Trust set up etc, post accountant

Had a long chat with the accountant,  it was going good but my business partners lack of structures and lack of confidence in general caused the meeting to go for an hour and a half. But that is what i am for,  their lack of confidence is why they wanted me as their business partner.

The accountant started off trying to talk us out of a trust structure, and especially out of a company trustee set up.  but after questioning all of our circumstances he STRONGLY agreed that a company as trustee was the best option for us.  its good in that my knowledge is reassured by his advice. but his initial comments and a few he made during the meeting made me think that he has good investing people and property people around him.  but his person knowledge of investing isn't that great.  it seems to be based on his clients experiences not his own.   but good point was at the end of the meeting he did not charge us for the hour and a half of his time.

we will definitely be setting up the trust in the future, but no need to do it just yet.
Our finances will become available in feb of next year (2011) and so we will probably set up the trust next month or even jan next year.

I am currently starting exams and so have less time to dedicate to this until the end of the month. but then i will be on holidays from uni and can really focus on the business side of things.   first things i will do is modify some of the spreadsheets i have and create a few new ones to simplify the analysing and recording side of the investing business.  these will include a few initial feasibility study sheets, as well as some discounted cash flow sheets as well as some sheets to monitor progress and let me know if they need some attention or to be sold (market underperforming, bad news etc).

I went to a property meeting the other day with a melbourne company, it was funny to see through all of their stuff.   they did a quick market analysis, and gave me the info i had already received from other meetings. but where the other meetings address all the pros and cons to prove their market analysis,  this company only showed one side of the situation,  this allowed them to push the properties and services they were selling.   having been in sales myself a few years ago, i could tell straight away when the seminar was coming to an end by the words he used, very specific wording of sentences that lift up hope and make you think you need to do everything right this very second.  i think everyone in the room signed up to one of his free meetings, where a rep comes to your home to discuss your future goals etc.    also this company very strongly pushed negative gearing.   it can be good.   but not useful in my situation.   oh i meant everyone in the room... but me!  :P

i did win a bottle of wine, and bought a bottle of moet champagne for 7 dollars!  thats a 93 dollar saving!  so was still a fun night!  

unfortunately one of my exams falls on the 16th of this month..... and starts right at the same time as steve mcknights property seminar thing.... i was hoping to go to that, and bought 2 tickets... i guess this is where i get to test out my business partner and see what they think at a meeting without me.

Trust set up

Today on http://www.propertyinvesting.com/ i got recommended an accountant so sent him a quick email and set up a meeting for monday next week.  I told him i was looking to set up a company trustee discretionary trust and can i meet to discuss and possibly set this up.
Some things to note that i will be specifically requesting about the deed will be.
No beneficiaries be personally named except myself, my business partner and the clause "each corporation of which a Beneficiary is a director and owns at least one share (alone or with another person)"
Extra beneficiaries will be listed by their relation, such as daughter of beneficiary xxxx etc.  This will save me amending the deed at a later date, and will also stop lenders requesting all listed beneficiaries to sign the deed of trust, and also limit the banks requesting personal guarantees from the beneficiaries.  I am double checking this atm.


Also i specifically do not want wife of xxxx to be listed, as this could clash with prenups and stuff at a later date.
But apart from those i want a standard discretionary trust that will allow me and my business partner as directors of the company listed as trustee to distribute earnings as we see fit, at the moment with the current tax situation  if our personal earnings are above 80,000 each then money will be directed to the company as beneficiary to cap our tax rate at 30%.


So if all goes well then i should have all this set up by next week and i can then contact mortgage brokers etc, with a clear understanding of my investing structure and see what my options are!!  it's getting exciting!


also next month i will be attending 3-4 property seminars they are quite fun,  but i am only attending so many because of their low to no cost.... i do not believe i would ever pay more then 50 dollars for any sort of seminar.

First property meeting EVER!

I went to my first property meeting today,  it was hosted by a lady named sue, and featured a guest speaker from http://www.Resultsmentoring.com/  named Brendan.   it was a really nice meeting,  only 10 people listening, so a good close group.   its easier to learn and ask questions that way.

Started with a market update, saying that feb would be a good time to buy property,   and to stay away from over supplied areas.   this raised lots of bells with me,  so i think ill be looking around at other areas, as elizabeth has lots of land and housing for sale, and northfield etc has a big development going on and quite a few blocks of land for sale....  if a bargain comes up, sure ill look into it.   but i think i need to research a few more areas.

I asked one of the ladies there about who she went with to get her trust organised and she said they charged too much, and she was happy, but wouldn't recommend them.   so i'm still on the look out for someone to set up my trust for me.

but i think feb is looking like a great time to be getting into the market.   I have another property meeting next month with this group, and also next month i have steve mcknights meeting.  so that will be great!!  I'm really looking forward to it,   although, even though i like the meetings... not sure i would pay large $$ for the day seminars and stuff like that.   these meetings i am going to atm are 20-30 bucks max... so i think they are very worth it..... especially considering today i won a book in the raffle, and got a discount on brendans book... so good value for money.

review of the properties in the Elizabeth area.

I originally went to just look at 4 properties, but while driving around the area i saw many for sale signs up.  This worried me a bit, but also allows me to compare what a good deal is to all the other properties out there.

But it also made me think that i might not be able to get the rents i wanted,  some of the good deals would still be positively geared, but not to the degree i hoped.  But i did see some opportunities for improving the value of those properties.

Other observations was that Elizabeth downs seems to be older and more established then elizabeth,  and elizabeth south seems to be very community housing based and lots of dodgy houses.   but more schools and transport.  it would be good to check some of the other surrounding areas too.

The trip has made me look into costs of developing some properties closer in to the city,  and also want to talk to some real estate agencies property managers about what is in demand and what rental rates are like and how often places take to rent out in that area.   Overall i would say it was a very productive trip.

Getting active!

Over the past few months i have been researching properties and areas that i think will be good to make some purchases.  I have found a bunch of seemingly undervalued properties in the elizabeth area, and today i am going to do a drive by, and just have a look at these places from the street.

Full finances for these projects will be available in feb 2011.  but i can get a few hundred thousand now if i find a real bargain that just cant wait.  The plan for these elizabeth properties is to renovate them, inside, outside, landscaping or what ever will have to biggest impact to rental amounts.  Then rent these buildings out and enjoy the income, i might then either sell them as tenanted rental properties, or just hold them for a while.

About to go have a shower, then go for my drive!

Introduction and first post

Well this is my first blog post ever,  I guess i should explain what this blog is about.

I am about to start my journey with property investing and wanted to have some form of history to help me when i look back on things, remind me how i became wealthy, and where i learnt the hard lessons.

I'll be posting videos on youtube, blogging my quest, when i buy properties i will video them, journal the renovations etc.  Same as when i build my own.

I will post blogs regularly so that when i start some new research or train of thought, it is documented.  That way those reading about a certain property i purchased can look back and see how i came to the decision to buy that property.

So this is a learning guide for myself, and hopefully all of you reading this will be able to learn from my mistakes, and hopefully my successes too!