Universally speaking...
Last night I finished reading ‘Scar Tissue’ by Anthony Kiedis
The lead singer and one of the founders of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Aside from the craziness of the story…
And, how, by some miracle, Anthony Kiedis is still alive
What struck me was how different the four current personalities in the band are
And how it shouldn't work, but it did
And, still does
40 years later
Chad Smith - drummer - an old school rocker, long haired, cowboy boot
wearing, drummer that drank as his choice of poison, and didn’t really mix with
the rest of the band originally. Punctual, professional - it was a job
Kiedis - the singer - using narcotics from the age of 11, from what I can see
completely crazy, and never originally a singer, but deeply creative, and perhaps
(??) troubled. Would disappear for two week on end chasing his habit.
Reappear, get clean, and then do it all again
Flea - bassist - crazy as a young man, became a family man, and was all about
the music, the glue that held the band together. He would play all day if you let
him, for the love of it. Straight laced compared to the others.
John Fusciante - the guitarist - younger than the rest, a very creative and
emotional soul that wanted to keep playing small venues, as he said he didn't
want to sell out or lose the love of the music. Left the band, became an artist,
came back eventually.
Seems potentially dysfunctional, and it was at times, but there was a common
thread
The love of music
The desire to create
The desire to make people move, and feel
Same end result
Different approaches
What is the link here to property?
Universally speaking, it is a good idea - right? We know that
But you can not just buy property and assume you are making the ‘best’
decision
The best decision, in my opinion, defined as, the one that moves you closer to
your goals
Two examples;
I caught up with a client in KSA yesterday, he was thinking of selling his rental property that he owns with no mortgage i.e. debt free, and buying the house he currently rents
His rental is worth 400k, the house he would like to buy 720k, so the concept
was simple, sell the rental, buy the other, get a mortgage on the difference…. He
would buy it with his wife
But, are there other ways? What other approaches had not been considered?
Remortgage the current 400k property, pull out 300k, keep that and buy the other house - one rental, one house
Sell the 400k property and buy 2-3 pure buy to lets for income - keep renting using the income
Move the current property into a company structure - more tax efficient?
Consider purchasing the new one in just his wife's name, as that would save on stamp duty, and achieve a better mortgage rate
What else needs to be considered? Age, retirement plans, other assets, future living plans, etc
Same outcomes, different approaches and strategies
The best? The one that meets his goals.
2. Dubai vs the UK as buying locations
A hot topic at the moment
And people tend to fall into one extreme or the other
Which is best? It depends on you and your goals
I think both are great, and have bought in both - as part of my personal strategy
Want growth as quick as possible and don't mind ups and downs? Dubai might
be best
Don’t like the stress of ups and downs but happy with slow and steady
consistent growth? UK then
Want to leverage as much as possible? Perhaps the UK then, as you can get
bigger mortgages
Want something you can sell at the drop of a hat i.e liquidity? Dubai is great
when the market is ‘hot’ not great when the inverse is true, UK perhaps a bit
slower to sell but consistent
It’s not black and white
It never is
Just as the Chilli Peppers found a way to make it work
Given their unique circumstances
We must do the same with our circumstances
Find a way to make it work - with our unique set of goals, with our unique
current situation, with our unique future plans
In the wise words of Kiedis from ‘Can’t Stop’
“Choose not a life of imitation”
Thanks,
Callum