Hard News: Behind those Herald home-buying stories
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Matthew Poole, in reply to
NZ Inc is still behind the 8-ball on telecommuting.
I don't know that we are, TBH. A lot of our employment is simply not suited to remote working (hard to milk cows and show tourists around without being present, at least for now), and knowledge industries actually benefit from in-person contact. There's a reason that Google et al put an amazing amount of effort and capital into getting their people into the same approximate physical locations, and it's not just because it means they get to tout the various benefits as part of their recruitment spiel.
I can do my job from home, largely, and could in my previous role too (though if I had to assemble or install a computer, hands-on was the only option), but I find it to be far more valuable to be in the same building as my colleagues and able to have casual chats over the coffee machine or the lunch table; chats that, quite often, wouldn't happen without that proximity because they result from the unintended mutual presence instead of being actively sought out. I have resolved more than one minor niggle through those chats, and they also build good rapport that's highly desirable for workplace congeniality.
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Chris McDowall @Spinoff does some analysis.
The real story is this: Young people buying a home either need to move out of Auckland, get some cash from their folks, shack up with someone who can, or build a time machine.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
I have resolved more than one minor niggle through those chats, and they also build good rapport that’s highly desirable for workplace congeniality.
Otoh, I have a friend who seriously needed to get out of Auckland and he now works for the APN-owned Pagemasters, working on Aussie newspaper copy from a place near Whangarei Heads. He's good at it and he's happy.
Tbh, I'd love it if this was a more common option.
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EE,
Well 20 days later and I wanted to check whether this new story in the Herald was about the same guy, Ron Hoy Fong. Sure enough.
Auckland property investors urged to target deceased estates, 'dummies' and divorcees. -
Sacha, in reply to
Not enough character to admit what he has espoused - what a surprise.
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
Made the TV one news also:
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/business/property-investment-coach-labelled-dishonest-after-advising-buyers-target-vulnerableI hope he's a tipping point in the housing bubble debate.
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Matthew Poole, in reply to
I hope he’s a tipping point in the housing bubble debate.
His antics have cost the Auckland Property Investors' Association their ANZ sponsorship, which was quick. Apparently other sponsors are also evaluating their involvement.
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Ian Dalziel, in reply to
His antics have cost the Auckland Property Investors’ Association their ANZ sponsorship
They were damn stupid to send out a dvd/video without actually viewing it first.
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Joe Wylie, in reply to
They were damn stupid to send out a dvd/video without actually viewing it first.
Still, the poor(?) little fella seemed to genuinely believe that he was only advocating the kind of thing that they've been giving out Queens Service Medals and JP-hoods for.
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Matthew Poole, in reply to
Still, the poor(?) little fella seemed to genuinely believe that he was only advocating the kind of thing that they’ve been giving out Queens Service Medals and JP-hoods for.
His position seemed to be "If the agent's saying it's a 'motivated seller' or whatever, then it'd be just plain wrong to not make an offer that takes full advantage of the vendor's clearly-announced circumstances."
I think the thing that's really problematic for the various associated sponsors is the advocacy of tactics that are, prima facie, illegal. It might be a bit whiffy to pay attention to "motivated seller" or other descriptions in listings to find people who are likely to be a bit less interested in the final price vs getting money, but as he says they're getting leverage from what's in listings. His language is, shall we say, plain, but treading along the edges of ethical lines is hardly limited to property speculators.
Suggesting pack hunting with dud offers is a different kettle of fish. He even cited having used this, which means it can't just be explained away as a hypothetical.
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Joe Wylie, in reply to
His language is, shall we say, plain, but treading along the edges of ethical lines is hardly limited to property speculators.
I'm not seeing a major philosophical distinction between this and Bill English's dismissal of the disadvantaged as the drug-addled authors of their own misfortune. Especially so when Matthew Hooton drops by to confirm it as a foundation myth & legend of the grammar zone.
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As so often happens, it's the apology that makes it worse.
Herald guy apologises if ...
Delete IF. Get IT.
(but in fairness, the other voices in this story do "get it", and don't deserve to be tarred by association. The Herald, on the other hand ...)
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And here we go again ...
On Stuff today, another "woe is us" story about landlords' pain and suffering. The source? A thing calling itself "Stop the War on Tenancies", which pretends to be an organisation representing property investors, but is in fact nothing more than one guy with a blog who usually goes on about Treaty issues and assorted talkback fodder, somewhere to the right of ACT.
Of course he is entitled to his rants, and if Stuff want to publish them as opinion pieces that's fine. But it's not fine to present this as "news", and by now surely media outfits should have developed a certain caution before publishing any old propaganda that lands in the inbox. At the very least, professional journalists should be asking about the source, and then disclosing it to their readers. It takes a matter of seconds to find out online that this is not what it seems - so why don't they bother?
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