Is having a mentor important?

Is that advice how much do you charge?

 

I am not licensed to advise if that is advice

 

Most important is a track record of success and building wealth. I couldn't give a rats what 'qualifications' any advisor has -to me it's all nonsense.

I want to make sure they have built massive wealth and are very knowledgeable in the areas I'm interested in.

Example, I did a development course some years ago. The guy had no formal license/qualifications but has built a portfolio from development worth 10s of millions (verified). I learnt so much from the course and the man, many of the contacts shared I have employed with good success and those contacts have also recommended other consultants which I have used with also good experiences.

Until this day I have remained friends with this guy and now his son who is also a successful developer.

The contacts I made in itself is invaluable to me.

 

Agree as I have had the same issue with a few Melbourne catch ups I have attended also..not great with names so that may be an issue.

 

I can relate to this. I feel we have the knowledge to expand our portfolio but worry about too much debt and being caught out by a change in the market. I know way more about current values than my siblings and parents but still listen and wonder when they tell me the Brisbane market has peaked already. Leaves us a bit unsure and with young kids it's not easy to turn things around if you stuff up. The stakes are high.

 

You don't need 2 years financials with RAMS however cut off point is $750K, you will need your accountant to sign off on this.

Not sure what is happening in NZ, but I think its already had a good run.
Also, currency play important when buying overseas Au$ vs NZ$, when buying and selling

MTR

 

Thanks MTR,

Thats why we were going to look at Rams, the one year financial requirement.

We will have to weigh it up closer to time, it's a lot of additional risk and that income may well drop off in the new location

 

I agree with this one.

T and C

Learning and networking, ie books, forums, meet ups, investor friends etc etc........ is a good start.

Be your own mentor, where, what and how you will achieve financial success will then be your responsibility, do you really want to give this one away??

As we have read on this forum mentors can be hit and miss, why take a chance, just my opinion.

MTR

 

A mentor does not take over decision making responsibility, they simply are more experienced person who provides guidance in the same vein as people reading PC threads, books etc. for guidance.

I'm not sure what others think a mentor is but our original post had nothing to do with shifting decision making (however some of the responses have been along those lines). It actually started out as a fairly innocous question - we have largely gone it alone to this point, is a mentor important?

 

That's good, not everyone does this.

 

i am an engineer, won't do you any good mate.

you need retire.rich.101

 

@bob shovel I sense a pricing war approaching

 

2 years ago he was supposed to 'mentoring' me for a beer or 2 how to put internal plaster board and cornice in Penrith area, then he moved to wild wild west....

 

I am very cheap but also not looking for work

 

We have a decent amount of experience. We have owned 5 IP's now over a period of 14 years but only started looking at it as a vehicle for early retirement very recently (prior to this the goal was solely to give our kids a house each to manage the finances/maintenance/tenants/issues and eventually gift it to them).

I guess a way to re-phrase our question is:

Is it worthwhile seeking out a mentor given that we have come this far without one?

I think the benefits over and above PC, books etc. would be a fresh set of eyes and ideas to research and helping to keep the motivation up.

 

I've been busy....

Might be back at the end of the year

 

Actually... an engineer that can plaster can't be a good engineer ....oh hang on..

 

Right..

I know what I would do and it would have nothing whatsoever to do with a mentor.

Perhaps its about reviewing cashflow vs market vs property vs adding value vs selling/reducing debt, servicability, age etc etc.

.....just stating what I would do because I am always looking at increasing income, perhaps not your goal?

 

Agreed NZ has had a good run. I managed to buy 2 this year in a quickly rising market due to investors moving out of Auckland. Had a great equity gain. I could sell them on to reduce ongoing currency risk, but the yields are very good and costs minimal so happy to hold. We'll probably move to NZ to sell them on anyway if no cgt is payable. Even with currency change will still work out at least equal if not better than properties bought with high entry, exit and holding costs. Not sure if it's still worth buying now though, deals are much harder to find.

 

You could just keep using the forum, building a network from here and asking for advice as needed. The risk with a mentor is that they may not share your preferred strategy, or the strategy you both prefer may not be the most successful long term. Following one person may blinker you a bit, and cost a fortune. Just my opinion. I've sought mentors in the past, got knocked back both times as they were too busy but both have ended up helping me anyway. Long story short, build relationships with people who have proven success.