“Why is it… some people buy 20 properties a year and others only buy 1?”
There’s an ad in the ‘entertainment’ section of Wellington freebie the Capital Times this week: “How to profit from property!” It’s advertising an upcoming seminar and, cod-socialist that I am, every word in the advertisement makes my hackles rise.
“NZs Largest Propety Success Program to Property Climbers!”
“Learn the secrets ONLY 6% of investors know that gives them success where many others fail!”
“You will never win the race of wealth riding on a donkey!”
The seminar is from a “Richmastery“, a property investment services company based out of Auckland. Their website promises a long and costly process of induction into their secret techniques, culminating in the slightly spooky inner circle:
STEP 8. Presidential Inner Circle
The Presidential Inner Circle is a unique and exclusive opportunity that is strictly limited to fifty serious members worldwide who will experience a range of privileges, access and discovery that is unattainable outside of this selected private group. This group is about Fun, Discovery, Learning and Access at the Highest levels.
They even have their own website: http://www.presidentialinnercircle.com/. There are some great photos of last weekend’s “Ferrari and Porsche day”.
Anyway. I don’t have any grand purpose here other than saying “Look at that!” and pointing. If it reminds you of Amway or Landmark or even Scientology, that’s no mistake, this is just another iteration of the same tried and tested techniques for sucking people in. And I surely don’t have to remind anyone in NZ of the havoc wreaked socially by the rise in investment property.
“Imagine how much faster your personal wealth accumulation could be with this information!”
Bah, humbug. I’m going to catch the bus to work now.
Their “elite connections” appear to revolve around Eric Roberts. Don’t mess with The Master, d00d!
Actually, it’s probably just a scam. There’s a long line of Consumer Magazine articles about companies running get-rich-quick seminars. You might be able to make your fortune by buying investment properties, but not by spending all your money on dodgy seminars..
How to make money in property: live in a country that doesn’t levy capital gains tax on second homes.
Hi, Im the founder of Richmastery and I found your blog interesting but a little misinformed. Our role is to educate people how to invest in New Zealand real estate by having the skills and tools to do it properly.
Like any university or tertiary institution we have various levels of learning that any individual can select, all come with 100% money back guarantees.
Over 71,000 Kiwis have completed Richmastery courses and we are the Largest NZ Real Estate Educators and have been operating nationally for nearly a decade.
Financial education is not something that is taught at school and even the government in the last week has come out actively encouraging Kiwis to improve their financial literacy and education.
While some see the accumulation of wealth as “getting rich quick” we teach sound low risk strategies that any kiwis can apply and use at a time and pace they are comfortable with. The result from applying our education is that you will be more competent, more knowledgeable and more focused on achieving a positive increase in your personal wealth. We see this as positive.
Its normal for a Doctor to get years of training before he operates on your heart, it should also be normal to get some training before you operate on your finances.
I write a blog each day that explains more about my views and the views of our successful national business and the results our customers achieve, its at http://www.philjonesblog.com for a better understanding on Richmastery, please take the time to read it.
Finally, thank you for writing your blog, I think discussion on these types of issues is important and can only lead to healthy debate and a better understanding of what really is achievable by normal every day kiwis.
Kind Regards – Phil Jones – Richmastery Founder
Hi Phil – thanks for following the backlinks and posting here. I appreciate the detail and clarification.
However, my reaction to the advertisement in CT remains the same. A couple of questions:
* is it appropriate or responsible to be pushing property as a route to personal wealth given the widespread view that investment property is putting home ownership out of reach of most Kiwis, and given the subprime mortgage collapse underway in the US and the UK with its attendant effects of global property market?
* is it wise for the Richmastery system to superficially appear identical to fraudulent and exploitative ponzi schemes like Amway?
I have no reason at all to doubt your personal integrity. We are on opposite sides of an ideological divide, however – the ethos of ‘wealth accumulation’ as portrayed in the ad’s language and on your site is simply repellent to me. I am alienated by a view of society that includes a competitive “race of wealth”. Setting this to one side, I do hope you’ll come back and answer the questions above, because I think they’re valid regardless of what either of us believe about the world.
And another question: does thinking of buildings purely as “real estate investments”, is it inevitable that you promote and develop appallingly ugly, inappropriate, low quality apartments? Or that you start selling them and promising delivery when they haven’t received resource consent?
1st of all, it’s creepy/amazing the guy from the company took the time to explain his company to us all. Good on him, I suppose, but I still agree with Morgue about not having the need to own a bunch of shit.
Anyways, the MAIN reason I wanted to post on here is to tell this story:
The other night on TV’s “Dateline” here in the US, there was an undercover program dealing with financial pyramid schemes. This guy selling his program had a magazine with the main story about Ben Bernanke (Fed. Reserve Chair). In a box, as a secondary story was a picture of the aforementioned dude who had the magazine, with a story inside that he wrote.
Basically, the undercover show’s host found out that he could go online, and pay $1500 to have the SAME magazine, but with his picture in that little box, and a story ghostwritten about what he chose. When the host pulled out his copy, with his face on it, it was THE BEST!
Ok, maybe not the best, but it was pretty good…..
Funny thing is the ferrari is going. Despite concerns that other property types weren’t upgrading their cars to match, Mr Jones is now downgrading his to fit with all the others. Always good to blend with the bunch 🙂
Phil Jones won’t be back, now that he’s schooled yo chump ass. Whatever web-crawler he’s running to find mentions of his product won’t notice your reply comments.
LiBalls – yeah, I know. I’ve half a mind to put a new post up delivering an update on the story just to pop up in his inbox again but really, all we’re going to do is poke him with sticks 🙂
Hi Guys,
Let me answer all your questions and refer you to the Richmastery Forums at http://www.richmastery.com/forum/ to post any other questions which I will happily answer.
Morgue,
1/ No one is going to leave there homes and live on the streets as a result of either of the instances you refer to. Currently Auckland has a housing shortage of 4600 homes as reported recently by the NZ Herald and our population grows every year.
Property has been a sound long term investment since the dawn of time because it involves two resources. The building which is wood, bricks and windows, the cost of which are affected by NZ inflation and land which is a scarce resourse and that they arent making any more of.
Whether you own your own home or rent, everyone needs a home so the question becomes do you want to be the person who owns the asset or the renter who pays for it? The answer to most is obvious.
Educated investors know how to make money in property whether the market goes, up, down, or sideways. And that is what our company teaches. We do not promote endless capital growth, we teach sound sensible strategies that work in any market, even if you start with virtually nothing.
2/ Richmastery is an education company, we have nothing to do with “fraudulent and explotive ponzi schemes like Amway”. We teach you how to manage and control your own money more effectively to achieve greater results and every course we offer is backed by a full 100% Money Back Guarantee. If you not totally happy at the end of the event with everything you have learnt you are free to claim the guarantee.
In the last 8 years thousands of average kiwis have using the education strategies we have empowered them with made substaintial inceases in their nett worth and cashflows. These people include church ministers, housewives, solo mums, young people in debt, city councillors and many others. 40 of their stories complete with photos and evidence are recorded in this book: http://www.richmastery.com/shop/Product.aspx?pid=151905&category=1
I think the reality is as morgue has stated, some consider it important to create wealth and others dont. We dont judge any individual but provide an opportunity for those who do want to enhance there lifestyle financially to do it wisely using structured proven systems.
I beleive life is what you make it. If you want to be a all black go learn from the all blacks, if you want to be a doctor, learn from the best doctors, if you want to invest in real estate, learn from those who are doing it better than anyone else and I beleive our #1 market position and validated customers results means that would be us.
Master Rich
1/ The definition of an investment is that it returns you more money than you pay for it over time.
However like you I do not admire ugly buildings and would prefer every house is beautiful, in reality tenants and landlords often bear equal responsibility for unkept buildings. This is something we do not encourage or recommend.
Remember that everyones opinion of what an attractive building is will be different. Investors therefore make a variety of choices based on their personal investing rules and preferences.
Disbeliever
I take it as a great compliment that our competitors consider Richmastery so important that they attempt to undermine my genuine desire to help the readers of this blog better understand our focus and intentions. I have made no secret of the fact that Im leaving NZ to reside in the USA later this year and that Im currently selling my car because it drives on the wrong side of the road for the USA.
I hope my answers have helped expand your perception of what we do and thank and appreciate the opportunity to share my views with you. I wish all of you the best. Please feel free to contact me and ask further questions through the Richmastery Forums.
Warm Regards – Phil Jones – Founder Richmastery
Thanks for that Phil, I appreciate your comments here.
I am proved wrong. Respect to that man.