mrd

Last week, in part one if this two part series, I asked three important questions (1) Does Recession Proofing Your Life interest you? (2) If the income necessary to fund the rest of your life had already been taken care of… what would you do differently? (3) Do you realise that how you manage your finances today will determine how you spend your time… tomorrow? I queried why it is that most of us will work hard all our lives to simply to “get by”; albeit with some modest comforts along the way.

Given we all would prefer more (free) time and money; and thus choices… why is this?

**Make yourself a coffee or Tea and find a quiet place to read this article. I believe the information contained in it is some of the most valuable I have ever shared!**

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PROPERTY at Robina continues to perform well, achieving above average growth in apartments and higher weekly rental incomes than the wider Gold Coast, according to new research by Colliers International.

The Robina Suburb Profile, compiled by Colliers International Gold Coast research manager Lynda Campbell, found Robina had become a haven for families and young couples, drawn by its central location and the billions of dollars being poured into new infrastructure and amenities.

Units in Robina recorded the strongest capital gains, increasing in value by nine per cent per annum over the past five years, from just $299,000 in 2003 to $459,000 in 2008.

Read More:

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2009/04/18/70311_gold-coast-real-estate.html

In response to the USA Car Manufacturer’s financial problems… IKEA has announced its intention to take over GM; and to sell cars!

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We recently received an enquiry asking if we would invest in retirement villages? We know that many others would possbibly be considering this option so I have decided to post my reply:

Hi,

Thanks for your enquiry. We have mentioned in a previous newsletter our concern over retirement villages as an investment. A relevant portion from one article follows below.

Retirement Villages

Units in retirement villages are being promoted as the high demand property of the future.  While there may be a demand for these, they are not reflective of where people would generally choose to live.  Values are not set by people falling in love with them or with where they are located as much as the commercial need to live there.  Many retirement village residents live in these places because of a lack of viable alternative.

Rental income from these properties is tied to pension rates and inflation and the future value of such an investment is likewise tied to the commercial return. Therefore, a (retirement unit) will appreciate only in line with inflation and any increases in the pension; regardless of any boom in the residential property sector.

Again as it is with holiday let accommodation, you will be at the mercy of the management team.  Imagine trying to move the management rights away from the resident managers to an outside firm – good luck, you’re going to need it!

Yes we have an aging population and yes demand may be steadily increasing for this type of accommodation, however, why would I limit an investment decision to a property that will only ever meet the housing needs of a very small sector of the overall population? Again, not “set ‘n’ forget” ™.

Click here to read the whole article.

I have helped several people into this type of property back in 2000-2003 and they seemed like a good idea at the time from a rent return point of view even though the capital growth was doubtful.

In hindsight every one of these ended badly. I am very sorry I ever helped those people into retirement villages as an investment. Sorry if that seems harsh but it is simply my experience.

One major issue is that the lenders vary their opinion on these. Many lenders simply won’t lend on retirement villages and then will only lend around 60% (as opposed to 80-90% on ordinary residential property)

I am happy to chat about this further if you would like to contact me and please bear in mind my comments are based purely on retirement units as an investment.

Martin Bell

Property Mentor

1. Does Recession Proofing Your Life interest you?
2. If the income necessary to fund the rest of your life had already been taken care of… what would you do differently?
3. Do you realise that how you manage your finances today will determine how you spend your time… tomorrow?

So why is it that most of us work hard just to get by… enjoying only a few modest comforts?

In part I believe this has much to do with conditioning. From birth we learn to think in a certain way… often most influenced by the masses. If we think like most people think we will wind up doing what most people do and having what most people have (and ditto for not having)! To mirror a crowd is to resemble the crowd and guarantee a life just like the crowd.

Recession Proofing Your Life will take a little time and require you to do some things differently; but it’s not overly complicated. This week I am addressing attitude and next week we will look at the role cash flow plays in this process.

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PRICES SLASHED TO ORIGINAL PRICES

Don’t miss this opportunity to invest into Robina for under $400,000

2 bedroom units $395,000

Rent Return of 5%

Bill Morris, author of the Midwood Report was recently quoted in The Gold Coast Sun newspaper saying, “Home buyers hitting the Gold Coast market can now expect an average 30 per cent increase on their house’s value by the end of next year (2010)”. Bill went on to say,

“the market would start to bounce back and home buyers should purchase before the end of 2009 if they wanted a bargain.”

The Global financial crisis has certainly stamped its place in history as a significant line in the sand for the way things were and the way things are now. The slowdown in banks lending and people purchasing has taken its toll on this developer.

He needs to finish his project now and move on!

HOWEVER IN EVERY ADVERSITY IS THE SEED OF A GREATER OPPORTUNITY

Located in Robina where infrastructure development is HOT in the midst of the downturn due to the long term Government strategic plan to position Robina as the CBD of the Gold Coast, this project offers large 2 & 3 bedroom apartments walking distance to the new Varsity Train Station with its retail and commercial village.

Having increased prices at the height of the activity and boom the Developer, now hurting, has decided that he is better off to drop prices on a small number of units back to original prices and move on.

If you have been sitting back and waiting for the bargains THIS IS IT!

To see more on this great project view the Acacia Property Report here.

See our “What’s happening in Robina & your Investment” article to catch up on all that Robina offers.

Three men were sitting together bragging about how they had given their new wives duties.

Terry had married a woman from Greece…

He bragged that he had told his wife she needed to do all the dishes and housework. He said that it took a couple days but on the third day he came home to a clean house and the dishes were all washed and put away…

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The Age Newspaper recently reported in an article  ‘negative gearing on the way out’.   Quoting from a concerned client (Marius) of mrd “without negative gearing most of us will be in big trouble“.

Here is Doug’s reply to Marius which addresses the negative scaremongering of the press:

Hi Marius,
Everything comes down to supply and demand.  These two overriding factors ensure that property investment returns to what I call market equilibrium.
If the government does something to make investing less attractive then fewer people will do it.  The same number of people need investment properties to live in (actually the number and percentage is increasing).  If there are fewer investment properties available then they must pay a higher price for them.  Normal market forces will always prevail.  If people are forced to pay more rental then property investing becomes attractive again and investors come back into the market bringing it back to a balance of supply and demand or market equilibrium.
The government had a try at removing negative gearing years ago and they had to quickly reverse it.  Investing stopped.  Building stopped.  Rents soared.  Unemployment rose.  Tax intake dropped dramatically.  Public housing queues grew. They quickly realised their mistake and reversed it.  It would be a dumb politician who tried that one again. This is a good question that I am sure many would be concerned about.
Regards,

Doug.

Mostly, we get out life what we expect; not what we deserve! Expectation is a powerful force that moves us towards success… or failure. Our belief system is moulded from expectation, influencing the daily decisions we make and the actions we take. Missing Out On The Life You Want is guaranteed… should your expectations fall short of your dreams.

Changing what you feed your mind will change your reality! How you see yourself… that is, really see yourself, will play the greater role in how you will live out your life… and whether you miss out on the life you want.

Multi-millionaire, author and motivational speaker Peter Daniels was intrigued to unearth the common denominator among highly successful people. It was back in early 1982 at the Airport Hilton in Sydney when I first heard Peter speak. I remember the event well. When I came away it was as though something had been etched into the very core of my being. Young, eager and very impressionable, I sat on the edge of my seat ready to explode with excitement as Peter weaved the following words through his inspiring talk.

“What makes the great, great?” Read more…

Life is made all the more interesting by the vast array of personalities and opinions out there. Feedback to mrd in almost all cases is very positive… however, nobody can please all of the people all of the time! Last year we received a request from someone to cease our “Satanic Financial Propaganda”. Minus the man’s name, the comment read as follows…

“You keep sending me this satanic financial propaganda which i do not want. I am sick and tired of receiving your investment garbage. One thing you should learn is that we have a task on earth to WORK. Not bludge on society. Also, as conscientious citizens we are duty bound to pay taxes, not avoid them. Every dollar people get out of so called investments, some poor beggar is paying for it and getting poorer in the process. The investment you promote is stealing from the masses.  Finally, when they put you in a wooden box, you won’t be taking any of it with you, that is guaranteed.” 

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