The benefit of SS and the knowledge we take for granted!

[Bandita]

Who else forgets that not everyone we know is constantly checking up on Somersoft and other investing forums, and how much knowledge we get from them?!?!

For instance, within the past 4 days, 2 conversations I've had:

Sister in law: She didn't believe, or understand I guess, that if you use equity in your home to purchase an IP or shares, that interest on the equity you use is tax deductible - she simply would not believe me, I told her many, many, many people do it, go and talk to our accountant Lou (we all have the same accountant)....we've been over this conversation before, she just will not believe it - doesn't check it out, just accepts it doesn't exist?!?

Fiance's best friend: He could not believe Offset accounts exist - "what's in it for the banks??"; "it's got to be some sort of scam", etc, etc.....I told him to go to any large bank and ask them if they have a loan facility with an offset account and what fees they charge for it. I doubt he'll do it, just will choose not believe me.....

Perhaps we've convinced people to question things so much and be so wary of scams that they reject everything that sounds too good to be true?!? I find it frustrating, yet too funny at the same time.....

Cheers,
Jen

 

[yadreamin]

JenD
l sujested to a friend that was buying a property earlier this year to log onto SS and every question she had would be answered clearly and honestly.
Did she? NO
Unfortunatly she has learnt some very hard and fast lessons now about property, finance and the integrity of those she believed she could trust.
cheers yadreamin

 

[sailor]

I guess some people are just scared of having their money work for them, and more comfortable with earning their money. Over the years many have been conditioned by the "no free lunches" message. However, investors will always look for the the deal behind the lunch.

 

[Aceyducey]

I see the same thing every week.

Many people don't want to know the truth, they want to hold beliefs.

If those beliefs contradict the truth their subconscious manages to filter the messages it gets - avoid reading the articles that would set them straight - justify (reduce) the level of trust they have in people telling them otherwise - and generally hold a blind spot that allows them to hold their beliefs and avoid the pain and discomfort of being wrong.

Pretty much everyone does this in some area of their life.

And a lot of people manage to sustain their beliefs - even with overwhelming evidence to the contrary - until they die.

It's funny how the human brains 'protects' us from things that might cause us discomfort - such as facts.

Cheers,

Aceyducey

 

[lizzie]

imo - if these people actually found out the truth, ie, that they can use equity to invest, then they'd feel they actually had to "do" something with the knowledge - like invest. very scary for some people.

some people would rather remain in their ignorant comfort zone so that they don't have to do anything different or challenge themselves.

don't be hard on them - just understand the reason behind why they refuse to listen and learn.

 

[thefirstbruce]

I think a lot of ppl are still suspicious of the motives or trustworthiness of a group of ppl on a forum.

People are also after quick easy answers. And don't want to invest hours and hours wading through acres of e-text on a forum.

I have certainly learnt a lot from the forum, that I honestly would have struggled to learn anywhere else.

However, I am also aware of the importance of local knowledge, local relationships, and acting... i.e. a visit to an experienced builder or draughtsman in the lga you intend to develop in, can solve a lot of issues quick smart. Talking to the local REAs, getting to know which ones you are better to buy from or sell through..... relationship building is important stuff.

 

[Shirley]

We just don't discuss our investing with anyone, apart from one couple who also own units in the same block as we do. I'd love to be able to talk about deals and possibilities, but suspect that friends would feel jealous or believe we were being very foolish. I suppose we should, as a way of helping others, but I know family would only worry about such a big debt - it's easier not to tell them!

It's amazing how one's attitude to debt changes when you start property investing. Years ago, a financial planner tried to get us to borrow $30k to start a share portfolio but we decided it wasn't a good idea. Now our debt is 40 times that - bit scary - but with an LVR of 50%, it's OK.

It's so good to have the forum to read where there are so many like-minded people.

Happy investing, everyone!

Shirley

 

[Aceyducey]

don't be hard on them - just understand the reason behind why they refuse to listen and learn.

Lizzie, I find it's normally the other way around.

People who choose to not know are much harder on those who choose to know.

And that view has been reflected by a number of others in various threads in this forum.

There's been a number of comments from different people where forumites have either by choice or accident made others aware of their investment behaviours and encountered hostile or unfriendly responses from families, friends and even total strangers.

It starts at school or before - who gets looked down on? The kids who wish to learn and achieve, or the ones who want to cruise.

Cheers,

Aceyducey

 

[alexlee]

Natural response: those who can't be bother or who just don't want to learn are secretly jealous of the ambitions of others, so they shoot down people who want to learn.

People on this forum are constantly learning, just by reading other people's posts. I used to be surprised by how little otherwise intelligent people know about property and how it works. They understand how the arithmatic works, but they just can't get their head around debt. Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised at how much I know about basic property investment, even though I'm just a novice. People would tell me about this great plan for property that they have, and I'd be biting my tongue wanting to tell them that I've already been doing that for years.
Alex

 

[jahn]

Hi
Was thinking this morning how great it is to be able to log on to ths forum and learn. Also realise how much time/effort it takes to read through and take in all the different approaches to the same simple topic. And I think this contributes to the overall diffence in education levels and wealth results. The effort factor.
Interesting reading a few years back about the "Instant gratification" of people. Those who are prepared to put in the work/effort for later reward, compared to those who want instant results without as much effort. Seems these days there are a lot of the "Instant coffee" people compared to the idea of taking the time to make a decent cup (I'm a tea drinker myself )

Still, my favourite hobby horse is the education system. How is it possible for young people to come out one end of all that learning, and yet not learn how to balance their own budget/expenses etc. Not everyone of course, but I can relate to some HUGE numbers over the years.
I might have been one of them
jahn

 

[Bill.L]

Hi all,

I thought we were talking about the "rock solid" advice given on SS, but someone changed the title of this thread.

However JenD, you are correct the information that many of the longer term members often flippantly talk about, is generally not taught anywhere. Yes it is possible to find the info that makes up this forum elsewhere, but it is not easy to separate the wheat from the chaff.

bye

 

[kissfan]

I'm also appreciative of this forum and the people that take the time to contribute. Even reading about things you have a full understanding of can be beneficial to 'keep the candle lit' and reinforcing certain issues of investing.

When it comes to discussing investing with others in a one on one situation, it doesn't take long to work out if they are interested or not.

It's been discussed here (on the forum) before and personally, I don't bother (discussing investing ec) with friends/family/associates etc that aren't interested. It probably bores them and wastes my breath.

Regards
Marty

 

[Meisterin]

I like this forum.

It gives me something new to think about.

It challenges my boundaries of my thoughts and expands them.

And there is always somebody who has gone through what you are going through before.

This is something that you can't get from a book and no book can tell you because of the diversity of property investing.

I know I am not a renovator, wrapper, developer etc, but I (want to be buy and hold only for 10 years at least) can apply some aspect of their investment experience, knowledge, to plan my investment strategy.

Thank you SS forum members.

 

[jahn]

Hi
The amazing thing about this forum, is how easy it would be to take for granted the wealth of experience, and knowledge, that is passed on without hesitation, and from such a diversity of people and professions. Someone previousely mentioned in another post how hard it is to get reliable info from a professional who is not biased, due to their needs/aims etc, but here you get so many different views, and for free, that you can then sort out and decide for yourself, what action to take, or not.
I have tried a few times to explain this forum to some friends, but found it tooo hard to either get through, or cover the range of contributors etc, so gave up in frustration.
Unfortunately, I also find it hard to be able to get on here as often as I would like, to continue learning current emphasis/topics etc.

jahn

 

[Rolf Latham]

Opinions vs facts

I deal with it daily, and as Acey said, a belief is hard to shake, even if its obviously wrong...................

ta
rolf

 

[thefirstbruce]

I wish I had more facts about what is going to happen in the future....

 

[Rolf Latham]

Hiya Brucie

Hahahah, you of all people.

Tommorow you will be one day older than the same time today................thats a fact ....

ta
rolf

 

[thefirstbruce]

Tommorow you will be one day older than the same time today................thats a fact ....

ta
rolf

except for the day for which tomorrow never comes

and you only need one of those to screw your investment strategy...
which makes me wonder how many people have a good exit strategy for this business called life

 

[willair]

I wish I had more facts about what is going to happen in the future....

TFB
How can anyone overcome ignorance if they pretend that they are smart
the only way to understand the Future is to look back into your past
and don't make the same mistakes over and over again.
Before i found this site i was not smart only lucky and in the right place
at the right time,where will you be in one hundred years time Brucie that one
i can answer anything else is like mushrooms in the dark
good luck willar...........

 

[thefirstbruce]

Will, I was very much tongue in cheek at Hamster above, jesting at what he might classify as fact, when PI is very much about predicting and planning for the future.

I think a lot of people are scared of leverage when they are uncertain about the future, which is quite rational. I also think many these days feel less secure about the future because they feel less potent in the world- less job security, less trust in lenders (consider GeoffW's thread about eftpos charges), RBA putting up rates when petrol price is already squeezing.....many don't understand this stuff and don't like borrowing in such an enviroment. All adds to the risk of leverage. One of the things that is so apparent to me is that leverage is paramountly dependent on serviceability - cash (flow) is king.

When I was growing up, we had a lot of well off greek and italian friends. They didn't like borrowing...... and I understand why.... they made their money through working smart and hard...

And I think you are right Will, that what gives many somersofters confidence to keep taking risk, is their success from past investments (and reading about others' success on SS), whether based on luck or otherwise.