Quotations by Dolf de Roos

The 100:10:3:1 Rule: If you look at 100 properties, put offers in on 10, and try to arrange financing for 3, you may end up buying 1.If you found that all your offers were being accepted, you were offering way too much. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

It is possible to find a bargain property, or even many of them in a row. It is possible to buy properties using mostly or entirely other people's money. It is possible to buy properties where the return are 20 or 30 or 50 or 100 percent or more per annum. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

If you had bought a property wisely, then the rent would more than cover your expenses. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

The most common reason why properties are sold at way below their true value is, unfortunately, divorce. Not getting an appraisal is also a surprisingly frequent reason why properties are sold at way below the market value. Sometimes the owners are simply too stingy to engage the services of a appraiser. Very commonly a property may be sold by people who have no vested interest in getting the true market value for it. This is often the case with foreclosure situations, where the bank is mainly interested in getting its mortgage back, but also occurs when people are asked to look after someone else's affairs. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

Invest in those regions that for years have exceeded the national average. People are perversely obsessed with investing in their own town or city or area, when sometimes it would make much more sense to invest elsewhere. The population growth in Auckland is twice the national average. In Australia, there is a lot of internal migration to the sunshine state of Queensland. In the United States, the population of California is predicted to double in the next thirty years. San Francisco and Marin Country have regularly had growth rates in capital values higher than the rest of the state.Similarly, in Queensland, the southeastern corner encompassing the Gold Coast, Brisbane, and the Sunshine Coast has regularly outperformed the rest of the state by a factor of two. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

In the coming years the value of seaside real estate is going to rise much faster than the comparable value of inland real estate. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

When you dare to try, you practice. And through practice, you develop ability. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

If you have identified a property as being particularly well suited to your needs (meaning the needs of a potential or prospective tenant), then there is no law against you asking the current owner if he would consider selling. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

For residential properties, generally it is desirable to be located near schools (but not backing on them!), near the shops (but not beside them), and with good access to freeways or arterial routes. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

Mortgage finance is offered by a myriad of banks, financial institutions, insurance companies, contributory mortgage companies, contributory mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, lawyers' client funds, and even real estate companies. You can even apply for and get a mortgage on the Internet. All that matters is what the terms are and the conditions associated with the loan. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

You can make tremendous gains when you subdivide a large premise into smaller areas. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

Managing properties yourself for a while is great training to understand the components that you will want to look for in a professional property management company. Typically, property managers charge anywhere from 4 percent to 15 percent of the rental income to manage your properties. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

About the most critical factor in running your properties smoothly is the judicious choice of tenants. Ask the prospective tenants how long they were in their last home, what their plans are, where they are from, where their family lives, and what they do for a living. Part of the art of being a good landlord is to be firm but fair, and friendly but not familiar. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

Commercial buildings are generally valued on the basis of their rental income. Typically, banks will lend 50 percent of the appraised value of a commercial property. It is generally much easier to instantly increase the value of a commercial property from the low purchase price you paid to the new appraised value after you have owned the property for a few weeks. The reason is simply that an empty residential property still appraises for close to what its value would be if it were occupied. However, an empty commercial building is not worth much at all. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

The more motivated (read desperate!) the seller, the better the deal will be for you. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

Fall in love with the deal, not the property. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

To buy when everyone else is selling, and to bide your time when everyone else is buying. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

As interest rates fell (which has to happen sooner or later), then property prices will skyrocket, as the prices of properties are based on affordability. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

With property you can generally tell when a market is low. Advertisements tend to state things like: "any offer considered," "Vendor financing available," "Come and make a deal," "Settlement terms to suit the buyer." [2001] - Dolf de Roos

The Deal of the Decade comes along about once a week. [2001] - Dolf de Roos