Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Slumpy Cashflow

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  • InternationalObserver,

    Sorry, no sympathy, for private people to borrow to invest is just mad. Greed is not good.

    As others have noted already - you're being very harsh about a pensioner. But since not all pensioners are feeble minded it's also unfair to single them out as deserving of protection. There are plenty of low/mid income earners who were also seduced into buying 'investment' property.
    The NZ economy is/was largely unregulated and that always encourages cowboys to enter the market and rob good decent folks. How can you blame people for 'investing' in residential property when the nightly news was full of stories about rising property values and spectacular gains made. So it did make sense for people to 'unlock the equity' in their own home and use that as a deposit to buy a second one. Presuming you had enough discretionary income to service the mortgage (which was often not the case, but figures were manipulated to show otherwise)
    I'm sure everyone heard the 'let the tenants pay one off for you' type ads. Yes, it would have been good if people got better advice than simply attending a property investment seminar (where the people speaking all had vested interests) but [as has been already noted] the government was telling us all to invest for our own retirement and property was outperforming many other investments.
    Your comments smack of rabid socialism.

    by way of example someones-I-know of extremely fiscally prudent stripe, were literally hectored by their accountant

    Ah yes, accountants. Some of whom are as dodgy as a $3 coin. One f#ct my feeble minded father royally (and yet Dad still thinks 'it was all just bad luck').

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report Reply

  • InternationalObserver,

    As a general comment:

    I'm always amazed by the way people will believe anything. There seems to be a presumption that some sort of government agency is out there stopping dodgy businesses from taking our money. As if Acme Gilt Edge Securities couldn't advertise and take people's money if they weren't legitimate.

    I've always thought that even with my rudimentary knowledge of company law I could screw a large fortune out of gullible investors. If I was so inclined, which I'm not.

    In a parallel universe out there somewhere RB is running the long con. One day all his PAS readers on bizarro world will wake up and find he's cleaned out their online bank accounts. Who knew his site had trojan worms burrowing into our hard drives?

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report Reply

  • InternationalObserver,

    Clearly a fool and his/her money are soon parted - here's another vid (for those who chuckle at others stupidity). Watch out for the chap who really does hand over his car keys because someone flashes a badge and says it's a Police emergency!

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd,

    Apropos apples: you can get trees that have two or three varieties grafted on to one stock, which means you can have a succession of apples off just two trees.

    Apropos cider: I understand that there are special cider apple varieties which together with the sheep carcase and the rusty bicycle frame will give you the scrumptious flavour you seek. Dessert apples don't have the right balance, I hear.

    Also, the malic acid ferments to produce something specific to cider which contributes to the fearful scrumpy hangover. Before I went to the UK I thought cider was a girls' drink; after a few unexpected episodes drinking cider in Black Country pubs I understood why only the hard men drink cider all night.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • Jill Reade,

    Maillard reaction

    Try the Mallard reaction instead. No caramelisation so not very sweet .... but I hear it packs a real punch!

    Since Jun 2007 • 20 posts Report Reply

  • Nick Kearney,

    Someone asked earlier on what the projected cost of the tens of thousands of LAQC's would be costing us in terms of the tax write offs.

    I don't know. But, the tax benefits are no different than if the property was owned by individuals. The real benefit of LAQC's is not that the tax losses can be attributed against personal income (it would be in identical amounts in individual ownership), rather that a company gives creditor protection and also that the shares can be sold to a family trust once the property starts making profits. This means the property is not sold so depreciation clawbacks are not paid (the shares are sold instead).

    The focus on LAQC's is somewhat of a red herring in terms of tax.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 73 posts Report Reply

  • Che Tibby,

    The focus on LAQC's is somewhat of a red herring in terms of tax.

    yup. don gave my dogmatism a reality check over a beer yesterday (thanks for that don, btw).

    that said, setting up an laqc for the sole purposes of rental property speculation is an unintended consequence of the law. if you can believe the policy wonk who set up the law (who told me as much).

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Jason Dykes,

    Gathered, bagged and ready for pickup. There's some real beauties too.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 76 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    I had perfectly good looking mushrooms popping up in my vege garden this summer. several dozen at a time, looking like standard portobello mushrooms I'd buy from the supermarket. Probably 2 or 3 hundred over a few weeks.

    Every web page I could find on identifying mushrooms basically said in large letters "don't try and do this yourself unless you have some knowledge in [what's the word?, mycology?]. The safe ones look almost exactly like the incredibly dangerous ones."

    So I threw them all away. I might have been less cautious if I liked mushrooms more.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • andrew llewellyn,

    The safe ones look almost exactly like the incredibly dangerous ones."

    I ate them... now I read this I wish I hadn't :)

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report Reply

  • andrew llewellyn,

    Update, I ate the mushrooms. They are safe

    Yay!

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    From Wikianswers:

    Question: How can you tell if a mushroom is safe to eat?

    Answer

    A mushroom is safe to eat if you find it in one of two places- at a supermarket or a local growers' market. Unless you happen to be some trained expert, don't eat mushrooms you find out on the wild. Way too many people think they know what they're doing, maybe because they cook a lot or read some picture book of mushrooms, pick up a mushroom that they think is species type "v. delicicus" but, whoops, it was really the closely related cousin, the Death Cap mushroom. Shucks, now you're going to need a new liver!

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Jason Dykes,

    Alternatively, if Steven has already risked life and limb and survived, we should be alright. That is one brave man risking his life for Public Address Wild Cuisine.

    Kyle - with that sort of output, maybe you should get an expert in to check them out. Presume they'll be back next year? Even if you don't like mushrooms, you may be able to trade. My idle offer to give people feijoas has resulted in too many requests to satisfy. I didn't realise feijoa fans were so ... addicted. Peple are even selling them on trademe: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Lifestyle/Wine-food/Food/auction-150669304.htm

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 76 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    Kyle - with that sort of output, maybe you should get an expert in to check them out. Presume they'll be back next year?

    Yeah, if I knew where you went to find a cheap mycologist in my area I would have.

    Interestingly, we had no mushrooms last summer, a couple of hundred this summer. Must have been the warm weather and the soil settling in (the garden and soil was new last year). I'm not sure if we'll get them again this coming summer.

    Fejoas are possibly the best fruit in the world. But only when they're properly ripe.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

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