Guest Speaker: Selwyn Mexted
Selwyn Mexted of Hamilton has 30 years’ experience as a qualified Chartered Accountant in business, accounting, property investment and management consulting experience. Selwyn has a wealth of experience in providing strategic financial and business advice to some of the Waikato's most successful small and medium enterprises (SME).
Selwyn’s advice to those looking to get started in property investment is to purchase four houses on interest-only loans, use them to pay off a fifth house and grow from there.
Mr Mexted and his wife Judy, have recently sold their last interest in three Taranaki rest homes, Heatherlea, Pukekura and Kohatu (Waitara).
He says New Plymouth has for a long time been an A plus area for property investment, principally due to the strength of the dairying and energy industries.
Mr Mexted, an accountant resident in Hamilton, has had a 30 year association with the Porter Group and is a director of the company. He hasn’t always had it so good, however.
He bought his first property, a section, in 1972 and a few houses until 1980, then lost it all ($250,000) when involved in a failed manufacturing company after suffering the effect of price freezes with the Muldoon Government.
“I had to trade my way out of that and the key was to secure cashflow. It gave us huge motivation to recover and not let it happen again. It was either sink or swim. We started investing again in the 80s then bought into the rest home industry in New Plymouth in 1987 just before the October crash.
“There are no sacred cows; you essentially sell everything, write a reinvestment plan and secure cashflow. Real estate investment is a perfect market, not like shares which tend to all be down at once. Whereas there is always property going up in value.
“I had no option other than to invest widely at that time in various properties including commercial, industrial, dairying and residential to cover the risk and capitalise on cash flow opportunities.”
The Mexteds are keen on outdoor physical activity and have just cycled the new Pureora Timber Trail in the central North Island.
“True wealth is having a well-balanced life,” he says.
Evening Sponsor: Lockwood - Presented by Paul Jones
PAUL JONES CONSTRUCTION LTD
Office: 21 Northgate, New Plymouth
Postal: PO Box 122 , Hawera
Ph 06 757 4796 NP or 06 278 5848 Hwa
Paul m: 027 444 8787 Margie m: 027 284 7409
e : paulsjones@xtra.co.nz or lockwood.taranaki@xtra.co.nz
