Werner, What about property

[#1]

Hi louisg, when I refer to residential property I only refer to distressed sales. I only buy distressed sales i.e sheriff auctions or bank repos. If you buy at market value your yields are definitely low and does not justify the investment. But if you buy at 60 to 70% of market value your yield goes up dramatically. Real example, I bought a 2 bed 1 bath townhouse unit in Midrand for R300K in April last year. Current market value R550K. Rent R4300pm less (bond R2800 + Levies R600pm + rates R200pm). Tennant pays electricity. That leaves me with R700 positive cash flow which goes directly to my maintenance fund. I dont intend living off the positive cash flow. I'm still in my early 30's and working full time. I try to screen tenants thoroughly and insist on payment on pay date via stop order etc to reduce non-payment. I accumulated 20 properties over the last 8 years, most over the last 2 years. I sold 5 at a reasonable profit. This is not the easiest way to build wealth, therefore looking to create a high dividend yielding equity portfolio with some cash over the next 5 years. This seems the easiest route.

[louisg]

Sounds like a good business you got going Jorge. You certainly sound like you're a well informed property investor. It's fantastic to read of your success. I most certainly agree that a high dividend yielding equity portfolio is one way to go to create great wealth. Is there a better business than owning a portfolio of shares? If one is looking for income one invests in dividend/interest producing stocks. If one's circumstances changes then change to growth or a balanced portfolio. It's a highly flexible business that can be changed virtually instantly as a whole or in parts. Virtually no operational expenses (no staff, no rent, no vehicle required). All that's required is a laptop and broadband connection. Oh and some accounting fees need to be paid. One can "run" the portfolio from ANYWHERE. In fact, I'm considering going up Table Mountain with my laptop on my 40th next month or perhaps a lazy morning at Kirstenbosch....weather dependent. 15 years of the hard slog running a business with one full weekend off a year is beginning to pay off. A serious bout of delayed gratification I guess. Financial freedom/independence over a bigger house, car and overseas trips than the Jones's for me any day.