Firstly a friend sent me an article someone had written assuming I had alluded to them disparagingly in one of my blogs. It was so hilarious that they thought I would even bother, like I would waste a blog on someone I have nothing to do with or think about,  and the conclusions they drew and accusations made were so funny my office were telling me to shut up.

Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs concerning a perceived threat towards oneself and this article had it in bucket loads.

But the other thing that made me think of the subject is some people’s reactions to the recent REAA activity.

Certainly many of us are affected and we will have to find a solution but some people are asking whether to shut their businesses and leave the country .

So this is also taking a paranoid world view to an extreme.

To counter this we must come back to the need to control our own destinies and to never forget this:

There is a solution for EVERY problem.  Don’t let anything keep you from your dreams.  Go around, under, over or through the obstacles.  There will always be a legal ethical solution to anything thrown at you.

As I travel in countries with much more punitive laws and way more complex tax environments it is always part of my journey to discover how investors solve the ridiculousness of some governments.  And you know what, in every country without fail, I find people achieving their goals through property investing when the average person wpuld say it is impossible.

It just takes education and determination, both of which are freely available to us all!!

Thanks to Jan for this pic showing the reaction of finders to the REAA and a great picture of paranoia .

Property Finders react to the REAA

Stay Inspired and Stay Safe ~ Dean Letfus

Totally off topic but funny as

Is the only word I can use to say how I felt when I got the hundreds of emails from people thanking me for my advice regarding finders and asking for more info.

So THANK YOU ALL!!

I have always considered it an honour to be able to educate and inspire so many people and take that privilege very seriously.  So I will always do whatever I can to assist finders and traders, no one else cares about us after all and we are the life blood of the investing industry

To answer your questions, yes I will be giving more info shortly, as soon as I can get a strong legal position and find the best solutions.

Thank you also to the many finders offering to assist with funding the legal costs your kindness is greatly appreciated.

Hang in there people, every problem has a solution, we just need a few weeks to get enough coneheads in the same room.

If you have had any legal opinions already please advise me as the more material the better in this situation.

Stay Inspired and Stay Safe ~ Dean Letfus

PS: We do have 2 solutions that we are 99% sure will work so don’t get discouraged.

Basically they stated they couldn’t interpret their own legislation, as it was so poorly drafted, and would rely on the courts to decide it.

Putting aside the total ridiculousness (word?) of that position I tried to get some sort of opinion form them to protect my own activities and those of my clients.

As I still wait for their promised responses and opinion they appear in the last 6 weeks to have suddenly decided they can interpret their own legislation and have embarked on a campaign of attacking finders round the country, both directly and through Real Estate Agents.

It appears they have decided that double settlements are fine but any form of assignment is not allowed.

I can only assume that because RE sales are at a stand still and they have a budget to spend and presumably prosecution targets to meet that they have suddenly decided what was “impossible for us to give a binding opinion on” is now suddenly clear.

It will take some time and money to counter attack this behaviour so treat this is a formal warning in the mean time to STOP assigning property immediately, especially if an agent is involved.

There will be a solution I am confident but unless you want to be the test case then stop.

They have already let slip that they are capturing and archiving all finders sites and if you get in their sights they will prosecute you for all sales post REAA, not just the one you get fingered for.

So my recommended course of action, (this is just my opinion at this point), is to stick to double settlements.  This involves being in a position to settle a property and taking an equitable interest in the property prior to selling it.

This is not as complicated as it sounds and for many/most finders will be a workable solution for now.

I will put more comprehensive information together ASAP and keep you informed of any inevitable court cases but in the mean time be careful.

Yet another small business industry is being treated like a criminal organisation and the public lose out on benefiting form finders unique skills.

We are now the only country in the world that doesn’t allow buyers agents/finders, a ridiculous situation that we will work to correct.

BUT IT MAY TAKE SOME TIME!!

Stay Inspired and STAY SAFE ~ Dean Letfus

I guess being American I was expecting an efficient capitalistic machine operating where you would have to be there exactly on time and get ushered into your interview room where a brilliant and officious officer would grill you and make it perfectly clear that if America let you in to visit it would be due to their magnanimous magnificence and not because of any worthiness on my part.

So I get there 20 minutes early to discover that every appointment for today was given at 10:30 so there is standing room only as people wait to be seen by the ONE and ONLY interviewer.

2 hours later I have my turn at the counter, no rooms or privacy to be met by a ovely woman who proceeded to discuss her property investments in the USA.

This almost made me forget the 2 hours it had taken to be seen and she was supremely helpful, although warned me that the USA didn’t care about my travel plans and whether I got my visa in time was entirely a hit and miss affair.

So all my dreams about America were dashed in one event all before 1PM!!

I must say though my biggest impression was the friendliness and helpfulness of the interviewer. She was awesome.

Stay Inspired and Stay Safe ~ Dean Letfus

About 3 years ago I tried to buy a property in Papakura for around 300K.  Last night one of my mentoring students emailed me that she had a property under contract and when I saw the pics realised it was the same property.

When I was looking at the property it would have rented for around $350.

Now the rental income is $450 and she has it under contract for $226,000!!

So a “good deal” 3 years ago is a real cash cow now with a truckload of equity.

It is just incredible that you can buy a 4 bedroom home for way less less than the build cost in Auckland city!!

I just don’t know how many people will retire in the next recovery but you can join them if you take some action now.  Don’t leave your future in the governments or times hands, as commentators rub their hands in deceived glee over property values declining and how our selfish behaviour is being punished blah blah, today is an incredible time to get going with your future.

I have 2 friends who are both in their late 70′s.  One couple invested in property through out their life and treated even their own homes as an investment.

Today they are deciding where to retire to and they have the ability to purchase their final home for cash without selling their current house.  They drive around looking at property in their new car and can simply enjoy the fruit of their labours now because they are set for the rest of their lives, (and they have been financially free for some years).

My other friend has worked hard all his life but never did anything about his retirement.  As a result he and his wife now own the worst house in the worst street and still have a mortgage.  Their dream is to retire tot he beach but this will never happen.  The reality of their situation is just hitting home now that they are stuck, really stuck.  When they sell they will have to move into the sticks and hope they might be able to find something within walking distance of the beach as they certainly won;t be able to see it with the funds they will have and running a car will be tricky as well.

They have 10, 15 or 20 years of financial difficulty after nearly 60 years of graft.

You will be one of these people yourself one day.

Even 1 good property investment can move you into the top category.

Don’t ignore your own future!!

Stay Inspired and Stay Safe ~ Dean Letfus

Stay Inspired and Stay Safe ~ Dean Letfus

We all want increase in our lives right? Increased wealth, increased health, increased success.

But generally we don’t understand that increase must be preceded by growth.

When you plant a fruit tree seedling there is a lot of growth to occur before you ever see any fruit.

My friend had been through a great deal of negative stuff in his life and over the last couple of years working with me had really grown in his capacity to think differently and make decisions that would lead to increase.

And listening to him yesterday was like the fruit was starting to really fall off the tree.

This is so exciting to see because once you have been through the growing pains you are forever bigger, stronger and able to bear more fruit.

So be encouraged, you will have been growing in many areas of your life lately and missed it because your measure of success has been fruit or increase.

Don’t give up.

Keep growing, then the increase is inevitable!

Stay Inspired and Stay Safe ~ Dean Letfus

This week I had a family member, non investor, sell a home for 15% more than they paid just a few months ago and saw a property sell for 45% less than its 2007 purchase price.

So as a trader or investor the big secret to figure out is where is the profit and where is the carnage.  Or at least that’s what we think don’t we.

It is such a common question I hear: “Where is the best area to invest?”

So let’s remind ourselves, again , that there is no best area to invest.  Of course there are areas that have differing rates of capital growth and some areas consistently out perform others so that is one factor to consider.  However often those areas also have a higher floor in terms of discount so buying there purely on growth stats is a misnomer.

As always we need to look at the numbers to decide where the best areas might be.

For example if our primary need is cashflow then a property in a low capital growth area paying you a hundred dollars a week is going to “outperform” a high capital growth property with no income.

But the point really about all this is that 2 neighbouring properties in the same street can be bought for widely varying discounts and supply different yields, so there is no such thing as a best area, there is only ever a best next deal for you!

Stay Inspired and Stay Safe ~ Dean Letfus

You see I bought 50 properties in 3.5 years and basically did a life time of learning and mistakes in a highly concentrated period.  Whilst I still achieved the result of an investment portfolio my cashflow isn’t anything near what I’d like yet and the stresses of so much “hare” activity takes a significant toll.

My friend on the other hand started buying a property a year in the 80′s and then had a spend up in the early 2000s when he built a portfolio at average yield of “10 to 12%”.

So today his portfolio has more than doubled in value and my guess is it is providing a 15 to 20% plus return.

And that’s the secret of the tortoise strategy.

Less obvious results initially but over time the tortoise get’s the money, gets the growth and gets the girl all without any hyperventilating, grey hair and sleepless nights.

I have for some time taught young people just to buy a property a year for the rest of their lives because I know how stressful it was to build a big portfolio so fast, but it was nice to meet someone who was at the other end of that process, a happy, wealthy retired tortoise.

Anyway gotta hop over to my next deal now

Stay Inspired and Stay Safe ~ Dean Letfus

So when I heard about Allan Hubbard being done over I felt terribly for him.

Thanks to Kieran Trass it now appears there may be a very sinister side to this whole issue.

Kieran’s recent release is copied below, not so much for your information,  but in the hope that some of my readers may be in positions of influence to make sure this is bought out into the open.