Torcana Newsletter Issue 3 - Seller Beware: How to profit from their new mindsets

Good afternoon and welcome to issue 3 of our investment newsletter.

Before we get to all the great property deals below, today I'm going to talk a little bit about how our changing economy is affecting the attitudes and purchasing habits of all types of property purchasers - investment, vacation, fractional, retirement and otherwise.

What does a 1970s TV host have in common with todays investors?

I watched a great documentary last night about the famous Frost / Nixon interviews of the late 1970s, and after it finished, I couldn't help but indulge myself by drawing a few interesting parallels between the character arc of David Frost and that of the average property investor over the last couple of years.

David Frost used to be a somewhat confident, adventurous and carefree man who achieved easy fame through a variety of lightweight and rather wacky tv shows. He then came up with a brainwave involving an exclusive interview with Richard Nixon. Against all the odds he pulled it off and syndicated a series of groundbreaking interviews with the highly controversial ex President worldwide.

During the first three programmes Frost was alternately cautious, fearful and overawed by his subject; but by the fourth programme, a much more focused and aggressive interviewer had emerged. He went onto receive immense critical acclaim for the incredible responses and emotions he drew from the famously shrewd and taciturn Nixon.

Buyers & Sellers: Changing styles and attitudes

Confident, adventurous and carefree are also adjectives that could easily describe the mindsets of many property investors purchasing during the high flying years of 2002-2007. Cautious, fearful and overawed would also be an accurate depiction of how most felt towards the end of 2008.

It's all changing now though. Today's buyers are, if you'll permit me to finish the narrative, much more focused and aggressive than those who preceded them. The Irish and the British are still buying properties, but they are much less inclined to purchase for a quick return and are instead carefully analysing distressed properties in US, Spain and Florida. They are also negotiating hard with sellers to achieve a high rental yield and are very focused on timely delivery.

What are the Russians, Chinese and Scandinavians doing?

Industry insiders are also publishing reports about Russians who once bought for simply for prestige but who are now much more focused on solid rental yields. There are also stories describing Chinese parents signing up to foreclosure tours in the US to purchase distressed properties for their student children. Then there are the Middle Eastern investors taking advantage of the weak Sterling in London and the Scandinavians targeting foreclosed properties in Spain.

There's no doubt that it's still very stormy out there, but as indicated in Issue 2 and in the Orlando Sentinel today, there are many clues out there that suggest we could be in the process of turning a very important corner.

Ebbs and flows

While the severity may ebb and flow, several times in the last century we can point to times when most people were selling, when most people were fearful and when most people were waiting to see what everybody else did.

It is no coincidence that was under these same circumstances that a few focused, aggressive (and yes, lucky) people made the best investments of their lives.

Kind Regards

PS - Business Breakfast Seminar

My colleagues and myself are hosting a business breakfast seminar next Thursday 23rd April at 7.30am in the Heritage Hotel in Portlaoise. If any of you live in this area would like to join us, please email your details to kathryn.andrew@torcana.com.

As always, this weeks best properties are all listed below.

Colin Murphy

Director

Torcana Ltd

www.torcana.com