Using a Property Finder

By Lisa Dudson http://www.acumen.co.nz

It’s a reasonable assumption to make that people who put a lot of time into learning a particular skill usually become experts at it. In other words…“practice makes perfect”. Property Investment is no different. It’s a business and should be treated as such. Things can turn pear-shaped when it’s regarded as a “hobby”.

We’ve all heard the barbeque disaster stories of people who have had bad experiences with property investing.  More often than not these people have made the mistake of diving in with minimal education and/or advice.

To run a successful property investment business you will need a team of skilled people working with and for you. This is likely to include a lawyer, accountant, mortgage broker, valuer and also possibly a property manager and project manager/builder. Unless you have the experience (or are able to put aside the time to create it!), using a professional property finder might make a lot of economic sense for you. It sure makes a lot of economic sense for me to pay a dentist rather than try to do it myself.

Recognising, sourcing and negotiating property investment opportunities is a specialised skill and those of you who are interested in saving time, money and stress may want to enlist I Find Property to help you build your property investment business. We’d love to work with you.

Maree Tassell is my business partner.  She has been investing in property for many years and started I Find Property over 6 years ago so she has lots of experience finding great deals for investors.

Are you being too focused?

Written by Lisa Dudson Rock Your Life Global Sage www.acumen.co.nz

It’s Saturday and I’m sitting in a room of around 150 people all eager to learn how to improve their financial position. It takes a lot of commitment to be in a seminar room at 8.30am on the weekend and spend the entire day learning. I have spent many a weekend and evening attending similar events over the years.

What I found interesting is how many seemed to be so singularly focused on acquiring properties without giving some thought to what it actually means to them – everyone just wants to rush in and buy. I was the first presenter of the day talking about the importance of getting your financial foundations strong and robust. I’ve seen so many people come a cropper, especially in the last few years, because they didn’t spend enough time on the basics and building the right foundations.

The second speaker Keith Mason spoke on money beliefs. It was really interesting to watch the faces of the audience as he delivered his presentation. He held them spellbound as he pointed out many insights about themselves that you could tell had never even crossed their minds.

He talked about our lives being a bit like an iceberg. The bit on top of the water is what you see and that’s what many of us spend time managing and operating from. However the part of the iceberg under the water, the biggest part which is our subconscious, is what really drives us. This is the part that we know the least about and what can really sabotage our ability to get ahead.

It was great to see a property seminar company inviting speakers along who can help people learn about how to take a more holistic approach to building their wealth. I totally agree with Kieran Trass’ recent comments in the media about the numbers of property educators who are far more interested in lining their own pockets with mentoring fees that a genuine interest in helping educating people.

If it sounds too good to be true it probably is – after all if investing was so easy the average financial net worth of kiwis would be a lot higher than it is.

Should I pay off my mortgage before I start investing?

Written by Lisa Dudson Rock Your Life Global Sage www.acumen.co.nz

This is a highly debated topic in the financial community, with some people for the idea and others against it. I personally think it depends. That’s not an overly helpful answer so let’s look at why….

From a purely financial or technical perspective you are usually better off paying your mortgage off before you start a savings or investment programme. This is because you pay your mortgage with money you earn after tax. Therefore being better off financially by investing you need to earn a return of approximately 10-12% gross per annum (about 7-8% after tax) depending on your personal tax rate. There are not many investments that will produce this level of return unless you take on a reasonable amount of risk and/or know what you are doing.

Confessions of a shopaholic

Written by Lisa Dudson Rock Your Life Global Sage www.acumen.co.nz

On the weekend I watched the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic which has been out a year or two. I suppose you would call it a chick flick. Although it is a quiet an entertaining comedy it also has a serious side. Its about a women who is addicted to shopping and is heavily in debt. Her life revolves around shopping and trying to keep the debt collectors from the door to the point where she keeps a list of all the excuses she has used to explain why she hasn’t paid so she doesn’t use the same excuse twice.

How do you invest in the sharemarket?

Written by Lisa Dudson Rock Your Life Global Sage www.acumen.co.nz

Investing in the sharemarket can be a great way to get ahead financially.  However like all investment options there are many things to learn and be aware of.

Sharemarkets go through various cycles, periods of strong growth, periods no growth and even some with negative growth. If you are a passive investor the longer you invest the better and ideally you would need to allow a timeframe of at least 5-10 years to ensure you have enough time to average out the market cycles.

The Trouble with Entrepreneurs

By Mike Southon Rock Your Life Global Sage www.mikesouthon.com

The London launch of Sir Richard Branson’s new book Screw Business As Usual was a very jolly affair. The man himself said all the right things and was ably supported by Jean Oelwang CEO of Virgin Unite, the not-for-profit foundation of the Virgin Group.

The audience included several notable social entrepreneurs, including John Bird, the founder of The Big Issue, whose scene-stealing cameo made my job of running the question and answer session very easy indeed.

Stop thinking about money!

Written by Lisa Dudson Rock Your Life Global Sage www.acumen.co.nz

It’s the easiest way to make it.

Dwelling, worrying, planning, fretting, pacing, exhausting – these are some of the many words that come to mind when some people think about money too much. You plan, then you plan some more, then you think about hypothetical situations, then perhaps you rehash the idea, then you think about it some more – meanwhile, you make no money.

People have a lot of ideas, in fact, everyone has ideas. Everyone has thoughts about money, and what it would take for them to live off internet income, or doing what they love while making money. They calculate how much it would take if they decided to do it… then they recalculate, and think about it some more, meanwhile doing nothing.

How do I make my new years resolutions work?

Written by Lisa Dudson Rock Your Life Global Sage www.moneyblog.co.nz

After having some time off over xmas many of us start thinking about what we want to achieve over the coming year. However as the year moves on our new years resolutions often disappear into the ether, never to be seen again…or until next new years! So how do you increase your success rate?

Control the network, Control everything

So how do you become uber-wealthy?

Maybe it’s not money you are after – maybe its simply power, the ability to get your service out there, maybe its distribution you need, maybe its all for the common good and not about ruling the world. The answer is:

Control the network: Control everything.

This has been the plan of the wealthy for a long long time. You may not realise this but when Hughes De Payan and his nine knights discovered the king making secret under the temple of Jerusalem in 1120 (Previously Solomons Temple) it started a faction of the most powerful people on the planet. In the mid 12th century the Knights Templar had created the first global banking system and technically the first credit card, although it was missing the magnetic swipe part, invented in 1960 by Forrest Parry an IBM engineer.

The Business of Winning

Written by Justin Herald – www.justinherald.com

Are you aiming at winning?

By that I mean do you want to complete everything that you do with a sense of total satisfaction due to knowing that you have put in 100%?

Never settle for second best.  Never start something if you know that you couldn’t be bothered if you ever finish it.