What have your friends been saying to you .

[Lily House]

Having recently bought our first interstate IP, hubby and I were commenting to a close family member that we would have to pull the belt in a bit as it is quite negatively geared (but with what we hope is significant potential for growth).
After a few drinks, her comments amounted to - 'well I wouldn't do it cause I like to live my life now.'
I had to bite my tongue - I know it was jealously speaking - but we were basically told that we would have no life. Trying to put us down was her way of making herself feel better.
I have found that we have great conversations with our friends who have also bought IP's, but best not to even mention it to those that havn't.

Lily

 

[Keen]

Since I was almost made redundant in May 2002, I have become almost obsessed in becoming Financial free in years 15 years time.
I had read some 8 books on Shares and general finance before it became obvious to me that IP's were the way to go. I've since read 15 books on IP's - but with only one IP (purchased Sept 03) I have more theory than experience.
I try not to bore my wife too much, but can proudly say I've influenced 3 people to go / will go and buy IP's.
As the youngest of three brothers and the poorest, I think I've suprised my "Non-Investor Minded" family with my 1st leap.
My conservative Father trusts my judgement and ask how things are going when ever we met. One of my brother is about to take the leap.

Most people I talk to beleive things are slowly down. Others who have shown interest in IP's (bar the 3 mentioned above) seem to lack the courage and think "I'll wait a while, prices will come down". The Somers motto "the best time to buy is when you can afford it" is a priceless piece of advice.

Regards
Keen

 

[bbg2003]

I tend to agree with Jacque.
I've learned long ago not to talk IP's when I'm around others who do not invest in real estate or much else. I try to avoid the topic. If some seems really interested in IP's I might meet later on a one on one basis and proceed very cautiously.

When I'm with family & close friends (some of which I assisted in buying IP's, others which assisted me) I know I can speak freely and know that the conversation will be relevant & useful.

Coming from a family where biz & investing is the norm, It became obvious that most people around me had no idea about investing.
I've lived it from ever since I can remember. I have close family & friends who bought ppors at >20% interest, had biz loans at up to 24%. It's amazing how some of these people could raise a family in these conditions, but they did and most did it well.
It amuses me to hear people who smoke, drink and have many other vices complain about lack of money. It used to bug me, but after a few years it just amuses me. I often hear them say: "How could we possibly have the money to buy a house when we can't even make ends meet, when we earn more money...". And all the other excuses in the book. This from high wage earners just as much as ow earners.

Most people I've known for years have no idea of how much real estate I own or when I bought or sold it. I've always tried to urge others around me into IP's. Those that never did just can't relate and sadly it's hard to discuss investments with them. Some even end up resenting the fact that your wealth is more than theirs. That your 10yr old car is paid off and their new car costs them $600 mth (of course they keep getting new loans every 2-3 yrs for another one). And of course the "your so lucky" excuse, which I have'nt much lately actually.

 

[Crystal]

My work colleagues feel sorry for me when they find out I don't have a home entertainment system with wide screen TV etc. They can't understand how I cope with an old TV and second hand video recorder.
My response is .....
I can't stand the idea of working "here" til I'm 70, to which they reply....
Well I/We are going to win Powerball/Lotto on Thursday/Saturday.
I sure hope they do!
Cheers,
Crystal

 

[skater]

My family thinks that what we do is 'risky' that we are going to lose everything. One in particular asks - How many do you want? Aren't you being greedy? She feels that you should only have your PPOR and purhaps (only if PPOR is fully paid out) one other.

They also have the misconception that we are rich. That we must be on some kind of substantial salary to be able to afford all the negative gearing (we only invest in positive cashflow, but neg gearing is the only thing non investers seem to understand). We must also be miserable misers because all our money obviously goes to pay for the investments (we until Christmas had an old TV that I had been given by my parents 20 years ago. It could only be turned on/off with a pair of long nose pliers because the knob broke and couldn't be fixed, the kids don't have playstations or any other expensive doodads, we live in an old house with (Horror) an old disgusting kitchen.

My belief is to live within our means. The investments take care of themselves, with no input from our finances. Slowly, when we can afford it without any non-deductable debt, things like the kitchen etc will be updated. We are building a tidy little retirement fund and the best part is it costs us nothing.

Then you get the other side of the coin with the people who say things like "Your so lucky" "You just seem to be in the right place at the right time" "I could never do that, I'm just not a gambler(but they spend big on lotto each week)"

In short, very few people are now told of our investments, only the small few that have some of their own and are of similar mindset.

 

[astroboy]

SC,
Why would you be interested in what non-IP friends say ???

All the usual suspects, BMs or Mercs and the odd serious sporty one , Fast boats, faster motorbikes, hi end home theater systems, digital SLR's with thousands of $ of lenses, expensive and exclusive holidays, eating out most nights blah blah blah blah.

Does it really matter ?

They tell me to live life.... and I do,, just not quite as extravagantly as they do.... give me 8 more years tho and they will be saying... damn have you heard what they are doing now !!??

ab

 

[see_change]

Astro

I was interested because, despite the recent negative publicity about property investing , some of my non IP friends have expressed interest to me in the the last couple of months about buying IP's . ( whether they actually do is another matter.... ).

I was interested in finding out whether my experience was an isolated one, or whether other people were finding he same thing happening.

See Change

 

[voodoo]

Hi everyone

I have a few friends that are into IP's and a lot more that are talking about it, but the major problem is that nobody wants to do the research.

I give them some answers and ideas when they ask and my main piece of advice is to read, learn, research and decide what they want out of investing in property.
The answers i get are "I will go see my accountant" or "my accountant says property is no good at the moment".

these people are on 3 times my income, have a 130k mortgage on there PPOR have no other investments.

It frustrates me thinking what I could do with that extra cash flow, because I have a lot of equity and no spare cash flow for anothe IP.

cheers

 

[Bill.L]

Hi all,

I've found this thread to be particularly interesting. I didn't have anything to offer until a friend turned up the other day asking for advice.

Now this friend has a large amount of money to invest, and is starting to think about growth of capital for the next 8-10 years before retirement. Then he will be interested annuities, allocated pensions etc,etc.

What did he wont to know??

The name of a "good" financial planner.

It served as a reminder of what most people want, to be told what to do by an "expert". After explaining to him that what he should do is a lot of research and self education, the topic of conversation changed to how the expensive FP ($1500) that his mother had, had placed her money in a fund of international shares that had risen 20% in the last year. I tried to explain that after currency movements, she may find that the picture is not so rosy, but that was dismissed.

Anyway he left with plans to see his brother who could put him in touch with the fantastic FP, who will be able to wave the magic wand and turn his nest egg into a fortune for him.

I find the above typical, because the alternative is hard work.
I think we sometimes forget that the combined wisdom/experiences of many on this forum who give freely is the result of many years hard work.

bye

 

[Aceyducey]

Maybe I should run a poll on this:

Who gets the best returns out of investing:

1. the Gunnas
2. the Wouldas
3. the Shouldas

OR

4. the Dids


Cheers,

Aceyducey

 

[sbe]

Number 3 and 2.

They're always getting the best returns (well, in theory anyway), as they always shoulda done this or that, and they would have got $xxxxx.

Number 4 would be a close second, except for the fact that they DID do it, invariably learnt some lessons ($) along the way, but now have the REAL results !

Number 1 was never gunna do jack! They never do!

Make sure the poll says

"Who gets the best ACTUAL REALISED returns out of investing:"

 

[Dos]

Hi all,

Great thread and many different attitudes from friends and family.

I have had some different responses and have really found that I have sort of become this walking pot of info for friends and family. My Mum was into it prior to me but now I have gotten my in-laws into buying places and advising friends on what they "could" do. Being only 23 and 24, my wife and I have 3 houses and friends think we are rich, that is the most annoying part!! We tell them that we are not rich, just using money that doesn't tangibly exist (equity)! We have actually pointed out that they could be in the same situation! We have some friends that have purchased places for $240k 9 months ago and have them valued now at $380k! I point out to them that they can use the $140k equity to buy up some places, get some more gains and go again.

Again, it takes a while for people to get it through their heads but they also seem scared to do anything also!! I actually feel frustrated some times and feel like just buying something for them even though they would get the benefit out of it!

But that is part of being young and keen I suppose!!!

Dos

 

[RPI]

Dos

That part about thinking your rich really annoys me. This last 3 months has been the first time I've ever taken a cent out of my investment properties, yet I've had the your rich thing for years. If more people spent their money getting rich (investing) and less trying to look rich they'd be a lot better off.

Darryl

 

[Aceyducey]

A small thought on getting friends & family interested & actively buying IPs....

If everyone did that then in no time there'd be too many property investors

While we all want the people around us to do well, sometimes I'm happy when people scoff at property investing...they're a potential tenant!

Cheers,

Aceyducey

 

[Les]

G'day Voodoo,

It frustrates me thinking what I could do with that extra cash flow, because I have a lot of equity and no spare cash flow for another IP.

Two thoughts:-

1. Have you checked out Steve Navra (cashbond thingy)? Seminar?

2. Rolf says (I hope I'm remembering this right, Rolf - if not, please set me right) "If you have Equity, DSR ceases to be a problem" - or words to that effect.

Regards,

 

[Sunstone]

Dear Les,

"If you have Equity, DSR ceases to be a problem"

A smart man is our Rolf.

Cheers,

Sunstone.

 

[JFEWSTER]

Written by Aceyducey-

On the whole I've found people in general are better educated, less greed-focused and more intelligent than some posters on Somersoft seem to credit.

Written by JFEWSTER-

On the whole I've found people in general are less educated, more greed-focused and less intelligent than some posters on Somersoft seem to credit.


Two different opinions from two different people from two different perspectives.

But then again, there are not many posters on Somersoft Forum compared to the numbers on "the shop floor".


Signed.
Someone on this forum.

P.S. What a wonderfull thread. No doubt the seeds of thought were sown when someone dared to express their opinion, no matter how dumb or unpositive or unfactual that opinion was towards jumping into the market right now.

Seems to me that negative posts do actually get people thinking!
Even if the poster becomes the next target for a great big BIFFO!
That to me is a good thing.


If YOU (everyone reading this) think the numbers add up then do it! But at the end of the day, it's about the NUMBERS- not about being in with the regular Somersoft crowd (all 200 of them)

 

[Aceyducey]

Written by Aceyducey-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the whole I've found people in general are better educated, less greed-focused and more intelligent than some posters on Somersoft seem to credit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Written by JFEWSTER-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the whole I've found people in general are less educated, more greed-focused and less intelligent than some posters on Somersoft seem to credit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


There's no dispute/disagreement or contradiction here, it all depends on which posters on Somersoft you're talking about

JFewster, did you realise that if you keep posting you'll become part of the regular crowd

And have you considered that positive posts also make people think. Negativity is not usually a good goad for contribution. It's a negative reinforcer.

As someone very profound once said: Expect the best of people and that's what you'll get. Expect the worst and that's what you'll discover.

Cheers,

Aceyducey

 

[Corsa]

Originally posted by sbe
Make sure the poll says

"Who gets the best ACTUAL REALISED returns out of investing:"

I just wanted to see if sbe could clarify what was meant by this part of the post?

My thoughts are that you only actually "realise" your return on a sale. For the most part, it is generally discussed that you should buy and retain investments for the long term to generate returns and growth. And perhaps part of that strategy is generally not to sell.

In fact, why ever sell? I recently met with a new accountant who's predominate form of advice to me was to "realise" some of your gains now like a stop loss in a share transaction and then use the realised gain to purchase something else. So.... this would mean the loss of future income from the investment, lose all right to any future capital growth and so on..

I see that perhaps the "dids" always get the best returns out of investing not necessarily realised returns.

Just food for thought and this is a great post all.

 

[sbe]

Hi Corsa.

What I was trying to say (not very elloquently....)

Often you'll get some armchair expert telling you why this or that is better than whatever you're doing..... the gunna's/woulda's/shoulda's.

You know the ones. "You should have got xxx shares, they went up by $$$", or "This business is what you should have got into....".

My point is, based on WHAT YOU DID, on current valuations (dont have to sell), how did you do?

Hindsight's always 20/20.

OK, IF I got this share, I MAY have made 120% over 2 years, but I only made 60% on this property. However, I at least did that. The armchair expert whilst espousing all their opinions, didn't actually invest in anything, hence a return of 0%.

As I said, ACTUAL REALISED gains, not shoulda's gains......


Hope that makes more sense......

Cheerio

Simon.