I could have easily ignored the old man but something inside me felt that I just couldn't. And what a difference it has made to my life.
It all started around Feb 05 on a Friday night when I had stayed back with my work colleagues for a few drinks and caught the train from Circular Quay to Miranda.
When I sat down on the train and got settled for my 45min ride home I pulled out of my bag the real estate magazine from my local area which comes every Tuesday. My parents always pressured me saying "save your money and buy property" over and over again and as history shows they are right. I mean my parents bought a house in 1979 for around the $40K. It was just a 3 bedroom fibro house with a garage. In 2005 it was valued at $650K-$700K and you hear these kind of figures everywhere. I had enough money for a deposit and I guess the reason for this is because I still lived at home.
Anyway I was flicking through the magazine when this old skinny man with a mustache who was sitting behind me says "Are you interested in property young man". I turned to him and replied "yes. I'm looking at buying my first property this year". He replied "good for you" and sat back and smiled. Anyway we get to the next stop (Redfern) and almost everyone got out of the carriage accept me and the old man. I turned to the old man and ask him, "What are thought's on buying property?" and he replies with a big smile "In Australia only or around the world". I hate a question with a question but I answered with amazement of the overseas comment as I didn't know you could buy property overseas and why would you. I mean who could you trust. It just seems risky. I could have easily got out of my seat right there and then and changed carriages and never see this guy again, but this smile had more to say. I could see it and feel he had something he wanted to say but wanted to be asked.
So on it went. He proceeded to tell me that he was in the process of selling his apartment here in Sydney and that the market was about to change. He then sat up and said very confidently, there is too much money to make in the overseas property market if you do your due diligence.
"So how many overseas properties do you own"? I asked him and he said "a few" and sits and smiles again. So I keep firing off the question and he gives me short answers not giving away too much.
I guess you know my next question so I asked "What country do you own property?" expecting him to say U.K., U.S.A. or Canada and he said "a few different countries"
Which ones?
Eastern Europe and the UAE.
Which country in Eastern Europe?
Russia, Latvia.
Latvia, where is Latvia?
It's next to Russia.
Why Russia? Isn't there poverty and corruption in that country?
"That is your perception" he said confidently
Then why?
I will tell you a little secret....read....read...read and your perceptions will change, find out for yourself why I am investing in Russia, Latvia or Eastern Europe. Don't become a lemming, become an investor!
As I listened intensively he continued to tell me to read and research as much as possible.
"Research, Research, Research"
Anyway, we got to Rockdale Station and he gets up and says "This is my stop. Good luck with your property buying, make sure you do your research, hands me his business card and leaves. Well, I'm thinking now, is this guy for real or was he pulling my leg.
Anyway I went home and everyone was in bed so I jumped on the PC and got Google up and punched in Latvia. Well, there it is, Latvia. The capital is Riga and it borders Russia and has a sea port and beaches.
The next morning I asked my parents, who are from Africa "Have you heard of Latvia?" They both said no. They asked me why so I explained about the old man I met on the train and our conversation. Well, they said you can't buy property overseas. That's stupid! You will lose all your money. That's crazy and on and on it went.
Well the following week went by and I was looking at some of the countries' he mentioned and in particular Latvia. There was something about Latvia I just liked. I even read that Latvia had joined the European Union in 2004. but I didn't know what that meant and I still had this guys card and I looked at it many times but never called. I had drinks on the Friday again but I made sure I got the same train home as I did two Friday's ago hoping to run into this guy. I walked through all the carriages top and bottom and he was not there so I called him while I was on the train. He sounded on top of the world. He had just walked from his place to the beach and back and said he has been doing it every night for five years rain, hail or shine. No excuses. He called it conditioning. I was like yeah man whatever you reckon.
I asked if we could meet over the weekend. "No problem" he says. "Novatel Brighton Le Sands in the foyer, Saturday or Sunday around 6.30pm". I couldn't make Saturday so I went Sunday and I got there at 6pm so I wouldn't miss him. Sure enough 6.30pm on the dot he walks in the foyer 'SMILING'.
We sat down and he starts talking about the economy here in Australia and the endless opportunities there are around the world if you just change your content. I tried to get more information of him but he wouldn't budge. He told me some good books to read and some websites to look up. We spoke about his past and his business partner but would not talk about money he's made or what he's invested in. He said he and his partner have done 5 years of research and that's what I needed to do. Create a network. Get 5 people. Tear books into 5 sections and go away and read them and then meet up again and everyone will explain what they have read. Crazy things like that. So after 2 hours we went our own ways. About a week later he phoned me, said he had sold his apartment and leaving for Russia.
As time went on I became focused on changing my perception on overseas investment property. I started to research with a mate of mine. We spoke to other people about overseas property investing. Most of them seemed very negative, which was understandable as they where in the same situation I was when I was talking to the man in train.......without knowledge.. Some show interest but fayed away and some have stayed, read, researched themselves and now we have purchased 2 properties in Latvia. I have tried to find something in Australia that compares to the deals we have found in Latvia and nothing comes close. My parents think I'm crazy and stupid but from what I have read and researched and the people we have spoken to I know we have taken a great step to financial freedom at a young age and the risks are just as risky as here in Sydney. With financing becoming easier and with attractive interest rates you're not spending an arm and a leg to secure a property. Our 2 properties have not been built yet as they are off the plan but we have created a great alliance with a developer with an outstanding track record and in actual fact they happen to be Australian. These are 2 guys who share the same vision and there is much more to come.
So the story of EQT Real Estate was born with the passion and a dream to become the world’s premier International Property Listing service, with world class investment opportunities.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/470518
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