100 houses in the last 5months! :D

[Phillip English]

As a property developer who has built and sold over 100 property’s in the last 5months its time for me to set my biggest challenge. This next year my goal is to build and sell 1000 houses.
With most my friends off to university next year it’s just starting to dawn on me now few of my peers will be on the same joinery as me. At 17, me and a friend have started a business called Hansel and Gretel Chocolate Creations. We currently provide real estate agents with Chocolate houses for gifts for their clients when they buy or sell a property. (Haha sorry for being misleading I have been doing chocolate houses not real ones lol like they say “fake it to you make it” ). We having been running the business after school, lunch times and study periods. (and in my case much to the disapproval of my teachers often over my economics and classics classes). At the moment we have two employees who make the houses in a commercial kitchen in the weekends and after school. I can not even begin to explain the lessons I have learnt so far from getting out there and taking action. For me my biggest lesson I have learnt would be that I know absolutely nothing. And only now that I have realised this I know that I have every thing to learn. I am aware that I am naïve to many opportunities around me. And that I am naïve to much of the abundance this world has to offer.

I want to be able to change. I want to hear about all the lessons you guys have learnt through out the years. I want to be able to look at the world through each one of your eyes. I am well aware that I need all the help I can get to get me to where I want to go. So I ask any one who’s interested to join me on my journey. And let me join you on yours. I am sure there must be many ways we can benefit each other. If any one wants join me for a coffee in Rotorua to share with me what you have learnt from your experiences in business, real estate and life in general I would love to learn from you. Please feel free to send me an email or text.

I was also wondering if some one could help me with some of my questions I have about real estate:

How can a someone with a limited income buy a property?
What exactly is a property finder and how would I become one?
What books and courses have you found to be the most helpful on real estate and wealth creation?

Thanks, I wish every body the best of luck and I look forward to meeting you all someday

Have a great day

Phillip.

[email protected]
0274620582
(07) 3491945

[McDuck]

Back in the day,we ran a mini casino during lunchbreaks and donated the proceeds to charity...at the suggestion of the teachers who soon caught us.

We were unaware of the gambling laws (being 14 years old at the time).

[BusyLizzy]

Hi Phillip,

OK - you had me there for a minute. I was impressed, only 17 years old and over 100 houses!! Very clever - and I admire your entrepreneurship.

Anyhow - welcome to the forum. I would suggest one of the best ways to get started is to troll through the posts.

Most people here would say the first step is to start setting some goals. There are many posts around on goal-setting so start looking!

Monid recently set up a new thread which contains links to other threads by subject area - a very useful place to start - so check it out.

http://www.propertytalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8374

And if you don't find what you are looking for - start posting the specific questions!

Good luck!

[Monid]

Hi Phillip good luck with the goal!

And a very inspiring story, thanks for sharing. Its what PT is all about, and as Lisa says read through the threads there is a wealth of experience, knowledge and opinons here

In terms of your questions:

How can a someone with a limited income buy a property?

Do you mean buy a property or make money out of property? They can be very different things. Basically though if you are talking about buying a property to hold, then it is pretty hard to do with a low income. What most people around here would advise you to do is increase your income via property then buy properties to hold, so for example make money assigning properties to other investors, by doing trades etc. You do have an advantage in that presumably in your property 'building' company you already have contacts among RE agents.

However you seem to have a fine entreprenial mind, so maybe think outside the property box a little, and see if you couldn't make money in other ways to increase your income.

What exactly is a property finder and how would I become one?

Um, someone who finds properties for other investors or home owners (usually investors around here). They make money by getting properties under contract and then assigning them (not onselling) to other investors. You become one by... finding properties and assigning them. The trick is finding deals before other investors and or property finders nab them.

What books and courses have you found to be the most helpful on real estate and wealth creation?

Courses: University, philosophy degree. Best training you could have for thinking critically and laterally, both I think essential parts of successful business practice. The other essential element, sales I'm not convinced you can learn at university, but maybe somewhere else? I've never done a property related course, but I don't think to be honest with perhaps the exception of GBI's lease options course that everyone raves on about I've missed much. I'm inclined to think you can get just as good, or even a much better education right here reading PT than as you get from at least the educators who train you over a couple of days. I'm not sure about mentoring, I guess I think it could be a step up, but again much of the support and advice you can get here, or through the PT community for the price of a coffee...

In terms of books. I forget their names but the books by Lisa Dudson (I think) and Andrew King are excellent, the very best introduction to property in the New Zealand market that I have read.

I'd take you up on that coffee, I'll be in Rotovegas from the 27th till the 31st, but I think my wife would probably kill me if I added a third property investing thing to our holiday.

Cheers
David

[BusyLizzy]

This is the book that Monid refers to: http://www.propertytalk.com/componen...71/Itemid,116/

This is the first one that I read, and the one that really opened my eyes into what I would be able to achieve (contrary to my earlier beliefs). It's an easy to read book that will take you through the principles of PI. And then there are a myriad of books that can be read thereafter... check out the bookstore on the forum.

I recall there is another thread somewhere a month or two ago about people's favourite PI books. Do a search on 'books'...and you'll find which books people recommend.

[Monid]

Thanks Lisa

I was getting lazy, I should have just looked at the book shop!

I also meant this one: http://www.propertytalk.com/componen...64/Itemid,116/

Cheers
David

[Phillip English]

Hey guys thanks so much for the feed back. Yea I have that book by Lisa Dudson and Andrew King at home. I read it about 6months ago and I enjoyed it. But I think its time I revisted it. Hey David it's funny that you say a philosophy degre can be of benifet. I have always planned on going to uni to study philiosophy in the future. I have always wanted to study it as a hobby. I never throught of studying it to help me with property. Ah well sounds like i will get to kill two birds with the same stone. .

[Monid]

Well to be fair I suspect many people might disagree about the usefulness of the philosophy degree... But there is some reasonable evidence, out of arts degrees in the States philosophy students turn out to be the highest paid. Likewise in doing the GRE (Graduate Recruitment Exam?, I don't know what it stands for the funny test Americans make you do before you can go to grad school) students who studied philosophy in their undergrad degree do the best in the GRE on average. (Of course in both these cases there could be a selection bias, perhaps smart people choose to study philosophy rather than philosophy makes people smarter...)

One of the other things I should have mentioned about a philosophy degree is that it is basically training in problem solving. As some members on this forum say:
Problem+solution=Profit.

The one downside to studying philosophy is that it is quite seductive, you could end up like me, an academic, which while I certainly can't complain, is unlikely to land you in the ranks of the mega-rich. Still some of us (like Superdad) do manage to make it out.

If you wanted to try before you bought, and to do it part time you could look into the distance learning courses that Massey University offers (I believe others do as well, but I am familar with Massey) that way you could enroll in one paper and do it in the evenings alongside for example developing your present or future property business. I can vouch for the Massey courses because I know the chaps involved from when I worked there. And I can particularly vouch for the Ethics course and the Business Ethics course since I wrote them! Distance learning however is not I think the best way to learn you do get a forum board much like this one, but you lack the face to face interpersonal engagement with the lecturer, tutor and fellow students which I think helps bring your critical thinking skills up to speed. But you could try it for one or two papers, then if you like it, transfer either down to Palmie or to another university and cross credit the papers you have already done.

Cheers
David


But killing two birds with one stone

[Spider]

How do I order some chocolate houses for my clients??

[Phillip English]

Great Day to All

You can either order our chocolate houses by phoning me personally on 0274 620 582, or email at [email protected]. If you let us know your company colours we can personise them to your company. If you send us your business cards we can stick them on the houses roof for you. The houses cost $25 each and just as an added bonus we currently have a Christmas special running where if you buy three houses you get the 4th one free. Postage cost $6 per house. Or four houses for $15.

[www.howtorentstocks.com]

Hi Philip,

Try Jamie MacIntrye's (a Successful Australian Property & Shares Millionaire) excellent free ebook (free dvd as well) called: "What I didn't learn at school but wish I did" below



regards,

James