There are experts and there are EXPERTS.

[MarkB]

I buy API every month without fail and every month (or so it seems) it is full of commentary from certain (claimed) "experts" (who will remain nameless).

Some of these experts work for banks, some work for themselves as consultants (probably selling research to banks), but I've yet to see any reference as to where they've put any of their moola where their mouths are.

Where am I going with this?

Well for one I am peeved at API for their insistance on placing these people on a pedestal like as though they're the people who really know what's down and happening with the residential property market. After all, playing with someone else's money or a heap of stats means diddly.

And on a more positive note, for me it underlines the quality of the information on this forum - serious property investors making investment decisions with their own money.

When it comes to property investing experts, give me pracademics any day.

Mark

 

[GIDDO]

Yes I agree.
I would like to see an article written by GROSSREAL for example.

Then API would be REAL. GROSS too if you look at the amount of info Grossreal puts into his posts.

It may take a little while to read however.

I am sorry Grossreal, puns intended but no offence. I couldn't resist!

I love your posts and learn a lot.

 

[House_Keeper]

I agree.

I am a bit tired of seeing the same people being interviewed in every article about where the market is going, which is usually every few months or so. Theses people give the same advice again ang again. I also noticed that some of the articles were actually written by people working for those consulancies, and interviewing their boss as the expert .

I am starting to find API a bit repetitive. There are true investors stories that I like though.

Cheers,

 

[AlmostBob]

Expert
Noun
{Pronunciation ex-spurt}
EX, a has-been
SPURT, a drip under pressure
therefore
Expert::A has-been drip under pressure

 

[geoffw]

Peter Spann mentioned last night, when talking about his new fund, that he has just applied for a loan to invest himself in that fund- he didn't mention the number, but he did mention seven zeroes.

 

[Able]

I have found some of the articles in API a little repetitive also. I think it was better suited to a bi-monthly magazine rather than monthly.

Regards
Alistair

 

[itinerantotter]

I have found some of the articles in API a little repetitive also. I think it was better suited to a bi-monthly magazine rather than monthly.

Regards
Alistair

Agree totally with this, Alistair.

I buy it mainly for the inspirational personal stories now.

Cheers

 

[skater]

I too, find a lot of the articles not worth while. In fact when my subscription ran out I didn't bother to renew it. I do like the stories of people that are "doing it", but quite often even some of them are not that inspirational. I would happily renew my subscription if the content was of better quality.

 

[lizzie]

i agree - for some reason i seemed to enjoy the fatter bi-monthly. possibly because, by the time it arrived, i was busting to read it and it contained a lot more information ... now with a busy life it takes me two weeks to get thru it, combined with another subscription that also takes me a week or so, the next is almost on the doorstep.

however, not complaining. i subscribe and love my pi mag.

 

[thefirstbruce]

Speaking of inpirational stories, has there been any articles on anyone who has cleaned up in the last 2 years, except in WA? Easy to make money in a boom, just as in a bull run on stocks.... A lot more praiseworthy if you can do it in a flat market...

I agree API is samo samo.... They'd be doing something worthwhile if they developed their own repeatable indicator of each capitals' market. That might include rpdata analysis, counting ads on realestate.com.au, getting no. of new home loans established each month, new housing starts......

And gee, they wouldn't even have to leave the office......and quality data like that would be compelling reading from month to month.....

Though suppose it takes serious brains to devise something like that, and a reasonable degree of application to a task........but we are only talking about journalists here.....

suppose property investment has enough interest without editors having to think too creatively about how to increase readership...

 

[lizzie]

brucie hit it right on the nail ... there have been so many stories about people who have done well due to the rising market. i want to see someone who has done something inovative in the flat market ... and bought this up in the post from the api journo a couple of months back.

hopefully we shall see more inspiration next month.

 

[Monopoly]

I buy API every month without fail and every month (or so it seems) it is full of commentary from certain (claimed) "experts" (who will remain nameless).

Some of these experts work for banks, some work for themselves as consultants (probably selling research to banks), but I've yet to see any reference as to where they've put any of their moola where their mouths are.

Where am I going with this?

Well for one I am peeved at API for their insistance on placing these people on a pedestal like as though they're the people who really know what's down and happening with the residential property market. After all, playing with someone else's money or a heap of stats means diddly.

And on a more positive note, for me it underlines the quality of the information on this forum - serious property investors making investment decisions with their own money.

When it comes to property investing experts, give me pracademics any day.

Mark

Kudos to you Mark!!!

Never rely on the written word for guidance. If you want the truth TALK to the person from whom you seek counsel, instead of trying to gather information from inaccurate (to put it mildly) sources!!!

I have turned away API on more than one occasion; and with any luck maybe one day, they might actually pay attention long enough to go bother someone resembling a person who has nothing better to do with their time!!

 

[Freeatlast]

For every expert predicting a boom, there are just as many predicting a bust....

For every expert predicting rates to rise, there are just as many predicting a fall in rates.....

KISS answer..... GET THE HELL OUT THERE and make up your own mind, and stop analysing everything to death..... factor in rate rises, factor in a falling market..... the Boy Scout method.... ALWAYS BE PREPARED...... be ready for the market to change......

We just signed up our 57th property purchase last week..... and we make our own predictions on the market.... Manage what you have, with an eye on where you want to be.....

I get API as well, but only briefly scan through it.... sorry I subscribed... too many "armchair experts"...

As they say in the USA..... "Money talks, and BS walks......"

 

[Simon]

We just signed up our 57th property purchase last week.....

Wow!

Can you share your story here? Sounds better than a API case study

Cheers,

 

[lizzie]

Wow!

Can you share your story here? Sounds better than a API case study

Cheers,

here here ... tell all.

how many do you still own? what % is your equity, as i gather you are financially free from your title. how did you start? what did you do and what is your best experience and your worst? what path did you find worked for you? yabber yabber yabber.

 

[yadreamin]

I thought the issue with Duncan from ss forum was the best there had been for quite some time. It really was packed full of good info.
It hasn,t had much value since then.
Even the profiles of investors has been pretty average.
Thats no offence to the investors.
cheers yadreamin

 

[saucy gibbon]

I too, find a lot of the articles not worth while. In fact when my subscription ran out I didn't bother to renew it. I do like the stories of people that are "doing it", but quite often even some of them are not that inspirational. I would happily renew my subscription if the content was of better quality.

Exactly, I gave up on it when my first subscription ran out. I just found that after a while it was just another magazine and I wasn't getting any value out of it.

 

[grossreal]

hi giddo
thanks for that
I do buy api but not every month have a flick thru it first and then if not interested it back on the shelf for it.
never been asked to do a interview but would love a write up on my little china project.
put some photo's in the where to buy section if you want to have a look.
making money in a flat market is not that much different as in a rising market. if your fundimentals are right.
here is a very good example as it is a project I am working on and you will see what I see as funny.
a property A is on the market at 3 mil (23 unit site)and we are in a falling market(so they say I don't agree but for the example lets say they are right)
site is on the market for 8 months vendors are having kittens (why because they want to sell this site because the market is falling and they want to invest in wa)
I go to wa and find that the market is heated and I don't want to invest in wa,
so I come back to sydney( saw a few sites and met lots of people which was worth while)
I come back and meet one of my foot soldiers that has found this site.
I neg the deal down to 2750000.
the owner are happy
they have a sale.
I get a 80% grossrealisation lend on the land and construct and a builder to build it and get the owners to vendor finance back the 20%
now here's the funny part I haven't put any thing into this deal.
it meets my 21% min profit its 24.5% I have a 100% lend and I'm happy.

the vendor will take there 2.2mil less there loan what ever that is and go into a rising market and are they going to make 24.5% profit off the bat ( and if the market moves up while I construct I am even better off)
don't thinks so.
so who has made the money (if your looking for money in this deal)
I am limited by the cash in at the front of a project ( but have a system that will over come that minor hump in my road and working on it at the moment)and good builders
as I take 50% risk and 50% profit and in our case hold all end products but thats a different question how thats done.
so who out there is making gains I am, not making money, growing equity and building portfolio.
and that little project that I mentioned is a mirror of what I do here on alot larger scale.
I find this forum very interesting for lots of different views we all have our paths to the pot of gold at the end of our investing and hope you all get to yours as I have been planning mine for some time and I am on target and well within my budget.
I like deals where I put nothing in and get 50% of the expected profit in product.

 

[Freeatlast]

Lizzie / Simon,

We still own I think it's 52 properties.... with CG included over the last few years our equity is at about 28-30%. We started 4 years ago, buying in areas that people were not that interested in, in price ranges people did not look at. We sat on them, reno'd a few of them, and have come up smelling ok.....

Best path.... hmmm... well, we like the road travelled by Peter Spann.... We have always made sure we bought well..... We have spent considerable time and effort to learn from a few valuers on what to look at, and what to avoid.....

We've built up a team of people who help us out..... RE Agents who call us as soon as they get a new listing that they know we'd be interested in..... In that situation we look quickly make a decision and usually buy on the spot.... we don't waste time.....

we keep it simple, dont over analyse stuff too much, and, keep our heads down.....

We stay busy, but focus on micro managing what we do have.....
At present my partner and I have in the works :

1 Reno in Bris ( just finishing )

1 Reno/ sub divide & build in bris - our mega star of the year......
( house on left of block, we're chopping block in half and going to reno old house.... which will increase val by about 50k.... THEN, we're going to build a house or duplex on the other side of the block..... which should net us, after subdiv costs about 250k profit.......

1 house & land build in bris
1 Duplex build in bris
2 unit build projects in VIC....

We dont work at this, we LIVE & BREATHE THIS...... it's part of what we do.... We are cautios in our approach to most things, but not to the point of paralysis.

Cheers
Scott