Young People and Professional Advisers??

[Sabitor_84]

Hello All,

Here is my question to you all:

What do young people have to do in order to be taken seriously by wealth/business advisers??

Seems simply enough! Now here is the back ground to back it up.

My partner and I are both young, university qualified professionals. She is a Corporate Lawyer and I work as an Underwriter.

We both earn good incomes for our age’s (25ish) and are in good shape financially for our ages. I don’t know the stats but id say we earn more then the average Australian family income.

While we are not millionaires our balance sheet looks ok with ZERO “bad” debt. Ie No non-income earning debt.

That, in it’s self is an achievement with most people our age succumbing to cars, credit cards etc by now!

Back on the story…

We have been on the road of wealth creation for a couple of years now and thus far I have had nothing but bad experiences with the professional advisors we have currently.

I’m talking accountants, Mortgagee brokers, bank people and the final nail in the coffin was today when my buyers advocate seemed dis-interested!! This is the same bloke i was recommending not a week ago!!

My biggest complaint is they seem totally not interested when they realize your only a little fish!! Dont these people realize that little fish grow up into big fat juicy (loyal) fish?

Aren’t they interested in long term relationships??

I’m happy to pay the fees. Hell, I’ve paid my Advocate $15,000 already!! But in exchange when I ring up wanting a quick opinion I expect they will be welcoming even if it doesn’t lead to a sale!!! Its not like I ring up every week!! I’ve called once asking a question!!

The morgagee broker we tried had his lap top crash when he came over and never got back to us. Had he been reasonable he would be looking at his 3rd loan in 18months!! Its hard to describe but he made us feel like we are nothing.

The accountant we have kept telling us about how easy it was because we only have 1 IP (2 now). Making references to the person before us had 14!! (Not in a nice way, I might add).

The financial planner kept saying “the market wont crash” at 5000 points even though it has. Then proceeded to tell me something incorrectly that I have a great deal of knowledge on!! (At least he didn’t snob us due to low net wealth he only flat out lied instead).

The list goes on and on!

So to everyone, have we been unlucky? Should I keep the faith?

To the professionals on this site. What do you think/do when someone like us walks in?

Id be very interested in Michael Yardneys thoughts on this subject. He would deal with a lot of "Big Fish"... How do you handle the little ones?



Kind regards,

Matt

 

[want2bewealthy]

Lol, Its funny you should mention Michaels name, I approached him when I first started out and he basically laughed at me (I was very 'hurt') at the time but then soon got over it, he only deals with bigger fish than me at the time which is ok, I dont really mind or care, none of my buisness,

I constantly find the same thing from my experiences, have you ever stopped to think that maybe people are jealous of your situation? I get that feeling sometimes and have even lost friends over it, most people arent wealthy and will never be so its easy for them to put up their guard and tell themselves that you think youre better than them for some reason.

Sometimes people have more than enough buisness and dont really care about you/me, I wouldnt care if I could find good service that is always there and loyalty but havent been able to find that as yet.
Ive often found that Im on my own most of the way, I seem to be the only one I can trust! lol so I learn as much as I can, theres a hell of alot to learn though and thats why these 'professionals' have to study for years on end to learn their trade propperly and always keep up to date, a pretty hard task to go alone, I remember Mike saying in his book 'if youre the smartest person on your team youre in trouble' and thats true but its very hard to find good help these days. on and by the way he didnt help me either. .

 

[Qlds007]

Personally cant comment for others on the site but to me wouldn't worry if you had a dime or a million dollars in the Bank you still get the best service and advice I can offer.

I was lucky enough to retire the first at 39 and live off my property rents before going back into business 4 years ago with a view to building up the business for my children.

My 14 year daughter is very interested in the business and whilst i dont let her loose on clients files she is starting to be aware of the workings of the stock market and how to access a borrowing capacity for a client and the pluses and minusses of loan structuring.

Of course if she starts out on her own at 19-20 she will be in a similar position to you but being on the other side of the fence and i am sure will take a year or two to be treated as though she nows what she is doing.

I think if your Professional adviser does not respect your business it is simple find someone who does.

 

[vbplease]

Matt,

Being a newbie with investments myself, I've found it frustrating dealing with advisors/solicitors etc that are condescending... Coincidently, its about the time that they start to talk in a condescending tone that I no longer require their services.

I think the best solicitor's/accountant's are found through referrals, and happy to have a chat anytime of day, within reason

Don't mean to get too philosophical, but I heard this quote recently..

The best index to a person's character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good - Abigail Van Buren

 

[stumunro]

Hello All,

Here is my question to you all:

What do young people have to do in order to be taken seriously by wealth/business advisers??

Seems simply enough! Now here is the back ground to back it up.

My partner and I are both young, university qualified professionals. She is a Corporate Lawyer and I work as an Underwriter.

We both earn good incomes for our age’s (25ish) and are in good shape financially for our ages. I don’t know the stats but id say we earn more then the average Australian family income.

While we are not millionaires our balance sheet looks ok with ZERO “bad” debt. Ie No non-income earning debt.

That, in it’s self is an achievement with most people our age succumbing to cars, credit cards etc by now!

Back on the story…

We have been on the road of wealth creation for a couple of years now and thus far I have had nothing but bad experiences with the professional advisors we have currently.

I’m talking accountants, Mortgagee brokers, bank people and the final nail in the coffin was today when my buyers advocate seemed dis-interested!! This is the same bloke i was recommending not a week ago!!

My biggest complaint is they seem totally not interested when they realize your only a little fish!! Dont these people realize that little fish grow up into big fat juicy (loyal) fish?

Aren’t they interested in long term relationships??

I’m happy to pay the fees. Hell, I’ve paid my Advocate $15,000 already!! But in exchange when I ring up wanting a quick opinion I expect they will be welcoming even if it doesn’t lead to a sale!!! Its not like I ring up every week!! I’ve called once asking a question!!

The morgagee broker we tried had his lap top crash when he came over and never got back to us. Had he been reasonable he would be looking at his 3rd loan in 18months!! Its hard to describe but he made us feel like we are nothing.

The accountant we have kept telling us about how easy it was because we only have 1 IP (2 now). Making references to the person before us had 14!! (Not in a nice way, I might add).

The financial planner kept saying “the market wont crash” at 5000 points even though it has. Then proceeded to tell me something incorrectly that I have a great deal of knowledge on!! (At least he didn’t snob us due to low net wealth he only flat out lied instead).

The list goes on and on!

So to everyone, have we been unlucky? Should I keep the faith?

To the professionals on this site. What do you think/do when someone like us walks in?

Id be very interested in Michael Yardneys thoughts on this subject. He would deal with a lot of "Big Fish"... How do you handle the little ones?



Kind regards,

Matt

As a relatively young buyers agent I am on the other side of the fence, but any clients that give me the time of day come to realise that there are alot more attributes to being knowedgable, successful, professional and capable then just purely and simply age. And for me, this works the other way too. I treat all clients with the same respect, regardless of age, wealth, experience etc.


At the end of the day if someone doesn't want to give you the time of day because of your age, move on to someone that will! Mindset is an important part of the game, and it's important that you don't let anything get in the way of what you are trying to achieve

Good luck bud

P.S I give anyone the time of the day to call me up for as much advice as they want. Especially existing clients, the way i figure it is the more helpful i can be the more chance i have of getting work.

 

[eggnog]

lol, i find myself in the same boat as you. Yeah it does get frustrating but once you drop a few technical terms and start talking on their level they usually take you seriously. but if they don't I just move on. I found early on in this game there's no point getting hung up on these types of people and loose sleep. Plenty of other people out there willing to help/witness youngens succeed.

 

[Alabex]

know exactly what you mean..from personal experience. But also i hear this comment alot from first time buyers looking for solicitors, brokers etc.

I have found that younger advisors, or those from companies that support and foster young and upcoming advisors are the best.

 

[Sabitor_84]

As a relatively young buyers agent I am on the other side of the fence, but any clients that give me the time of day come to realise that there are alot more attributes to being knowedgable, successful, professional and capable then just purely and simply age. And for me, this works the other way too. I treat all clients with the same respect, regardless of age, wealth, experience etc.


At the end of the day if someone doesn't want to give you the time of day because of your age, move on to someone that will! Mindset is an important part of the game, and it's important that you don't let anything get in the way of what you are trying to achieve

Good luck bud

P.S I give anyone the time of the day to call me up for as much advice as they want. Especially existing clients, the way i figure it is the more helpful i can be the more chance i have of getting work.

If only you where in Victoria??? Ahhhhhhh

 

[Sabitor_84]

Thanks to everyone that has made comments so far.

We dont let it get us down or discourage us from our plans. Its just very annoying and i dont like the idea of swapping/changing all the time.

There are a few people on this forum i would try if they wernt in another state but no one locally that ive seen .

A few of the duds have come via referral (mind you thats from one #$% person to another #$%^ person.

I think the problem is because we dont come from money. We dont have access to mum/dads network.

Looks like we have to do the hard slogg and do it our selves. Atleast by the time i finish my kids of the future will have it easy.

I think step 1 will be to get to along to some of the meeting groups/lunchs organised on here and surround ourselves with like minded individuals. That way we might be able to get some quality referrals.

Kind regards,

Matt

 

[The Y-man]

I think step 1 will be to get to along to some of the meeting groups/lunchs organised on here and surround ourselves with like minded individuals. That way we might be able to get some quality referrals.

Kind regards,

Matt

Excellent idea - do come along

http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48551

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[Rolf Latham]

Hiya

my youngest client was 18 years and 2 weeks when we structured her first IP.

My oldest client was 84 when we got him his latest round of 30 year loans with an IO period of 10 years . There is no ageism in our office , though I was doing some stats on our average client age the other day, and we do need to bring it down a lot.

I suspect your experience may have little to do woth you per se, and more to do with moving on until you do find the right persons to work with, and then hold on to them tightly. The experiences you describe are not unique to younger people.

ta
rolf

 

[graisme]

mate; whilst i empathise, your experiences are not unique. try being female, small in stature and single, and trying to buy industrial property (read sheds)!

there is more misogyny out there then you'd think.

you learn to roll with it and ignore the pratts. by that, you go away thinking that they will lose (your business which may be considerable one day) because you know where you are going.

in seriousness though, i have a couple of agents to whom i return because they are gentlemen and have never given me the blarney (lied).

there will always be small people who come across your path and perhaps you have encountered several at once. as you have ALREADY proven(how old are you and already onto several props and degrees under your belts?) (and good on you both), you are not going to join their ranks. focusing on small minded treatment, albeit unjustified somehow brings it home into your area. ignore and sally forth, onto bigger 'n bigger.!!!
onya

 

[coastymike]

I am astonished. Usually the feedback we get is that our firm is quite expensive and that is the reason why some people choose to leave because they want someone who is cheaper - no problems with that some people like David Jones and others like Target doesn't make them any better just offering different products. But if you are paying premium fees (which it sounds like you are) then you are entitled to quality service. Not saying it gives anyone the right to walk over another but it does deserve being treated professionally.

I know James GG is a young person in Melbourne who has just started his own practice so maybe he can help out. www.houseofwealth.com.au. Not sure of experiences people have had with him as I have never been a client but professionally he has always been a pleasure to deal with.

Never judge a book by it's cover. We have had the pleasure of working with multi millionaires through to people just starting out. The passion on both ends of the spectrum can be the same. Just different starting points. Anyway I do wish you the best in your search. I didn't think it was that hard but sounds like I am wrong.

 

[Sabitor_84]

know exactly what you mean..from personal experience. But also i hear this comment alot from first time buyers looking for solicitors, brokers etc.

I have found that younger advisors, or those from companies that support and foster young and upcoming advisors are the best.

I discussed young advisers with my partner on the drive home today and we both agree that it is a fine line between youth and experience.

For instance the Financial planner we saw was a young "hot shot" probly my age or a few years older. It was hard to descibe but he tried to act all knowlegable when he wasant! Between my partner and I we have a Masters of Risk management (almost finished), Bathelor of finance, commerce and Law so while we dont claim to be experts at anything we both know @#$% when we see it.

He was one of these smooth @#$% talkers. Id say he would normally get the mum/dads in wooo them with some big words to show how smart he is!

Any way, YMAN i will speak to my partner tonight and see if she is keen.

What is the format of the night?

Cheers,

Matt

 

[Sabitor_84]

I am astonished. Usually the feedback we get is that our firm is quite expensive and that is the reason why some people choose to leave because they want someone who is cheaper - no problems with that some people like David Jones and others like Target doesn't make them any better just offering different products. But if you are paying premium fees (which it sounds like you are) then you are entitled to quality service. Not saying it gives anyone the right to walk over another but it does deserve being treated professionally.

I know James GG is a young person in Melbourne who has just started his own practice so maybe he can help out. www.houseofwealth.com.au. Not sure of experiences people have had with him as I have never been a client but professionally he has always been a pleasure to deal with.

Never judge a book by it's cover. We have had the pleasure of working with multi millionaires through to people just starting out. The passion on both ends of the spectrum can be the same. Just different starting points. Anyway I do wish you the best in your search. I didn't think it was that hard but sounds like I am wrong.

The website says all the right things. On the outside he looks the goods.

Has anyone used this company before?

 

[Kristine..]

What do young people have to do in order to be taken seriously by wealth/business advisers??I’m talking accountants, Mortgagee brokers, bank people and the final nail in the coffin was today when my buyers advocate seemed dis-interested!! Aren’t they interested in long term relationships??The morgagee broker we tried had his lap top crash when he came over and never got back to us. Had he been reasonable he would be looking at his 3rd loan in 18months!! Its hard to describe but he made us feel like we are nothing.The accountant we have kept telling us about how easy it was because we only have 1 IP (2 now). Making references to the person before us had 14!! (Not in a nice way, I might add).
The financial planner kept saying “the market wont crash” at 5000 points even though it has. Then proceeded to tell me something incorrectly that I have a great deal of knowledge on!! So to everyone, have we been unlucky? Should I keep the faith?

To the professionals on this site. What do you think/do when someone like us walks in?

Hello Matt

Wow! You really do feel dumped on!

My elder son bought his first property at 16&half, my daughter at 18&4months, and my younger son on his 18th Birthday.

For each of their purchases, but not for each of their loans (some were in my pre-broker days), I was actively involved.

The younger son is now shopping for his 3rd property ... he is 21&7 months. This will bring his holdings to about $850,000. Not bad for a skinny kid who was too sick to go to school.

Being taken seriously, not being invisible, is something we all aspire to and it doesn't matter what age we are.

If we let ourselves feel overlooked, snubbed or scorned, we will feel this way every day of the week.

I hold the Victorian Estate Agent's Licence and worked as a Buyer's Agent for nearly two years. My favourite customer (well, there were all my favourites) was a 78 year old First Home Buyer.

Believe me, she made me jump through hoops of fire! She wouldn't even get out of the car if she spied as much as a post painted in Mission Brown.

As a Broker, my very first customer back in 2003 was a First Home Buyer wanting to buy a house for $68,000 in Horsham (thanks, Simon!) and I drove there twice for that deal. Well, what's an 800km round trip between friends?

Matt, customers and brokers / agents / accountants all start somewhere. If we forget our own humble beginnings we cannot be empathetic towards others starting out.

Put the shoe on the other foot: If you rang me and I said 'Wow! Great! Thanks for calling me, I've just started...' would you want to deal with me?

But some people did deal with me, and they and I have prospered. I hope you find the Buyer's Agent / Broker / Accountant who wants to deal with you, and that you have a long and happy association together.

Best wishes
Kristine

 

[Sabitor_84]

Hello Matt

Wow! You really do feel dumped on!

My elder son bought his first property at 16&half, my daughter at 18&4months, and my younger son on his 18th Birthday.

For each of their purchases, but not for each of their loans (some were in my pre-broker days), I was actively involved.

The younger son is now shopping for his 3rd property ... he is 21&7 months. This will bring his holdings to about $850,000. Not bad for a skinny kid who was too sick to go to school.

Being taken seriously, not being invisible, is something we all aspire to and it doesn't matter what age we are.

If we let ourselves feel overlooked, snubbed or scorned, we will feel this way every day of the week.

I hold the Victorian Estate Agent's Licence and worked as a Buyer's Agent for nearly two years. My favourite customer (well, there were all my favourites) was a 78 year old First Home Buyer.

Believe me, she made me jump through hoops of fire! She wouldn't even get out of the car if she spied as much as a post painted in Mission Brown.

As a Broker, my very first customer back in 2003 was a First Home Buyer wanting to buy a house for $68,000 in Horsham (thanks, Simon!) and I drove there twice for that deal. Well, what's an 800km round trip between friends?

Matt, customers and brokers / agents / accountants all start somewhere. If we forget our own humble beginnings we cannot be empathetic towards others starting out.

Put the shoe on the other foot: If you rang me and I said 'Wow! Great! Thanks for calling me, I've just started...' would you want to deal with me?

But some people did deal with me, and they and I have prospered. I hope you find the Buyer's Agent / Broker / Accountant who wants to deal with you, and that you have a long and happy association together.

Best wishes
Kristine

I dont feel that dumped on... Annoyed yes, dumped on NO.

I started this thread literally 5 mins after i got of the phone to someone, whom i thought was ok. It was me venting so to speak!

As stated before this sort of stuff will never get in the way of my goals.

Also congrads with the kids, clearly you have set up your network and your kids can now take advantage of it (as they should).

Good on them!

My pearants ran scared at the mention of debt so i never understood the power of investing or good/bad debt until i went to uni.

Thats one thing my kids will be hearing about from day one. They are going to roll there eyes and say "yes dad, we know already" everytime i mention the word negative gearing or positive cash flow or whateva!

Schools do not teach lessons about money enough. But thats a subject for another thread.

Kind regards,

Matt

 

[The Y-man]

Any way, YMAN i will speak to my partner tonight and see if she is keen.

What is the format of the night?

Cheers,

Matt

Very casual, not much structure - just a bunch of friendly people around a table discussing property, investing, and anything else!


Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[sue78]

Hmmm I think the problem here is that maybe you don't take charge of the situation? you can get all your info and advice from Somersoft and the net...why do you need advice from mortgage brokers, financial planners and accountants?

these professionals are who you pay to get things done only. You just tell them what you want and give them orders/instructions. If you are on top of the game and be confident then maybe you won't feel inferior. The best thing they can do is simplify paperwork and not take up too much of your time. I have been using the same ppl for years, know the numbers and addresses off the top of my head and best part is that they double up as JPs and can sign off without us even there. Only recently, we started communicating through sms coz life is just so busy for everyone...who has time for face to face, phone etc?

When I first started out at 23y.o, I went straight to the bank manager and told them exactly what I wanted and how it can be done on my terms. I could only do that coz I was a banker too and I have experience in that field. But it's not hard to learn.

I will listen to advice but often it doesn't sound like the 'correct' advice from a owners point of view. It can even be a conflict of interest i.e they want to lend you mor emoney eventhough you don't need it. The only ppl that really care are the ones with a vested interested in dollar terms...which is you and if anything goes wrong you can be accountable for your own actions too.

Maybe you're just unlucky. I want ppl that are good at their jobs and I'm not interested in small chats and make me feel important etc actually all the ppl I use are very straight forward busy ppl. My bank manager gave me a small compliment after like 4th yr and many loans later and that means a lot more to me because it's honest. She basically said that she can't believe we have never had a failed venture (well that we borrowed through her) and it's consistent and that ecah time we finish a new build, the bank valuation always values it higher. Very often banks don't do this, even back in the boom.

I wouldn't even let silly things like this bother me and I hope you don't too. If they're crap at the job, get rid of them and if they're good keep them. If they had a bad day and sound disinterested but they are good at what they do then just ignore it.

 

[FrankGrimes]

Hmmm I think the problem here is that maybe you don't take charge of the situation? you can get all your info and advice from Somersoft and the net...why do you need advice from mortgage brokers, financial planners and accountants?

Sue has hit the nail on the head - go out and get as many books, probably starting with the Jan Somers and go from there. There is a heap of information on this site, even if you just lurke on here for 6 months you'd be suprised how much you will learn. Mortgage brokers and accountants have their place, but not for investing advice. (mortgage structuring, tax advice). Others will be able to suggest good books as well.