If it works, makes sense and feels right, I will go with it. If not, next… Take what works for you and do what needs to be done.

Everybody should be aware of their image (self-promotion, PR) as many people deal with those that they know about, have heard of and like. The numbers are secondary.

All the best,

Bobby

Many thanks for your post. It is always good to start a healthy debate on such matters.

I believe that one can always learn something new from other successful people. I am continually looking to improve my knowledge. Donald Trump is someone who has been very successful in business and property and is certainly someone who I am sure can teach us all a thing or two.

I think my interpretation of the lessons that I extracted from his seminar (detailed in the first post) are sound advice for the current market downturn. I don’t agree with everything Donald Trump has done or the way he has done it but that will be the case with most experts you listen to. You always need to take away what is right for you rather than thinking what they say is gospel.

I completely agree with you that Donald Trump is a master of self promotion but I fail to see the problem with that. The very fact that he was able to avoid bankruptcy by doing a deal with the banks must surely be to his credit. Do you think the same way about Richard Branson, who is also an unashamed master of self promotion, who has almost lost it all several times? Most really successful people are risk takers. They do things that most people would not dare to do. Occasionally successful people push things too far and get in to trouble but it is the truly successful people who get up and start over again.

I also agree with you that knowledge of property cycles is extremely useful. The fact that the UK market is now in a downturn should be no surprise to anyone who understands the market is cyclical. The growth that has happened over the last 6 or 7 years was not sustainable and so there had to be a correction sooner or later. UK investors need to recognise that prices may take a few years to recover but that in the long term property prices will go up again. I thought your youtube video has some great points in there, but I do not agree with all of it. One big assumption in there is that you need to sell the property to make a profit. As an investor I am not very keen to sell as I prefer to Buy and hold. Thus a short term downturn for a few years is not a problem as long as one can afford the holding costs.

If you have not seen it, you may like my article called “The Death of Property Investing”. You can download it here:

http://www.thedeathofpropertyinvesting.com/

Let’s open up the debate to everyone else. What do you think about this post?

Kind regards,

Simon Zutshi

The only thing he understands and does well is SELF-PROMOTION. The banks kept this creature alive because they decided his properties were worth more with his name on them, than if they foreclosed. If you can pull off that trick, then perhaps his advice is worth listening to- he clearly does know how to self promote, to bluff, and to exaggerate. Are these the skills than UK property investors need?

I reckon that some deep knowledge of property cycles would be much more useful. Click on the link to a YouTube video about Fred Harrison’s 18 year cycle, and see if you agree: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C-Nd_MStxU