Steve’s book compared to others

I think the more books you read the better off you will be. No single book can provide you with all the answers or an easy path to wealth. Each book adds a little something to the others and helps you form your own individual style/goals.

It’s a lot easier to slam a book than it is to actually write it.

Another book I read that seemed quite okay to me was by Craig Turnball – Property Millionaire or similar title.

Hi Karl,

I feel the same as you…. having read all of those books plus others too. It is like information overload. But it’s better than having too little information!!

If you pick up a couple of different ideas from a book, then it’s probably worth the trouble of reading it.

Lozza

‘It’s Easy To Be A Property Millionaire’ by Craig Turnbull isn’t too bad. He does push -ve gearing a little but also advocates purchaseing +ve geared properties to balance things out. He followed it up with ‘It’s Easy To Be A Property Multi-Millionaire’ which I haven’t had a chance to read yet. I think I read about 9 books on property investing before I got to Steve’s, but I have definitely learnt at least a little something from all of them. It is easier to decide what is right for you personally if you have all the information, even if you now think it is wrong.

Cheers

“Steve’s book is really the only one which talks about ONLY investing in positively geared properties. Are these other books a waste of time? I’m getting information overload trying to figure out what is best, although the idea of positive gearing makes the most sense to me”

I think the answer to the first question is the reason why Steve was able to buy so many properties. Buying only positive cashflow properties meant he never maxed out his lending, because the income from the properties meant he wasn’t relying on his earned income to top up the loss.

Not that you can’t make huge amounts with negative gearing,
but as pusha so aptly said ‘I had already reached the Dead End in -ve gearing.”
Which is when you can’t buy any more for the time being.

You might be making mad capital gains but there’s a ceiling when you reach the limit of what the bank is prepared to lend you at a particular point in time. Therefore it’s finite. Or, you have to wait till either a) you earn more or b) your property goes up in value so your equity is greater.

If you kept on only buying positive cashflow properties you can keep on buying more as long as you can find them! It’s unlimited. I think the other key to doing that (i.e. what the big-time guns do) is buying in structures (trusts and companies as corporate trustees) which you keep replicating.

I don’t think any of the books are a waste of time. I have got heaps out of Dolf de Roos books as well as CDs of his seminar.

To figure out what’s best for you, see what you are trying to achieve. If you have a high income job and want to keep working at it for a while and are paying lots of tax then who knows, buying in somewhere that went up 58 percent last year and may do something close this year (unless the property bubble bursts) could be a good thing.

Whether a bubble is gonna burst is a whole-nother-thing (as they say in california!) which has been debated elsewhere and comes down to what do you believe? who really knows? What’s the risk?

Positive cashflow properties carry a risk too, which is you don’t get a tenant.

Ah, it’s all just a game of monopoly. As Dolf de Roos says property is very forgiving of ‘mistakes’ as long as you can hold for the long term. Certainly +ve cashflow properties would seem to me to be ‘safer’. A dollar now, or one in the future?
i’ll take the dollar now. It’s worth more, for a start, plus I can start right away to reinvest it.

cheers-
Mini

Hi there,

If I could put another spin on it…
I have Jan Somers books, I have “Streets Ahead” (Wakelin), I have Bell’s books, I have many other investing books (including ‘finance for dummies’ [:0)]), but whilst I’ve read these books and they made sense, I’m not sure I can clearly remember the messages each book offered and after a while they all become a blurr (maybe that’s because I fell asleep whilst reading them []).
With Steve’s book, it’s an easy read and the messages are clear (Just as Phobia- Matt posted earlier).
Besides, Steve’s book wins the prize for the best picture on the cover [][][]

I guess the biggest test of an investing books worth, stems from the individuals perspective of whether or not it matches your goals and can you, after reading the book, go out and replicate the process and make money…Otherwise why buy this type of book in the first place?
If you don’t want to do something and you just want to read something, why not just choose a Harry Potter book to read, because unless you want to learn something and go out and act on what you’ve learnt ..you’re just in fantasy world if you think any book is going to be of any worth!

And no I haven’t been dancing with the fairies tonight [:0)][:0)][:0)]

Okay, I’m being controversial…
(I think it’s bed time) []

Sooshie []

“small steps make the journey” (SAS)