I hope you’ve had a happy start to the New Year wherever you are in the world today. I’d like to wish you a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2007!

My wife and I went to a friend’s place last night and we had a very enjoyable evening. At this New Years Eve party, we met Russ and Jaquie who run a swimming pool business. Jaquie told us that she would be celebrating her 65th birthday in mid January and was hoping to cut down her workload to maybe 2-3 days a week soon. They drove a late model Mercedes Benz coupe and they looked like they were very successful in their business.

During the evening, Russ asked the party hostess about the average house prices in the area. He was told that in that part of town, average house prices were around $450,000. “Hmmm”, he said, “I wouldn’t invest here.”

He didn’t know who I was and about my interest in real estate and I just listened intently to what Russ and Jaquie told me. They said that in addition to their swimming pool business they also had a keen interest in real estate investing and that they liked positive cash flow real estate. Well that was definitely a group of people after my own heart!

They said that they buy houses in country towns for around $50,000 - $60,000 on average, and spend about $5,000 doing cosmetic renovations for a $120 - $150 a week rental return. They said that many of their tenants are school teachers, nurses and tradespeople with regular incomes.

Jacquie said: “The thing I like about theses types of tenants in the country properties is that they don’t ring you up every 5 minutes asking for a light bulb to be changed. They are generally quite resourceful people who are used to taking care of things themselves. They look after the property and pay the rent on time. That’s all we want.”

I was at the party to have a good time and not to “talk shop” to just one couple all night so I didn’t pursue the real estate talk.

What is interesting however, is that in just a few minutes, Russ and Jaquie explained their strategy, spoke about why positive cash flow works so well and why it didn’t make sense to invest in “pretty houses” with poor returns. They gave examples of some of their friends in Sydney who were really struggling with their investment portfolios because they were focused on just the capital gain at the expense of the regular cash flow rental returns.

They were not afraid to travel away from where they lived to invest in property. They were willing to go to wherever the good deals were. That’s one of the things you need to be willing to do if you want to be a successful property investor.

After watching my FREE real estate investing DVD, some people say to me: “but I can’t find any positive cash flow properties where I live!”

That may be true, but who says you have to invest where you live?

Russ and Jaquie live near the Hawkesbury River, Sydney. I’m sure they live there for lifestyle reasons and not because that’s where they want to invest. I live on a 435 acre farm at least 40kms away from the nearest large town. Other successful investors live in high priced suburbs in their favourite city or town. Just because that’s where you choose to live, that doesn’t mean it’s the best place to invest!

If you want to catch fish, you have to go where the fish are.

If you want to invest successfully, you have to go where the best deals are!

For smart investors, 2007 will be a great year. My family and I certainly have some very exciting plans for 2007. How about you? Will you make this a great year for you and your loved ones?

Will you commit to learning more this year and perhaps learning new things this year?

Technorati Tags: cash flow, negative gearing, positive cash flow, property investing, property investment, real estate, real estate investing, real estate investment

Hans :: Jan.01.2007 :: Personal, Real Estate Investing :: No Comments »

I’ve just jumped on the computer quickly to wish you and your loved ones a fabulous New Year. In just a few hours, my wife and I will be catching up with friends to celebrate 2006 and welcome in the New Year. I don’t know about you, but I’m really looking forward to the New Year. I’ve already planned my first holiday for 2007 (in February) and we’ve got some very exciting new developments in our business and investment activities for this New Year.

Some people wait until they are well into the New Year before they plan for the year ahead. We held a 2 day planning meeting earlier this month and worked out EXACTLY what we want to do in 2007. In fact, we’ve already set the wheels in motion so when when we return to the office on the 8th of January, our plans for the New Year are turning into reality. What about you?

Anyway, enough of that. It’s party time. I think I’ll have another beer!

Technorati Tags: Business Planning, Hans Jakobi, Investment Planning

Hans :: Dec.31.2006 :: Personal, Business :: No Comments »

It was wonderful to have all of our family together again this Christmas. My parents and Colette’s mother joined us as well as all our children and their respective partners. On Boxing Day we drove to Sydney to spend the day on the water and yesterday, we gathered around a campfire in one of our back paddocks. Our son michael and his best friend cooked a delicious roast dinner in a several camp ovens while we settled back with a few beers and a glass of wine or two.

Technorati Tags: Campfire Cooking, Enjoying The Lifestyle, Hans Jakobi, Lifestyle Of A Property Investor

Hans :: Dec.29.2006 :: Personal :: No Comments »

Today my youngest daughter Stephanie turned 21. It’s hard to believe the time has moved so fast and the changes in her life (especially during this year) have been enormous. She’s grown up from a spirited little girl to a fine young woman. I’m very proud of her and all of my children. They have all developed into wonderful human beings. Stephanie didn’t want a big party to celebrate her big day, just a night out at a restaurant with her family, fiance and some of her friends.

Hans :: Dec.20.2006 :: Personal :: No Comments »

We’ve worked hard all year to bring you valuable, impartial real estate and wealth creation information and this evening was our day to celebrate, for me to say thank you to my wonderful team , have a few drinks enjoy a nice meal together and to start to get into the festive season.

From all of us at Wealth Dynamics International, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year.  Our office is closed between 23rd December 2006 and 7th January 2007. We look forward to being of service to you again from 8th January onwards.

Hans :: Dec.13.2006 :: Personal, General :: No Comments »

“Is that the best you can do?” is a very important negotiating phrase that I use in my real estate negotiations and also in my every day life. Remember this one. It can potentially save you thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars!

It’s also a very powerful response when someone quotes you a price, which, when used correctly can save you even more.

Let me give you an example.

Today my future son-in-law, Shaun and I went into town to collect the engagement ring my daughter Stephanie had chosen.

We were also in town to look at offices to rent for a new business venture that we are starting in January, however, as you can probably imagine, the engagement ring was one of the first items on the agenda.

Going in as a team, allowed us to play the “good cop, bad cop” routine as well.

Shaun was very excited and very emotionally involved, but he was still determined to negotiate a good deal. He knew the ring was priced at just under $2,500 (it had been discounted from about $2,800) and he had a mental target of $1,900 which he wanted to get the price down to.

When he walked into the jewellery shop he presented a card to the shop assistant which had the exact description and size of the ring he wanted, and the asking price. He told her: “I’d like to pick up this ring and get your best price.”

Now please remember that he’s rather excited because this is obviously a big event (and that’s good thing from a relationship point of view). From a negotiating point of view that is not so good especially if you are faced with a skilled and experienced salesperson.<

He would have placed himself in a far more powerful position if he would have started the conversation with: “I’m here to have another look at this ring, which is one of three on my shortlist, to see if we can negotiate a good deal so I can take it with me today.”

That would have given a signal to the salesperson that they still had to work hard to get the deal over the line.

Fortunately the salesperson, came back and offered him the ring at $1,880.

Now at this point Shaun had great difficulty holding back his excitement because he would have been very happy to get the price down to $1,900.

He responded by saying something like: “Oh great.”

Now I wasn’t as emotionally involved as he was and I just couldn’t help myself. I looked the salesperson straight in the eye and asked: “Is that the best you can do?”

She said: “Yes that’s an excellent deal.”

Well not being one to take no for an answer, I continued by asking: “Oh come on, I’m sure you can do it for $1,800.”

(Now that $30 discount was enough to pay for lunch!)

I still pushed a bit harder by saying: “Thanks that’s great, but surely we can do a deal at $1,800.”

When she said: “No that’s definitely the best I can do,” I asked: “In that case, what else can you throw into the deal?”

Now that caught her off guard, because I was no longer pursuing a lower price. I was now looking for some extra value.

She looked thoughtfully at me and said: “OK, I’ll throw in this little bracelet charm.”

“Thank you, you’ve made someone very happy.”

Always remember that negotiating is a psychological game that you must practise to become really good at. At first it can be rather daunting however, the more you negotiate, the more confident you will become, the more fun you will have and the more money you will save along the way.

Even though it can be a bigger challenge when you encounter a particularly skilled salesperson, they will generally throw something into the deal, because they respect you for asking.

On the other hand, you may find some rather subordinate and unskilled salespeople who will respond by saying something like: “I’m not allowed to discount the price. My boss would sack me.”

That’s when you respond by saying: “I understand, so could you please ask your boss what type of deal he will do for me.”

I will then suggest that they need to go to the see the boss or supervisor, or ring them if they are not in the store.

Even though this generally pushes the salesperson well out of their comfort zone, it’s amazing how often you can strike a better deal.

Having said that however, there have also been cases where I’ve simply walked out of a shop and bought elsewhere because I couldn’t strike a deal.

When you are not making any headway with your negotiations and you want to go somewhere else without burning your bridges, an elegant way to keep the door open is to say something like: “Thanks for your time today. I’m interested in XYZ, however I was hoping we could negotiate a better deal so I can go ahead with my purchase today. Since that’s not the case, I’ll need to think about it for a while longer and I’ll come back to you when I’m ready. Is that OK?”

Now a clever salesperson will not let you escape if you say something like that. Sometimes they may suddenly become willing to negotiate if they can see that you are serious and will go elsewhere.

In other cases, it gives you the opportunity to research other outlets and if you can’t do any better, you can still come back without losing face.

The more research you do beforehand, the more options you will have and the better you’ll be able to negotiate.

Here are my Top 10 Negotiating Tips in a Nutshell:

1. Never appear too enthusiastic to buy when you approach a salesperson. Always give them the impression that you have not yet decided to buy. You are just considering the possibilities.
2. Start your negotiations with something like: “If I were to buy this item today, what sort of deal could you do for me?”
3. When they respond, ask: “Is that the best you can do?”
4. Whatever they say, you need to continue to haggle by saying something like: “Oh come on, surely you can do it for $X”
5. If they say no, come back with a counter offer. You might say: “What about $Y?”
6. Once you feel you’ve gone as far as you can go on the price, ask for something else to be thrown into the deal.
7. Don’t be afraid to ask to speak to the boss or a supervisor to ask for a better deal.
8. Being willing to walk away from the deal is an important strategy when you are negotiating, however, always leave the door open for future negotiations.
9. The more research you do before you start your negotiations, the more options you will have and the harder you’ll be able to negotiate.
10. Finally, when you are happy with the deal, show your gratitude to the salesperson by thanking them and telling them they’ve made someone very happy.

If you’d like to learn more about negotiating please click here

Hans :: Dec.13.2006 :: Personal, Real Estate Investing :: 1 Comment »

Yes today is an important day of raising awareness about a growing epidemic throughout the world - diabetes.

If you don’t have diabetes, be grateful and I encourage you to learn more about the symptoms and learn what you can do to prevent diabetes.

If you’ve been diagnosed as a person with diabetes, realise that your world is NOT about to come to an end because of it. Many people with this condition lead very active and healthy lives and some say it is because they needed to become more active and eat more consciously.

My daughter Stephanie manages a website which acts as a platform for people with diabetes to learn from each other and to share their experiences. They also interview diabetes experts and provide information from diabetes associations and resources to help educate and treat people with diabetes.

To mark World Diabetes Day, she’s involved with a 24 hour Blogathon at the Official Diabetes Blog and I encourage you to visit and find out more.

Hans :: Nov.14.2006 :: Personal, General :: No Comments »

Have you seen Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth? (or read his book?)

If not, you should do so and think about it carefully (in my opinion).

The whole issue of climate change, permaculture and sustainable living has been of interest to me for many years now. When we lived in Sydney we were crazy enough to grow corn and tomatoes on our front lawn. We applied to the council to install grey water recycling and rainwater tanks only to be given a definite no.

Nowadays it is manadatory to instal rainwater tanks with each new development.

I guess we were just years ahead of our time.

Anyway, what has climate change got to do with real estate investors?

EVERYTHING!

One aspect of climate change is that sea levels are expected to rise as the polar ice caps and glaciers continue to melt at a rapid rate.

At the moment waterfront property is considered to be more desirable and valuable than land which is futher back.

Do you think this will still be the case when sea levels rise?

Some communities are running out of drinking water and there is no water to keep the gardens looking good.

How do you think this will affect property values and the desirability of these areas for tenants?

There are predictions in Australia that we do not have sufficient electricity generation capacity for the future and that we cannot build new plants quickly enough because we can’t agree on the type of power to produce.

How do you think this will affect real estate in certain areas?

Would properties which use less electricity or even produce their own, be more valuable than thise which do not?

They are many more questions to ask yourself as a property investor when it comes to the impact of climate change.

Many people argue that climate change is a natural occurence and that we don’t need to do anything about it. I strongly disagree and think these people are in denial.

Because I live on a farm I carefully observe the effect of the weather on a daily basis and can assure you that we are in for some tough time unless we make some changes NOW.

Watch Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth as soon as you can (it’s now out on DVD too) and learn more about climate change. Look at your lifestyle and think about how you can live and work more sustainably. Think carefully about what we might need to do differently as property investors in order to prosper during these changing times.

Hans :: Oct.17.2006 :: Personal, Real Estate Investing, Other Resources, General :: No Comments »

Wow what a fabulous and content packed weekend! My daughter Stephanie and I just came back from Christopher Howard’s, Breakthrough to Success weekend put on by the wonderful people at Universal Events.

The seminar is based around Neuro-linguistic Programming and we used some actual strategies which we applied to our lives immediately.

About 6 weeks after doing the Breakthrough to Success weekend she also went on to attend the week long Billionaire Boot camp.

She said she gained some wonderful insights and direction for her business life from this programme.

Christopher Howard’s style of presentation is not as hyped as that of Anthony Robbins and it appears he has built upon some of that earlier NLP information.

Chris is without doubt a wonderful presenter and a life changing teacher. Even though I didn’t speak with him personally, I felt like I was connecting with him and his own personal journey as I took part in the Breakthrough to Success weekend.

The weekend is valued at $A895 and Universal Events kindly gave me the opportunity to offer free tickets to my valued customers. Many people took up the invitation to attend the seminars for free in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Following each seminar, we received emails of gratitude from our students who attended the weekend and reported great results.

When Stephanie and I attended the Sydney seminar, not a single break went by without people coming up and thanking us for sending them an invitation to attend Christopher Howard’s Breakthrough to Success weekend.

If you’d like more information about Christopher Howard’s seminars, click here. And if you ever receive an email from me, offering you a free invitation to attend one of his seminars, I suggest you ‘move heaven and earth’ to be there. I’m sure it will be worth your while.

Hans :: Sep.25.2006 :: Personal, Other Resources, Seminars :: No Comments »

After months of planning and preparation, my eldest daughter Carina was married to Daniel Worsley on the weekend.

It was a glorious day and everything went extremely well. Daniel’s parents flew over from England along with many international friends and relatives.

After the wedding the bride and groom are spending a month long honeymoon in New Zealand.

Hans :: Sep.17.2006 :: Personal :: No Comments »