Do Real Estate Agents Lie?

Are real estate agents hon­est, do they bend the truth or are they just try­ing to do the job without being sued?

Some­times I won­der why real estate agents have con­sist­ently had a bad repu­ta­tion over many years.

In my exper­i­ence of work­ing for dif­fer­ent real estate agen­cies I have come across the good the bad and the ugly.

But I just want to put one thing out there.

We are not just money hungry vul­tures look­ing for our next vic­tim to sink our claws into, this is what the media would like to per­ceive us as.

I am not against the media as they are just look­ing for that one story that gen­er­ates the public’s interest.

For the most of us we are reg­u­lar people work­ing a job, doing our best to be the best, in a very com­pet­it­ive industry.

Nine Money Beliefs That Will Hold You Back

What we say and what we think about money translates into how we handle money and how much we earn and more importantly how much we keep. 

At my seminars they ask attendees what they heard about money and wealth when they were young and invariably the words they heard were negative.

Things like:  dirty money, filthy rich, it’s easier for a camel to crawl through an eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven.

You’ve heard these phrases; you’ve probably even used some of them at times.

But if deep down, at some level, you have some negative thoughts about money, how can you be comfortable earning and keeping more of it?

Steve Siebold, the author of five books and an expert in the field of critical thinking and mental toughness training recently shared nine money phrases we have all heard before, and that many of us say both consciously and subconsciously all the time.

He warned to be careful, as some of these seemingly harmless phrases about money can actually interfere with your wealth-building process.

Let’s take a look at nine of the most popular phrases about money:

It takes money to make money

Why invest in property?

There are lots of ways to make money and some people would argue that real estate investing isn’t really that easy.

They complain that it takes time to develop the knowledge to understand the property market.

It can take months to research areas and find the right investment property.

Then when you’ve found it, you need to negotiate to get it at a favorable price.

And that’s not all…

You will need to negotiate a loan and find a solicitor to settle the property.

This part alone will take 30 to 60 days.

Then, when you have settled the property, you still have to either find the time to manage it yourself, or else try to find a reliable property manager.

Is this all starting to sound too complicated?

You are not alone – that’s the very reason some people ignore property and choose to simply park their money in shares or managed funds.

But from personal experience I know so many people who have become financially independent by investing in real estate and I know how real estate has grown peoples asset base and changed their lifestyle, that my response is that it’s well worth the effort.

Sure it takes time, but over the long term it pays off and as your skills and experience grows it gets easier as well.

Successful people remember these 15 things

You’ve probably heard it said that “Success is a journey, not a destination.”

Obviously this is true and clearly success doesn’t happen by accident.

It’s a result of all the choices you make – the things you chose to do and the things you chose not to do.

It takes a plan, time and commitment.

And LifeHack suggested you keep these 15 things in mind to help keep you on track during your journey to success.

1. Remember Your Accomplishments

On days when you want to give up or feel like you can’t ever get there, it’s especially important to remember your accomplishments.

Acknowledge the goals you’ve reached, and use your past successes to fuel your motivation to reach the rest of your goals.

2. Remember to Plan Ahead

It’s important to plan ahead and take a proactive approach in dealing with barriers.

43 simple financial lessons

Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s became famous for his book The Black Swan that taught us to look out for the unexpected X-Factor.

He also wrote The Bed of Procrustes, a collection of hundreds of “philosophical and practical aphorisms” – pithy one-line quotes full of meaning and importance.

I’ve selected a number of these that struck me as financial or life lessons.

Who knows they may even make you a better investor.

Enjoy…

1. Education makes the wise slightly wiser, but it makes the fool vastly more dangerous.

2. You are rich if and only if money you refuse tastes better than money you accept.

3. The tragedy is that much of what you think is random is in your control and, what’s worse, the opposite.

4. To bankrupt a fool, give him information.

5. The best test of whether someone is extremely stupid (or extremely wise) is whether financial and political news makes sense to him.

23 winning habits of the world’s most successful investors

I’ve read dozens of books on Warren Buffett over the years, so when I saw The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffett and George Soros on the shelf I wasn’t 100% sure whether I would read it.

The author is Australian writer and businessman Mark Tier and the blurb on the inside cover said that he has lived in Hong Kong for some years as “paying tax is against my religion”.

A little controversial and it made me chuckle so I thought I’d give it a go.

The basic premise is exactly as the title suggests, to identify the winning habits of two of the world’s most successful ever investors, and particularly to isolate the common ground between the two.

The 23 winning habits

What average investors can learn from the habits of Soros and Buffett, says Tier:

1. First priority, preserve your capital – don’t take unnecessary risks
2. Be risk averse – erm, yes, see point 1
3. Develop your own investment personality which is an expression of your personality (we are all different after all)
4. Develop your own system for choosing investments – again what works for one of us won’t necessarily work for another

13 Things Higher Achievers Do Differently

I’ve found high achievers, be they property investors, business people or entrepreneurs do things in a certain way and think in a certain way.

After looking at the lives of certain great men, Abayomi Jegede was able to come up 13 rules that high achievers never break.

He suggests that if you obey these rules, you will become a high achiever too.

So let’s look at them…

1. Don’t compare your life to others and don’t judge them; you have no idea what their journey is all about

Stop trying to be someone else.

We all have our own distinct purposes in life.

Be yourself always and become the best version of you.

You are original, not a counterfeit.

2. Don’t act the way you are feeling. Instead, act the way you want to feel

Find an Unreasonable Friend

I’m a firm believer in the power of association.

Success is contagious and it does rub off.

So, if you hang out with successful people, you’re more likely to become one.

I’m a product of those who supported me, and those who were unreasonable friends – the type of person who is always challenging you to create and achieve more.

For my own life, without that support, there’s no way I’d be where I am today.

I would have surrendered my ambitions, submitted, and hung my head, not believing I was worthy.

I often challenge people who are starting out to find a mentor.

The cost is too high to ignore this advice

Offer to buy them lunch or a coffee, because you want to learn more about them and what makes them tick – and ask them two questions:

1. What would be your top three pieces of advice you could offer me so that I could improve on my mindset?
2. If you had your time over again, what would you do differently?

9 Pearls of Ancient Wisdom for Property Investment Success

Confucius says… “Property investor looking to create wealth from real estate can learn much from ancient Chinese proverbs.”

Okay, so I’m not quoting Confucius verbatim, however the teachings of the ancient Chinese philosophers still ring true in today’s very different, modern world and have clear application when it comes to the business of real estate investment.

Those property investors who understand the importance that mindset plays in their wealth creation journey should gain some insights from the following Chinese proverbs – a handful of my favorites…

“Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”

I have found that your level of wealth will seldom exceed your own personal development. Smart.

That’s because your way of thinking regarding money, wealth and prosperity will determine the financial heights you reach.

You see… your thoughts lead to your feelings; your feelings lead to your actions and your actions lead to your results.

Your inner world (your thoughts and feelings will determine your outer world (your results and destiny.)

So first work on yourself, because your wealth won’t grow unless you do.

The path along the road to success will be littered with stumbling blocks

Over the last year two friends, both “high performing” sales people, who expressed a burning desire to succeed in life and in their careers, quit their jobs.

Things got a bit tough and they gave up.

Couldn’t hack it anymore!

I’ve seen much the same happen to property investors when the economy or the markets put stumbling blocks in their way.

Yet these investors and my friends expressed a strong “desire” to succeed and if you’d asked them a while ago they were “sure they would succeed”.

So what happened?

Jim Rohn put it well when he explained that there are three parts to desire:

1. Dreaming,
2.The Vision and
3. Focus.

Money CAN Buy Happiness. How?

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “money doesn’t buy happiness.”

And if you’ve been reading my blogs you’ll know that I believe true wealth is what you’re left with when they take away all your money.

Having said that top-selling author Thomas Corley, who conducted a five-year study of the daily habits of the rich and the poor says that the message that money can’t buy happiness is not true.

He suggests you’ve probably heard it from your parents, grandparents, or some family member who are probably poor or struggling financially in life.

Here’s what he found: