Property Market Update: “Farewell, we expect you’ll go well son…”

March 14, 2024

Property Market Update: “Farewell, we expect you’ll go well son…” Our eldest departed for university a couple of weeks ago. I expect he’ll go well. He’s quite academic, sporty and determined (maternal traits). We gave him a credit card for emergencies which has already come in handy on several occasions – once at the Marlborough…

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The Three Musketeers

December 11, 2023

The Three Musketeers (The Property Implications of the Coalition Agreements)   Before you chortle at the idea of Luxon, Peters and Seymour galloping in on stallions, dressed in tights and brandishing cutlasses, bear with me….it might not be as fantastical as you think. First let’s refresh ourselves on the fictional story. The Musketeers were formally…

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Climbing Back Up The Cliff

November 21, 2023

This article is the second in our series on what to do if you find yourself in financial stress, with a particular focus on property ownership. Part A addressed the psychological and emotional stress of dealing with challenging financial situations. If you are looking down the barrel of being short on the next mortgage payment,…

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It’s Hard Knowing the Future

November 6, 2023

It’s Hard Knowing the Future The Pain of Knowing When and Where Capital Growth will Occur We have all seen the future…you see your child pushing the limits with their sibling and you just know it’s going to end in tears; your best friend has a new partner…once again – tears. You make a joke…

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Director’s thoughtpiece: Hanging on for Dear Life – Is this high interest rate environment stressing you out?

September 22, 2023

“Hanging on for deal life” is a saying of desperation…right? Actually, it’s a statement of how precious life is. You see, it was coined by someone hanging off a cliff about to fall to their death…and in that moment, that moment when they are on the precipice of departing this mortal coil, they suddenly realised…

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Director’s thoughtpiece: The Challenges This Country Faces

August 16, 2023

Our beloved NZ has serious challenges; we are not faring as well as other small countries… we may well be at a critical inflexion point. As property investors it is important to understand the key issues, the likely future coalition structure on both sides of the spectrum, how each of them might deal with the…

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Director’s thoughtpiece: Dying is Easy – Living is Harder 

June 22, 2023

That’s a line from the musical Hamilton which I recently saw…an amazing show.  Alexander Hamilton was a founding father of the US – his early life was hard, he fought in wars against the British, he worked incredibly hard for President George Washington, and then he died in a duel defending his honour. Reading his…

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Director’s Thoughtpiece: Listen to William Wallace

February 15, 2023

Who will ever forget Mel Gibson as William Wallace commanding his kilt-wearing kin to ‘hold’ as the English charged them on mighty steeds? Then at the last possible minute, he yells ‘NOW!’ and they lift sharpened poles to massacre the unsuspecting enemy. Perfect timing takes a perfect mix of imagination, hard work, and chutzpah. When…

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Director’s thoughtpiece: Sex, Drugs and Inflation

December 20, 2022

It feels like inflation has become a bit rock’n’roll. In the way that rock’n’roll 50 years ago was ‘bad’, almost shocking, but now, just another music genre. Parents used to fear what Mick Jagger would do to their daughters. Now – not so much. Pop, drum and bass (please no more drum n bass on…

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Interest Rates Have Dropped – So What?

August 15, 2022

Home lending interest rates have dropped, and I am left wondering whether we should breathe a sigh of relief that this is the end of interest rate hikes or be cynical and assume that this is a simple marketing ploy by banking marketers who have had the heat put on them to lift borrowing enquiry.…

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