“You do need the support of a spouse that is like-minded” confides Leonard Barnes, the author of Property Power, who made his first million in eight years. “Two minds are better than one. Not only do you need the judgment of two individuals but the back-up of research.”
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Mr. Barnes set out to make a million dollars in l 2 years by investing in property, mainly in Brisbane and Sydney. He achieved his target four- years earlier than scheduled. So what’s his secret?
A supportive partner comes top of his list. He also did a lot of research into property and its cycles, a medium he feels comfortable with.
“It wasn’t really that hard. You need to work, study books, scan the newspapers – if it’s something you enjoy, it’s not a burden.
“You need to be a calculated risk taker – do your research and be confident it will payoff”
Mr. Barnes favors the old-fashioned value of frugality. “I still drive a Io-year-old car worth about $10, 000,” he says. He loves his old Ford Capri convertible and thinks it is just as much fun, but a lot cheaper than a new Saab convertible.
“There are two sorts of affluence: income affluence and asset affluence. The income affluent burn their money on holidays, restaurants, cars etc.
They’re really consumers – they don’t accumulate assets.”
Mr. Barnes admits one of the downsides of making money through property was having to move house so regularly. “My daughter had, at the age of seven, lived in six different houses. It was tough on her.”
And now that he’s a millionaire, what next? “A million bucks is not enough to stop at,” Mr. Barnes says. ”l’d like to put another million together.”
“At my age, l’m too young to retired says the 45-year-old entrepreneur, who still holds down a part-time day job. He plans to devote more time to writing, in the current cycle, Mr. Barnes believes there is nothing further to be gained from property and he has diversified into shares and bought part of a hotel.
He also admits to loosening the purse strings a little now. He, his wife and daughter took a trip around the world last year and had a stint on board the QE II. ”We are starting to reward ourselves . . . but you can spend it pretty quickly.”
He has always had a fondness for sailboats. He owns a boat that costs less than the average family car but is big enough to spend weekends on. It was during his honeymoon on the boat that he and his wife made a pact to make their fortune. They were inspired by the wealthy people they met on the high seas.
Mr Barnes says his philosophy is to achieve and have fun but not to do it at premium prices. How long will it take to make that next million?
Mary O’Brien