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Articles
A selection of published articles featuring Haley ...
Haley's hard work pays off
(New Zealand Property Magazine - July 2006)
"For the first time in my life I realised I had to do something about money."
... From Solo Mum to 10 million dollars worth of property.
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Homes a good foundation for fortune
... there was nothing startling about how she improved her financial situation ... "The most important thing is having a plan and sticking to it."
| Comfy retirement depends on good savings scheme
"By committing to a secure future you are treating yourself, your loved ones, and your money with much respect."
| Time your retirement savings
"... planning for future welfare gives a positive feeling all round which can create a greater energy level, better attitude at work and more smiles which is beneficial to everyone ..."
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Haley's Hard Work Pays Off
(New Zealand Property Magazine, July 2006)
When Haley Fenwick became a solo mother in the 1980s, little did she know that one day she'd own more than $10 million in investment property.
In fact she became an accidental landlord after one of her insurance broking clients convinced her to buy her first property in 1992.
Haley found herself as a solo mother in 1985. But she had a good job and didn't think about her financial future. When she earned money, she spent it, and had nothing to fall back on.
"Then in 1991 I was made redundant," she says. "I applied for about 26 jobs (and didn't get them). For the first time in my life I realised I had to do something about money."
The answer was to get a job as an insurance broker and financial adviser. As a self-employed person on commission, working hard had its rewards and Haley put in 14-hour days.
It was only in 1992 when a client asked her advice about a property he wanted to buy, that Haley fell in to property investment by accident.
As a financial professional she did what came naturally and got out her calculator. The numbers stacked up, but the client simply couldn't take the risk at the time and suggested she buy it instead. He would buy it back from her at a later date. She said "no" many times over, but he kept ringing her and convinced her to buy the property.
Haley had equity in her own home, so could raise a mortgage on the Kelburn, Wellington property - which she still holds today, the value having risen from $124,000 to about $500,000.
Being a financial adviser, Haley could see the value in buying more property and when the Kelburn property had risen sufficiently in value, she re-mortgaged and bought more property in Newtown.
Haley didn't know other property investors in those days and didn't belong to the Capital Property Investors' Association - although she does today. Nor, working 14 hours a day and parenting three teenage boys, did she have time to read books. So she learnt by doing rather than studying property investment.
Whether by luck or good management she made very few mistakes along the way - although she did fall for the charms of a couple of "professional landlord swindlers" who convinced her to sign a tenancy agreement without first paying the bond. They then broke into the property, moved in, installed fearsome guard-dogs and failed to pay a cent in rent and bond.
"Because I am a solo mother and like to look after other solo mothers I had believed them when they said they had to take the papers to Social Welfare to get a bond."
The only way around the swindlers was to sell the property - which she managed to do at a profit.
Despite that experience and her growing empire, Haley still manages most of the properties herself. Many tenants have stayed for extended periods, sometimes recommend friends to her, or on return from their OE approach her for rentals.
"I have built up a reputation for treating my tenants well."
She owns 18 properties at present - mostly residential. However the number belies the fact that many of the residential properties are multi-unit meaning she has a total of 40 tenancies.
Haley's main foray into commercial property has been a success, but not without its stress. The building in Mansfield, Wellington has 18 units which are mostly workshops. In fact the Hobbit Village Well was built in one of the workshops.
However when she first bought the property in 1998 one tenant simply stopped paying rent. She never got to the bottom of the "true story", but thought: "It was because I am a small Korean woman and I don't look much. Every month I had to ring them 9 or 10 times." Eventually she suggested to the tenant that they leave - which did the trick.
The unit proved hard to rent until a prospective tenant walked in who creatively suggested how with a bit of work the 500 sq m unit could be effectively divided into three work spaces. It cost $36,000 to do the work, but paid off and the building returned to a 13% yield. The experience taught her that commercial can be very lucrative but you need plenty of cash behind you - which fortunately by 1998 she had.
Haley's strategy of buying properties that were undervalued because they needed work began because she couldn't afford top dollar in the beginning. The approach paid off especially with one property that had no bathroom or kitchen. Having paid $310,000 for the property, spent $52,000 on getting it up to scratch, she was delighted to be offered nearly $500,000 for the property weeks later. However she held on and still owns the property.
Although most of Haley's properties are in Wellington, she has bought two in Brisbane and two in Auckland. The Brisbane properties, which she had built after buying land, have appalling rental yields - 2%, but were bought with her own retirement in mind using the services of Christchurch-based Investment Property Research .
Her Auckland properties include an apartment in Mt Wellington-which has a 0% rental yield thanks to the fact that her son lives in it, and another apartment bought off the plan in Waverley Place that has yet to be built. The 62 sq m property, marketed by Blue Chip, cost $312,000.
She also has a team in place in Christchurch sourcing properties for clients. The team includes one of her sons, a landscape architect, and also a real estate agent and property manager. "Why Christchurch? "Christchurch property prices are (the equivalent) of Wellington prices in 1998 and I think in the next five years the prices will rise to Wellington levels." The yields are above those of Wellington and Auckland. She also has her eye on Wanganui.
Haley has sourced 20 properties for clients since 2004 - "not because I'm a property maniac", but because she believes it is the best way for her financial planning clients in their 50s/60s that have no pot of money for retirement to build up capital quickly. Her financial planning business, Haley Fenwick Financial Services, which is based in Newtown, Wellington, also offers mortgage broking - smoothing another step of the process.
To contact Haley Fenwick or find out more about Haley Fenwick Financial Services, visit www.haleyfenwickco.nz.
Time your retirement savings
Dominion 23 October 1998
Haley Fenwick says the earlier people start preparing for retirement, the better. Haley Fenwick and Associates give financial advice for people of all ages about the necessity of preparing for retirement funding.
Haley Fenwick says people sometimes do not have positive guidelines of how to prepare so they have to be informed about the importance of timing. "The earlier people start preparing, the better." She says in most cases people do require someone to discuss financial issues with and to lead them step by step. "It is not difficult to acquire wealth. You just need to have desire and discipline and an understanding of the value of time."
Ms Fenwick has helped many people overcome financial obstacles and acquire wellbeing. "Like a widow who came into my office after her husband died and he had been doing all the financial management until his death. "The widow panicked about all her financial issues, present and future. She came into my office and we talked and talked. "It only took us a week to produce a plan which gave her confidence that she will be well-cared for in the future."
Ms Fenwick says on another occasion, a husband rang saying he was willing to divorce his wife who he thought was a compulsory spender. "In reality he was just as bad as she was. We took 12 months to clean up their credit cards' spending habit, took another 12 months to move them in to their own house from a rental accommodation and it will take another 12 months to purchase an investment property. "They have a comprehensive plan covering emergency fund, education fund, investment fund, and retirement fund. "They rose from the bottom of the financial scale to a reasonable level of wealth. They are very happy – nothing but cheery words and smiles."
Ms Fenwick believes planning for future welfare gives a positive feeling all around which can create a greater energy level, better attitude at work and more smiles which is beneficial to everyone around them.
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Homes a good foundation for fortune
31 December 1996
Korean-born Haley Fenwick is a born trader. In 1972 she and her New Zealand husband were selling seedlings from her nursery in Motueka, near Nelson. A few years later they were farming sheep and cattle in China, and later farmed deer in Takaka.
More recently, Ms Fenwick has been selling superannuation policies, life insurance and other related products.
Her passion for business has also seen her net worth climb from $100,000 in 1991, after she separated from her husband, to more than half a million dollars today.
Investment in residential property has been the key to Ms Fenwick's increased wealth. She has bought six houses in various Wellington suburbs, with a total value of about $1.2 million. and lets the rent pay most of the mortgage. She borrows from banks and benefits as the houses rise in value.
Ms Fenwick said there was nothing startling about how she improved her financial situation. "Anyone can do it. The most important thing is having a plan and sticking to it."
"To build your wealth you need to follow a plan, but you also have to enjoy life." Ms Fenwick said she preferred having most of her investments in real estate.
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Comfy retirement depends on good savings scheme
Evening Post, 25 July 25 2000
Too many people don't devote enough time to consider life in retirement, financial adviser Haley Fenwick says. "You may think you will never get there (retirement) but most of us do. Only 14 percent of people die before they reach retirement. Life can be full of tragedy. Other forms of tragedies may not be in our but financial disasters often are.
"We can certainly make ourselves well off, even rich, if we plan." Everyone has the tools to create their own wealth, she says. These tools are income and time. "Some of us have more income than others, and some have more working time than others. Whatever our situation is, we all need to plan.
"As soon as you have set aside enough money to carry you through three months as an emergency fund, you can keep setting aside money regularly, toward your retirement. In an ideal world we would know the wisdom of setting aside a small portion, say 10 percent of our net income once we enter the working world" she says.
Because, of the tremendous power of compound interest this habit would yield a huge sum at retirement age. People who regularly save a small portion of their pay cheque barely miss it. "However most of us don't learn this "ideal" retirement planning at our parents' knees." However, it is never too, late to start, she says.
If you are nearing mid-life, you will need an aggressive strategic plan, because you have fewer years for compound interest to work its magic for you. If you have seen retirement looming on the horizon, your best bet is to interview a few financial 'advisers with the goal of choosing a "financial coach" to help you plan your retirement. "Choose someone who relates to you well and who can demonstrate their financial competence by having successfully planned for their own retirement," Ms Fenwick says. "If you want to build wealth quickly find someone who has already done that and can teach you how to follow their steps.
"You will need to set realistic goals for regularly saving a good chunk of your disposable income. You may find a way to increase your income through a promotion, a career change or a small business that you run in your spare time. However you decide to find the money for regular contributions to your savings; the key is to make this planning' a high 'priority and develop the discipline to carry it through." If a surprise occurs you can use your emergency fund to handle the expense, and keep your retirement planning moving along.
"One of the best things about retirement planning is that once you commit to it, the rest of your financial life seems to fall
into order and you attract more wealth. By committing to a secure future you are treating yourself, your loved ones, and your money with much respect".
"That kind of respect can only bring confidence, control and peace of mind for now and later."
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