Upcoming events - WnPIA meetings:

28th March 2011 - Collect that Tenancy Debt - Strategies for getting your money Presenter TBC 

WnPIA meetings start at 7pm.

Venue: Harcourts Building, Corner Vivian & Cambridge Street.

Earthquake Preparedness

Martin Evans

Plan to have external/off-site back-ups of all company information etc in case you are unable to access your office

Photo: Steve Henry

• Have a plan of how you will remotely operate if your office is inaccessible - your tenants are depending on you
• Have a back-up plan of friends/relatives/other who could man the phonesfor you if necessary
• Have a list of information to be recorded from all phone calls
• Know what is required of you by EQC and insurance companies
• Claims need to be registered with EQC within 3 months of disaster otherwise no cover will be given
• Private insurance companies will not cover any damage caused by a disaster if it is not registered with EQC
• Take photos of all damage, rubble, any temporary or permanent fixes
• You are allowed to make a building safe and secure, and do temporary repairs to make it waterproof initially
• EQC will issue further instructions about what they will allow to be fixed/costs pre assessment at time progresses
• Keep EQC and insurance companies informed of any new damage noted or further damage caused/becoming apparent through the likes of aftershocks
• Get good advice by:
• Getting a professional e.g. structural engineer on-board
• If a property is badly damaged in the first few days/weeks you should be able to get it assessed by civil defence or the council for safety
• Initially emergency services, such as the fire department, will assist with damaged chimney removal and covering/weather proofing for free
• Quickly book up crane hire and trades people to avoid long waits for assistance
• Plan how you will get in contact with all your tenants, to check on their safety, and the properties condition

Be prepared for aftershocks making life stressful and creating further damage.

Martin Evans has come through this latest earthquake safe, but describes it as 'bloody awful'.  We hear you Martin.

Could all tall poppies please stand up?

By Aleesha-Tia Gordon

Have you, or someone you care about, displayed any of the following symptoms?

• Hot flushes during prize giving
• Raised blood pressure while playing sport
• Nausea when others receive praise
• Vertigo when overlooked

If so, you could be diagnosed with a peculiarly Kiwi disease.

No, not cancer or diabetes or even Aids. It is the most common malady, and it is likely you know somebody with it or you may even be infected.

It is tall poppy syndrome.

This disease is a particularly Kiwi phenomenon.

My theory for this is that since New Zealand is such a small country, we are used to everyone achieving to the same extent and having the same amount of talent as the next person.

So when someone decides to stand out, we are unfamiliar with this and, as a result, we retaliate by criticising and ridiculing those who dare to stand taller than us.

In the US, however, they like to celebrate others successes and are not afraid of being conspicuous. Competi�tion is promoted and excellence is expected.

You've probably heard of this dis�ease, but do you know the cause and effects of it?

There are two strains. One deals with the understudy, the jealous person (the hater). It appears when there are certain people who believe that anyone who is successful or even ambitious should to be cut down to size.

Some secondary symptoms may include, but are not limited to, feelings of inadequacy, jealousy, uncontrollable urges to spread rumours and feeling sorry for oneself - basically, anything ranging from mild dislike to intense loathing towards people more successful and/or more ambitious than you.

The second strain affects the tall poppy, the achiever, the one who is prominent.

This happens when the achiever purposely avoids standing out, and constantly works to keep the status quo cause of the fear of being ridiculed and being singled out as a tall poppy. Is this behaviour learned, expected, or are we just born with it?

These tall poppies should not have to belittle themselves simply because others do not feel comfortable with their success.

Secondary symptoms may include feelings of timidity, being demoralised and feeling the necessity to under ac�hieve.

Why should some people have to go through life being mortified at standing out, preferring to have their hard work and achievements go unnoticed? Scientists have yet to concoct a cure. The only known remedy for this is to amass riches or acquire outstanding talent.

However, this can often spread the syndrome to others. To liberate this disease is to infect someone else.

To me it seems that tall poppies are just normal people who have high expectations for themselves.

Unlike most people, they actually aspire to those expectations. I certainly wish I was a tall poppy. But then again, that's the problem, isn't it? We can't all be tall poppies.

If we were all tall poppies we would all be the same. Tall.

One of the world's tallest poppies would be Donald Trump. He is (as described by Wikipedia) an American business magnate, socialite, author and television personality. He is the chairman and CEO of the Trump Organisation, a US-based real estate developer.

He is also the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts, which oper�ates numerous casinos and hotels across the world.

Despite these colossal achievements, some people still focus on his physical imperfections - that is, his hair, or lack of it.

Searching for faults or imperfections in successful people can be society's way of chopping down the tall poppies to make their own shortcomings less obvious. This is a clear example of tall poppy syndrome.

I believe the antidote to this syn�drome lies within the speech written Marriane Williamson, made famous by Nelson Mandela. "Our deepest fear not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous"?

"Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

I believe this quote highlights the sleeping giant that sits within us all. For an individual to not realise their full potential negates the essence of the human spirit. We, as New Zealanders, must embrace the success of our own people.

So let us all shrug off the shackles of adequacy and become truly tall.

The housing market is "treading water" as it heads into a period of "hard grinds", the ANZ says in its latest Property Focus report. While the market has been in limbo because of uncertainty over the Budget, the bank predicts there will be more downward than upward pressure on house prices.

"Consent outturns over the past few months are suggesting that residential investment will be basically flat over the first six months of next year.

"House sales are wobbling around low levels. There is still support from migration, but the latest figures suggest the magnitude of this support is waning somewhat.

"Uncertainty over tax changes to property are no doubt part of the reason for the lack of activity, as is speculation that interest rates are set to move up.

"Altogether, it suggests further hard grinds for the market into winter."

The bank uses 10 "property gauges" to make this assessment, including interest rates (which are on the rise and denting affordability), fixed mortgage rates (which have edged down but are still high) and immigration (the absolute level remains supportive of the housing market but a rise in departures to Australia remains a key risk).

"Real estate and building activity has inched up but remains a long way down on historical levels," the report says. It acknowledges that mortgage rates have been reasonably steady over the past month "but borrowers still face a very steep yield curve, and at a time when we are getting close to the [Reserve Bank] lifting the official cash rate."

"This makes any decision to lock in for a longer period a difficult one, as doing so comes at an immediate and hefty premium. Break-evens continue to show that interest rates need to rise quickly and by a long way to 'win' on a fixed rate."

The ANZ says the cost-versus-certainty tradeoff has long been a "conundrum" for mortgage borrowers.

"With official interest rates set to rise, there is likely to be some appeal to being fixed, and not having to worry about rates for a while.

"Long-term fixed mortgage rates are much higher than floating rates, so unless you fixed for a long term a year ago, when rates were much lower, chances are you face this 'conundrum'."

So what should borrowers do? Don't panic about the prospective mortgage rate increases, the bank says, and avoid fixing at the long end of the mortgage-borrowing curve.

"Affordability - not just now - but in future, too, is arguably the most important consideration.

"Choosing a cheap (and perhaps floating) rate now is clearly going to deliver cost savings at the moment and might feel like payback after years of high rates.

However, these savings may evaporate quickly as mortgage rates rise. If your mortgage balance is low and repayments are only a small part of your overall expenses, chances are you can still afford to make repayments if mortgage rates rise.

"It also probably means you have more flexibility when it comes to choosing a strategy, offering you a better opportunity to take a view on interest rates."

"That's not to say you should take a punt, but if you do think break-evens imply higher rates than what you expect will eventuate, then you might want to consider remaining floating for a little longer."

But the bank says if mortgage repayments already account for a big part of a borrower's budget, there will be less tolerance for higher rates.

"If that is the case, and you can afford to fix for a longer period (say two or three years), then you may want to consider doing so.

"Fixing is going to cost more now, but if you know you can afford that cost, you won't be hit with any nasty surprises if rates do rise more quickly. If you can't afford a surprise, but you can afford the certainty, it may pay to opt for a fixed rate."

At the same time, flexibility is important.

"If you're a few months into a hefty 25-year mortgage over a house that you intend living in permanently, then chances are you probably won't be looking at selling, and don't need to think too much about having to break a fixed rate.

"In this case, you may value the certainty of a fixed-rate mortgage, even despite the added cost.

"But if you do intend selling, or expect to make lump sum repayments, you'll need to take that into consideration when choosing a rate, or splitting your mortgage between fixed and floating."

Nonetheless, hold off paying fixed for a little longer if you can, the bank says. For example, if you are thinking about the next two years, you could fix for two years at 7.25 per cent. But you might also choose to fix for six months at 5.99 per cent instead, and then fix for the remaining 18 months at the end of six months.

"As long as the 18-month rate is less than 7.67 per cent, the latter strategy is cheaper (but riskier).

"By comparison, the current 18-month rate is 6.69 per cent, so the question is: do you expect the 18-month rate to rise by more or less than 0.98 per cent (7.67 percent -6.69 per cent) in the next six months"?

"We don't think they will (and if they do, it won't be by much). This suggests fixing is expensive, but as noted, we are mindful of the value of certainty."