TV3 Inside NZ: House Trap

[cantthinkofanickname]

House trap last nite any wonder councils are thinking about banning MDU that was very poorly planed imo

graham

[Monkeyboy]

Wasn't it hideously poorly planned. I don't blame the tenant for moving out. We upset our tenant when we built however we compensated her for the inconvenience. She still wasn't happy throughout the whole process. Took longer and was messier than anticipated. Often it was tradesmen parking in drive and that sort of thing that would upset her. You certainly do have to be cautious when build mdu. Interesting how all people lost in thier new values. Maybe they could have used two valuers per property to compare prices. Maybe we should ask target to assess valuers.

[drelly]

I thought the art deco house garden revamp was a disaster as well. They turned it from a relatively private garden into an unuseable space with a noisy view of a main road!

[Cliffy]

Wasn't it hideously poorly planned. I don't blame the tenant for moving out.

Yes, I agree. Looks to be severely limiting the target rental market to extended families.

They turned it from a relatively private garden into an unuseable space with a noisy view of a main road!

Agree also. Although it looked good, losing the privacy on a busy road will surely degrade value?

[AustinWong]

I watched the first and second shows of the series.

What a dreadful production. They make out you are going to learn something of value. The show does not really help anyone.

They should rename the shows accordingly.

Series one.."You can afford a bach if you are rich" or "Get real..you can't afford a bach"

Series three... "How to add value to your property but make a capital loss" or "How to overcapitalise in your property"

They should get people like Andrew King to do the whole show and not a pretty face that regurgitates secondhand information.

So far the show has not shown me how to own a bach and told me that I will lose money renovating.

Not impressed.

Can anyone out there put together a show that will help us real investors?

I missed the 2nd series on Australian investment . Was it any good?

Cheery

Lawrence

[cube]

The garden reno of the Art Deco house did include the planting of a hedge that would restore the privacy in a few years, and the lady did say that she wasn't going anywhere soon.

cube

[RentMaster]

My thoughts...

My first impression was that the fence of the art deco house was not finished. They forgot to put the panels in between the posts. But as Cube says, once the plants grow, maybe then it would look better. But hedges take time.

The minor dwelling was far too close to the other house. They might as well have joined the 2 houses together.

This show appears to be aimed more at the novice than the expeienced people reading these forums. Also TV is more about entertainment than education. They want the ratings.

[RonHoyFong]

TV3 Inside NZ: House Trap (Episode 4 - Final)

Hi Forumites

Thursday 18th May 2006 at 8:30pm is the Final Part 4 of 4 in a new series of "House Trap",

"Investigates the alternatives to buying a house and being weighed down by a big mortgage, and follows the range of people who decide not to tie up all their money in a home."

Cheers and Happy Viewing!
Ron

[David_W]

Book Launch

Thanks for the update on the final House Trap documentary. I am looking forward to attending your and Phil Jones' book launch so will have to record it.

Cheers
David

[RonHoyFong]

"I STILLKNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER"... I am on TV3 Thursday 18th May 2006 @ 8:30pm

Hi Forumites

Thursday 18th May 2006 at 8:30pm is the Final Part 4 of 4 in a new series of "House Trap",

"Investigates the alternatives to buying a house and being weighed down by a big mortgage, and follows the range of people who decide not to tie up all their money in a home."

Cheers and Happy Viewing!
Ron

NOT TO BE MISSED... Its me (Ron) again on TV3 Thursday 18th May 2006 @ 8:30pm

It Official and I just didn't remember what I did last summer!

Got a call this afternoon from "Top Shelf Production" advising me the interview they did with me 6 months ago at one of my properties is on tomorrow night on "House Trap"

Had me lying in a hammock reading the property press, sought of a sequel to the earlier series when I was busy on a 24 month buying and renovations spree back in 2003 and 2004.

Bugger... Phil and I are officially launching our new book "Massive Profit in Real Estate by Adding Value & Renovations" tomorrow night around the same time so I won't see it until I get home after all the bubbly and champagne is consumed.

Just in case my DVD plays up I hope someone is out there recording this final episode.

Happy Viewing and Happy Reading

Cheers Ron
(Author, Actor, and Property Investor)
.

[whitt]

Cheers Ron
(Author, Actor, and Property Investor)

Nice work

[SuperDad]

Hi All,

My thoughts on HT part 4 from last night.

1. I noticed with interest the brief interviews with RHF and Corrina Laird.

Ron was introduced as "the guy who buys lots of houses on 100% finance" (or words to that effect). When asked whether he was concerned about the effects on interest-rate rises on his portfolio, he seemed so say "I'll be right because most of my finance is fixed for another 2 or 3 years, and by that time rates will have come down again". Ron - does this mean that the success of your strategy is dependant upon interest rates remaining relatively stable (i.e., pretty much the same as you have the money on now)? That's how it came across on HT last night. The reason I ask this question is because most of the advice for newbies I have read includes the following question: "What effect would a 2% increase in interest rates have on your investment?" What effect would this have across your portfolio, Ron?

Corrina was introduced as "the person who bought 10 houses in one year". When asked 18 months later what she was doing with her portfolio, she told viewers that she had all of her houses on the market, and was cashing up in order to freehold a nice piece of land for her family's dream home. Has anyone else out there done this (i.e., bought furiously on the up stage of a cycle, and sold at or near the top), in either this or a previous cycle? How has this worked out for you?

2. One of the featured homeowners was a classic case of a motivated vendor. Poor fellow was a solo parent, due to the death of his wife, and was struggling to service 720K of borrowings on a house with a market value of 800K. It seems that he sold up and didn't make a cent (so sold for around 720K?). It seems he had to get out fast, and I'm sure he would have taken less had his borrowings been slightly less (but still unserviceable) - he just needed out.

3. The couple who sold privately put a sign out front of their property which included "328 000, neg." I thought: putting "neg." after the price is just guaranteed to bring the sale price down. Have any of you seen this before. If so, what do you think that rationale behind the "neg." is? (Was there a strategy, or were these just niave vendors?) If I was buying and saw this, the asking price would be history in my mind. I know that all prices are negotiable, but the vendor's seemed to reveal more than they needed to in this case.

4. The bloke who bought the boat after getting on the rum and cokes - classic. Here's a negotiating strategy for the next RM book. 1. Invite the prospective purchaser around to the property and get them pissed. 2. Whip out the S+P, with your top price on it, and state that you can't accept a cent less. 3. If the purchaser doesn't accept, get them another drink. 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the deal is done.

All in all, I thought this was the best of the 4 shows in this series. It was a real eye-opener for me. I'm quite young, and apart from re-financing an extra 15K to help with renovations (and taking us up to 57% of purchase price), I've never seen people who owe more on a house than they bought it for, and who only do so because of raising finance for consumerables. "Living beyond their means" is a phrase that comes to mind. I wonder how common this is? Why do I wonder this? Because it seems that most if not all vendors who need to sell because they are living beyond their means will be well motivated. By the time they realise they have to sell, they will really be in a bind.


What did others think of last night's show?

Paul.

[Gerrard]

Hi SuperDad -a couple of observations from me:

Most people seemed to have cashed up or have things on the market. If this was representative of the market then who the hell was buying all those houses!

Can't say I was buying furiously, but I did cash up my few properties to meet a lifestyle goal and don't regret it for a moment!

Lisa Dudsen (?) was described as an author (amnogst other things) and was shown holding 3 books which you assume would be her own. One of them was Graeme Fowlers book!

The guy who paid more then he had for the boat then found there were extra costs such as mooring at $1,000 a month and maintenace at 10% (another $1,500 a month). That's more than he was probably paying on a mortgage!

Gerrard

[Propoholic]

I find these programs fascinating because the content so accurately points to where we are in the property cycle. Over the next 12/24 months the theme will progress with people being interviewed who are disillusioned with their property investments and the advice they were given in recent years. Then there will be the TV programs about families who are disillusioned with NZ and are going to Australia, never to return! Susan Wood will run a one hour special reviewing whether NZ is destined to become an international backwater. In the second part of Susan's 'Leave NZ Special' she will interview people who are now 'gratefully' living in London and Sydney. I'm sure TVNZ regurgitates the same scripts from 1988 - '91 and 1998 - 2001.

Good indicator of the grass roots sentiment out there, though!

[Cliffy]

Lisa Dudsen (?) was described as an author (amnogst other things) and was shown holding 3 books which you assume would be her own. One of them was Graeme Fowlers book!

Lisa was one of the contributors to Graeme's book, so probably fair enough.