Simon Shreeve
Simon has a passion for property and is an international residential property investor. He had an early exposure to the property industry and bought his first investment property in the UK at age 21. Simon purchased his first property in the UK at the age of 21, which he still owns today.
Since arriving in NZ in 1994, Simon has been investing in the residential real estate market and has built a portfolio that includes property diversified by location and also accommodation type, deriving a sustained personal income.
Simon offers a consultancy service to new residential investors.
Additionally Simon and his wife Anthea have been building businesses for the last 3 years in Property Management and Home Staging, he is a director and shareholder in Platinum Properties www.platinumproperties.co.nz and homebase www.homebase.co.nz
·How did you start investing?
In the UK as soon as I had a job after university I got a mortgage and bought a flat. My family were property investors and I realised the long term benefits of property, that was in 1987. The rent was good as a proportion of the sale price and I still own it today.
I arrived in NZ in 1994 and I bought a couple of units here as soon as I had a job. I had no deposit so used credit cards to pay the deposit and then I paid it off. (Possibly slightly irresponsible or entrepreneurial, you be the judge! this was a calculated risk, however I had enough cashflow from my employment to pay them off pretty quickly)
·How long have you been investing for?
Since I was 21, 20 years ago
·Have you been through a complete property cycle?
Yes, both in the UK and NZ.
·If so .What experiences/ lessons have you learnt during the differing phases of the cycle?
One overall comment here is that it’s really easy to think that the market phase that you are in is the norm; this is because the cycles are relatively long and it’s easy to have a short memory. So this personally causes me concern when I see a lot of average property in average suburbs changing hands for yields of 4-5% because that is the norm at the moment.
1.Boom
I will never forget being at a Ray White auction in Ponsonby for 4 flats, the opening bid was higher than my top price that I was prepared to go to, the room was packed and real estate was the talk of every dinner party and every headline in the papers. You can feel the fizz in the market and the competitive nature of the bidding
2.Slump
In the UK I personally experienced ‘negative equity’ where the market falls so much that the value of the mortgage is higher than the value of the property. My cashflow was still good and I didn’t receive any invites form the bank for a chat over a cup of tea!
3.Recovery
This is really an awesome time to buy and this part of the cycle is normally well underway without most people not realising it because they are still reeling from the slump.
If you purchase on fundamentals, i.e. cashflow then you can safely make decisions without any of the emotions or fear kicking in
·What are your top 5 tips for investing?
1-You need to buy something to be an investor!
2-You need a strategy that is right for you, don’t just do what other people do
3-Do what comes naturally to you – If you the don’t like renovations then don’t do them, if you love to trade then do buy & flicks
4-Keep educating yourself both with technical ‘how to’ courses and also with personal development head stuff…if your head is not in the right space you will find it hard to do number 1
5-Surround yourself with like minded people. Don’t underestimate this one. I remember doing a course by Dolf de Roos about 5 years ago and he said that if you took this investing seriously then it was highly likely that there would be ‘friendship casualties’ along the way. We have definitely experienced this.
·Any tips on how to survive a complete property cycle?
Realise that there are different phases to a cycle; interest rates go up and down as do rents so you need to factor in some cushioning to your position
·What lessons mistakes have you made along the way?
Too much borrowing with 1 bank can hold you back because of the ‘sign off’ person being more senior in the bank
Use a mortgage broker – it takes up too much of your time dealing directly with the bank
·What strategies have you used in the past few years? Trading, buy and hold, Reno, developments etc
Predominantly buy and hold residential combined with renovations to add value
We have also done some change of use and creative use ‘stuff’ to maximise the cashflow
We have done some renovation/ development work
Everything must have a twist; if you consistently buy average then it’s hard to beat the average
·What investment strategies will you be utilising in the next few years?
We have made our first commercial purchase and will be looking to purchase more here. Also we are teaming up with other investors to do joint ventures and possibly some developments of new properties. We are also developing some cash flow generating businesses now; they are in property related fields so that we can combine the cash flow of the business with the equity of the portfolio to be in a strong position to buy aggressively over the next few years. I see this as an insurance policy against yields staying low.
·What is your most recent investment experience?
My most recent is actually business related so I won’t expand. I am enjoying the cross over between business and property; I think that being exposed to both will sharpen me up on all counts.
The latest property purchase was a share in a villa in Fiji. We bought off the plans approx 2 years ago and have had significant capital gain. There are many reasons for buying, including some exposure to different markets and the ability to have a little slice of paradise to visit and recharge from time to time. I do most of my powerful thinking when I am away from the hum drum of daily life or ‘business as usual’. I am such an advocate for getting away and clearing the mind to gain absolute clarity on the direction forward
·If you had to be a superhero who would it be and why?Doesn’t everyone say Superman?
My answer is going to be a little deeper than the usual supply of Hollywood produced super action heroes and I will say Nelson Mandela. Anyone who can stay in prison for over a quarter of a century and come out with absolute dignity and positivity has to be totally admired.
·Who inspires you and why?
Oh my god where do you start?
Firstly anyone who actually gets off their butt takes personal responsibility and does something without making excuses or blaming other people inspires me.
Kurek Ashley – this guy is a human dynamo and I feel that he has totally mastered life. I have worked with Kurek and he has taught me to raise my mental game to a higher level
Roger Hamilton from XL Results Foundation – Roger has massive plans for the planet and to assist entrepreneurs along the way. He is author of the book Wink and Grow Rich and has set up a wealth profiling system where you can test yourself and see what your wealth profile is, this gives you tremendous individual feedback about who you are, what your personality is and how you can link this to the most effective way for you personally to accumulate wealth. A lot of people go through this process and realise that it’s OK to be themselves and they don’t have to try and be someone else and don’t need to copy someone else’s strategy, it gives them their individual path to wealth.
Al Gore. I have just seem the documentary movie ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ and it really gives you a smack in the face wake up call about what is happening in the world form a planetary and climatic view point. This guy is on a crusade one city at a time spreading the message, I really admire him for that and feel that we all have to make some small changes to our current routines and behaviours before it is too late.
·What advice would you give anyone entering the property investment game?
Don’t become a ‘groupie’ of one particular organisation as you will go through the sausage machine like everyone else.
Spend time doing lots of courses from different providers who have different strategies so that you can make a balanced decision about how you will invest rather than being a rah rah bunny!
Also for every property course you do the do a personal development course, because without your brain trained you will be the classic seminar junkie that does all the property courses without owning any property,
Join your local property investment association for independent advice and to meet real people who are out there doing it and who will be happy to share their investment experiences with you.
I think it is really important to have a coach or a mentor and you have to set up a business plan or at least have some goals if you are going to be serious.
Simon has a passion for property and is an international residential property investor. He had an early exposure to the property industry and bought his first investment property in the UK at age 21. Simon purchased his first property in the UK at the age of 21, which he still owns today.
Since arriving in NZ in 1994, Simon has been investing in the residential real estate market and has built a portfolio that includes property diversified by location and also accommodation type, deriving a sustained personal income.
Simon offers a consultancy service to new residential investors.
Additionally Simon and his wife Anthea have been building businesses for the last 3 years in Property Management and Home Staging, he is a director and shareholder in Platinum Properties www.platinumproperties.co.nz and homebase www.homebase.co.nz
·How did you start investing?
In the UK as soon as I had a job after university I got a mortgage and bought a flat. My family were property investors and I realised the long term benefits of property, that was in 1987. The rent was good as a proportion of the sale price and I still own it today.
I arrived in NZ in 1994 and I bought a couple of units here as soon as I had a job. I had no deposit so used credit cards to pay the deposit and then I paid it off. (Possibly slightly irresponsible or entrepreneurial, you be the judge! this was a calculated risk, however I had enough cashflow from my employment to pay them off pretty quickly)
·How long have you been investing for?
Since I was 21, 20 years ago
·Have you been through a complete property cycle?
Yes, both in the UK and NZ.
·If so .What experiences/ lessons have you learnt during the differing phases of the cycle?
One overall comment here is that it’s really easy to think that the market phase that you are in is the norm; this is because the cycles are relatively long and it’s easy to have a short memory. So this personally causes me concern when I see a lot of average property in average suburbs changing hands for yields of 4-5% because that is the norm at the moment.
1.Boom
I will never forget being at a Ray White auction in Ponsonby for 4 flats, the opening bid was higher than my top price that I was prepared to go to, the room was packed and real estate was the talk of every dinner party and every headline in the papers. You can feel the fizz in the market and the competitive nature of the bidding
2.Slump
In the UK I personally experienced ‘negative equity’ where the market falls so much that the value of the mortgage is higher than the value of the property. My cashflow was still good and I didn’t receive any invites form the bank for a chat over a cup of tea!
3.Recovery
This is really an awesome time to buy and this part of the cycle is normally well underway without most people not realising it because they are still reeling from the slump.
If you purchase on fundamentals, i.e. cashflow then you can safely make decisions without any of the emotions or fear kicking in
·What are your top 5 tips for investing?
1-You need to buy something to be an investor!
2-You need a strategy that is right for you, don’t just do what other people do
3-Do what comes naturally to you – If you the don’t like renovations then don’t do them, if you love to trade then do buy & flicks
4-Keep educating yourself both with technical ‘how to’ courses and also with personal development head stuff…if your head is not in the right space you will find it hard to do number 1
5-Surround yourself with like minded people. Don’t underestimate this one. I remember doing a course by Dolf de Roos about 5 years ago and he said that if you took this investing seriously then it was highly likely that there would be ‘friendship casualties’ along the way. We have definitely experienced this.
·Any tips on how to survive a complete property cycle?
Realise that there are different phases to a cycle; interest rates go up and down as do rents so you need to factor in some cushioning to your position
·What lessons mistakes have you made along the way?
Too much borrowing with 1 bank can hold you back because of the ‘sign off’ person being more senior in the bank
Use a mortgage broker – it takes up too much of your time dealing directly with the bank
·What strategies have you used in the past few years? Trading, buy and hold, Reno, developments etc
Predominantly buy and hold residential combined with renovations to add value
We have also done some change of use and creative use ‘stuff’ to maximise the cashflow
We have done some renovation/ development work
Everything must have a twist; if you consistently buy average then it’s hard to beat the average
·What investment strategies will you be utilising in the next few years?
We have made our first commercial purchase and will be looking to purchase more here. Also we are teaming up with other investors to do joint ventures and possibly some developments of new properties. We are also developing some cash flow generating businesses now; they are in property related fields so that we can combine the cash flow of the business with the equity of the portfolio to be in a strong position to buy aggressively over the next few years. I see this as an insurance policy against yields staying low.
·What is your most recent investment experience?
My most recent is actually business related so I won’t expand. I am enjoying the cross over between business and property; I think that being exposed to both will sharpen me up on all counts.
The latest property purchase was a share in a villa in Fiji. We bought off the plans approx 2 years ago and have had significant capital gain. There are many reasons for buying, including some exposure to different markets and the ability to have a little slice of paradise to visit and recharge from time to time. I do most of my powerful thinking when I am away from the hum drum of daily life or ‘business as usual’. I am such an advocate for getting away and clearing the mind to gain absolute clarity on the direction forward
·If you had to be a superhero who would it be and why?Doesn’t everyone say Superman?
My answer is going to be a little deeper than the usual supply of Hollywood produced super action heroes and I will say Nelson Mandela. Anyone who can stay in prison for over a quarter of a century and come out with absolute dignity and positivity has to be totally admired.
·Who inspires you and why?
Oh my god where do you start?
Firstly anyone who actually gets off their butt takes personal responsibility and does something without making excuses or blaming other people inspires me.
Kurek Ashley – this guy is a human dynamo and I feel that he has totally mastered life. I have worked with Kurek and he has taught me to raise my mental game to a higher level
Roger Hamilton from XL Results Foundation – Roger has massive plans for the planet and to assist entrepreneurs along the way. He is author of the book Wink and Grow Rich and has set up a wealth profiling system where you can test yourself and see what your wealth profile is, this gives you tremendous individual feedback about who you are, what your personality is and how you can link this to the most effective way for you personally to accumulate wealth. A lot of people go through this process and realise that it’s OK to be themselves and they don’t have to try and be someone else and don’t need to copy someone else’s strategy, it gives them their individual path to wealth.
Al Gore. I have just seem the documentary movie ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ and it really gives you a smack in the face wake up call about what is happening in the world form a planetary and climatic view point. This guy is on a crusade one city at a time spreading the message, I really admire him for that and feel that we all have to make some small changes to our current routines and behaviours before it is too late.
·What advice would you give anyone entering the property investment game?
Don’t become a ‘groupie’ of one particular organisation as you will go through the sausage machine like everyone else.
Spend time doing lots of courses from different providers who have different strategies so that you can make a balanced decision about how you will invest rather than being a rah rah bunny!
Also for every property course you do the do a personal development course, because without your brain trained you will be the classic seminar junkie that does all the property courses without owning any property,
Join your local property investment association for independent advice and to meet real people who are out there doing it and who will be happy to share their investment experiences with you.
I think it is really important to have a coach or a mentor and you have to set up a business plan or at least have some goals if you are going to be serious.