to the Perth seminar but by the time it arrived I got the feeling it was one big advertisement and decided not to attend. Your comments confirmed my suspicions and I'm glad I didn't waste my time. I just wish I didn't pay $75 for nothing!

Never begrudge money invested in your own education - we get precious little opportunity over in Perth to listen to positive ideas from people successful in their particular field.
I find the hype-free attitude of MY quite refreshing when compared to our local ASPIREing residential property guru.
I do agree that there is a fair bit of advertising, but you never know who you might meet at one of these things, a new idea, a little bit more motivation, etc.
These guys ALWAYS end up doing sales pitches, so there is no point getting upset about it, if they didnt have something to sell they wouldnt be doing the rounds - there arent many Mother Theresas in the wealth creation industry!
Just take what you can get from it and be glad you did!

 

[gooram]

That's one thing I did get from it, motivation to push on and keep looking for ways to grow the portfolio.

Ed Chan was a big advocate of LOE. Throwing up the numbers on how one could retire by living of the equity on one investment property after 30 years.
You could literally see the light go on around the room as he worked through this example, albeit with bloated figures to make it look a little more appealing.

For the record, I can't stand the "raise your hand if you..." presentation technique... the novelty wore off for most, but some people just kept putting it up there until 5pm... amazing!

 

[Michael Yardney]

Thanks for the valuable feedback about the weekend.

It's always interesting to see your work get critiqued in public - but that's what I have to expect and accept if I still my head up.

Just to clarify a few things...

1. Over 500 people attended and in general the feedback to us was very, very positive. I received a number of emails such as this..

Hello Michael,
I am just writing to say a heartfelt thankyou for probably one of the most enlightening seminars I have attended. I would be the first to admit that when I initially saw your newsletter I reacted in a negative way – labeling it as just another of those property hypes. It was my wife who pushed me to attend – her rational was that we were stuck in a rut with our current investment ‘strategy’ (if you could call it that) and that we had no answers about a) continuing forward with investment b) Retiring my wife from her current job c) Living a full life in retirement without having to worry about funds.

Well you unlike other organizations you have provided answers to all of these questions through both your seminar and your book

This came from a Michael F in Perth and I can show you another 5 like this.

2. I think that the people that get the most out of seminars and education are the ones that come with an open mind.

Not everything I say is always right (even though I try to be truthful) It's just my opinion.

Not everything I do is right - and I've made some huge blunders in the past - both in my personal life and in my investments.

My investment strategy doesn't suit everyone and I outlined at least 5 others on the day. But it has helped me and many of our clients become very wealthy. Yet people come along and try and fight the concepts and strategies because it doesn’t fit in with their beliefs.

When I go to seminars (and I spent close to $100,000 last years on seminars, mentors and coaches) I probably turn up knowing more than many attendees. I don’t go there to knock others or look for faults. I don’t go there upset if they want to sell product s or services. I go there to learn new information or get distinctions on information I already know. I go there to be reminded of stuff I knew but have forgotten to implement. If I learn one more thing I’m ahead.

I suggest that others may also benefit from this attitude.

3. Yes much of the content was similar to last year – only about 20% was different. No excuses – 80% of the audience hadn’t heard me – why should they miss out on my old jokes . The bits that needed updating were updated.

4. For those of you from WA who feel emotionally tied to investing there and are critical of my comments it may interest you that I saw 2 groups of high end investors – big players in the WA market over the last years. Both have retained us to help them on the East Coast – Brisbane Sydney and Melbourne (By the way I did mention Sydney on the weekend – no one mentioned that in their posts).

Both these professional groups of investors recognize through their own research – not ours- that there are significantly better opportunities on the east coast. But it’s always that way – the professional investor is ahead of “the pack.”

One of the 2 groups has asked us to invest $50 million in residential property for them – they are leaving the Perth market – and they were big players there.

The other was a large property group who’s clients also buy many, many properties and they are now advising to buy on the east coast.

I guess I am saying our research also points to this and I substantiated it on the day with facts and figures.

If you don’t like the message don’t shoot the messenger.

5. Dazzling - sorry if I offended you - I always love talking about property and hearing other people's views. Possibly the timing was not appropriate - I'm always willing to chat, learn, remeniss and hear other's views. Pleas email me or PM me and let's set up a time to have a chat

 

[MichaelW]

4. For those of you from WA who feel emotionally tied to investing there and are critical of my comments it may interest you that I saw 2 groups of high end investors – big players in the WA market over the last years. Both have retained us to help them on the East Coast – Brisbane Sydney and Melbourne (By the way I did mention Sydney on the weekend – no one mentioned that in their posts).

No way, seriously!

If Michael Yardney is suggesting Sydney has opportunity then the tide really has turned! OK, that came across wrong... But I remember debating the relative merits of Sydney vs Brisbane and Melbourne on here a couple of times with Michael and others. In his defence, he argued that Melbourne was leading this cycle and that Brisbane would follow and then Sydney. He still admitted those three east coast capitals all had a lot of potential. I just argued that I thought Sydney was further along in the cycle than he gave it credit for.

Good to know Michael also gives Sydney the thumbs up now. I'll keep chipping away with my little Northern Beaches development (after reading Michael's book) and see where I end up in a year or so's time.

Cheers,
Michael (the other one).

PS Great response post Michael Y.

 

[JIT]

If you had listened to Michael Yardney and bought in inner/bayside Melbourne in the last 2-3 years as he had suggested, you'd have big smile on you're face now .

GSJ

 

[JIT]

One of the 2 groups has asked us to invest $50 million in residential property for them – they are leaving the Perth market – and they were big players there.

Maybe that's why inner/bayside Melbourne is moving so quick?!

GSJ

 

[MTR]

Hi GSJ
2-3 years ago I would think investors would have been wiser purchasing in WA rather than Melb. We were in the middle of a property boom, after all this is in part what Michael's strategy is about, chasing the cycles.
For whatever reason seems like it was completely overlooked/ignored by many property gurus.

 

[coopranos]

To avoid this thread getting into a "which guru said to buy where and when" type of thread, I will put my 2 cents in specifically regarding the MY seminar:
I did not go to this one, but I did go to the last one. Not wanting to subject everyone who went to our bored baby, I elected to sit this one out but encouraged my wife & brother to go along, as I found the last one a really good event all things considered.
It is good, solid, basic education that I think is good for anyone interested in getting into residential property development to attend. For the price you get an all day seminar with plenty of ideas, concepts, and inspiration. Even if you dont learn anything new, hearing these things one more time can be just what you need to hear to take it to the next level. This alone is well worth the price of the day in my opinion. Both my wife & brother who went this time said the same thing.
At the end of the day though, there really is not a huge amount you can learn about property investment from a theoretical stand-point. Once you are aware of the different ideas and concepts of the basic residential strategies (+ve cash, -ve cash, loe, living off rent, etc etc), which you will learn from reading about 4 or 5 reasonable books, it really is just a matter of doing it and letting your own experience teach you from there. From time to time it is nice to get a breath of inspiration from someone who has gone before you and made a good go of things, and to me that is the value as much as anything new you might learn.
Granted I am nowhere near the level of the majority of people on this forum, but I would think that anyone with any length of experience in investing wouldnt get much out of 99% of the seminars/books going around, other than a new bit of motivation to keep plugging away.
Its gotta be better than another terrible IC presentation though doesnt it!!

 

[ledd]

Michael sent me a message stating that he would be happy to refund the cost of my ticket. I thought that was pretty good of him and I believe it would be appropriate to add that to this thread to present the whole picture.

I reacted to two things: the advertising (which I hate in any form) and the justification of the advertising. Now that the emotional response has long since passed (and I got a refund) I see things a little differently.

With hindsight I probably ought to have gone. I guess the overall message for me is to take the good with the bad.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[Ausprop]

No way, seriously!

In his defence, he argued that Melbourne was leading this cycle and that Brisbane would follow and then Sydney. He still admitted those three east coast capitals all had a lot of potential. I just argued that I thought Sydney was further along in the cycle than he gave it credit for.

this is a resources lead cycle that had seen Perth and Brisbane lead the way. SA will arguably see a boom and the other cities will benefit / are benefiting from the cash sloshing around the economy as a result. The growth states will continue to be the growth states for a coupel of decades more and the economy as a whole will benefot, noting that cap growth and economic growth are 2 different things... a lot of cap growth being due to government inefficiencies and red tape - always invest in the high demand areas with hopeless govt approval processes! A lot of this is really academic and numbers on charts. True value is from instant equtiy on completion of projects and local knowledge. Just as I wouldn't throw a dart on the eastern seabord and build any old house I wouldn't expect an eastern stater to know where to invest in Perth in order to make above average returns. This has to be balanced with market sentiment - a lot of groups are doing these 'book a whole jumbo to melbourne and buy it all up' style tours simply because the price tag is cheaper. And if the price tag says it is cheaper it has to be better value right?

 

[Jindaro]

I attended the Sydney seminar expecting a lot of new information based on the emails I was sent.

The content was great for the beginner, or for someone who hasn't attended one of Michael's or Ed's seminars, but for me, I was quite disappointed as all of the content was the same as the last seminar of his I attended.

Even half the pictures they showed of deals they had bought were the same as the last seminar.

I will think twice before shelling out my money to attend the next one. Maybe it's a good idea to only attend every couple of years so you are assured of receiving new information