Property Investing Trends: Trend # 3: Ecologically friendly housing
Hello wonderful people!
Here is your weekly dose of inspiration, education and a list of what I’m enjoying or pondering.
PROPERTY INVESTING TRENDS: Trend # 3: Ecologically friendly housing
There are seven new trends sweeping across the property market. By doing your research and understanding that the demand is, you will be able to ensure you have a steady stream of tenants or buyers just waiting for you to finish that refurb!
This week we will focus on Trend # 3: Ecologically friendly housing
You have probably heard the catch phrase of "getting off the grid" - perhaps even used it yourself!
But what does it mean for a house to be ecologically friendly? Wikipedia defines an Eco-house (or eco-home) is an environmentally low-impact home designed and built using materials and technology that reduces its carbon footprint and lowers its energy needs.
An eco house could include some or all of the following:
Higher than normal levels of thermal insulation
Better than normal airtightness
Good levels of daylight
Passive solar orientation — glazing oriented south for light and heat
Thermal mass to absorb that solar heat
Minimum north-facing glazing — to reduce heat loss
Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) system
Heating from renewable resources (such as solar, heat pump or biomass)
Photovoltaic panels, small wind turbine or electricity from a ‘green’ supplier
Natural materials — avoidance of PVCu and other plastics
Rainwater harvesting
Greywater collection
Composting toilet
Glass that has two or three layers with a vacuum in between to prevent heat loss; (double or triple-glazed windows)
Solar panels or wind turbines
Geothermal heating and growing plants on the roof to regulate temperature, quieten the house, and to produce oxygen
A vegetable patch outside the house for some food
Certainly in South Africa, thanks to the Eskom crisis, we are being forced into thinking creatively about how to generate our own power in order to keep the lights on. The recent water crisis in Cape Town highlighted the very real possibility that our natural resources are not only in short supply but may even run out.
These trends combine to have people scrambling to find housing that offers solar and/or gas heating and lighting, generators, and of course, boreholes and rainwater tanks.
When doing a refurb, consider getting quotes to add in solar panels onto the roof. We have an abundance of sunshine in South Africa which is why solar is a popular and effective energy efficient option.
Water tanks are inexpensive and can be placed under gutters to ensure the next downpour fills them up with ease. Hosepipes can be connected to the water tanks and used to fill up swimming pools, water veggie patches or gardens.
Spend some time thinking about how you can include some eco-friendly options to your next investment property. Not only will there be an increased demand for it, the environment will love you too!
SKILLS FOCUS: Unusual Skills You Need to Cultivate
The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!
Anne Frank
If you are not already an entrepreneur, here are some skills you are going to have to cultivate to increase your chance of success.
Know how to generate multiple income streams
In the past, people were one thing: a lawyer, an accountant or an IT consultant, for example. There has been a massive swing away from that as a result of changing economies and widespread retrenchments. People are becoming more creative and thinking about creating multiple streams of income. If that thought makes you feel quite faint, perhaps entrepreneurship is not for you. Even so, I encourage you to stretch yourself and try new ideas, new concepts. Slowly you can turn your own tide and embrace the thrill of doing many different things and making many different decisions. Our daughters laugh when someone asks me what I do. They know the answer is never the same and depends on what I am working on at the time. I am: a professional property investor, a trainer, an author, a wealth coach, a public speaker and an entrepreneur. What do you say when people ask you that question?
Don’t take anything personally
You will be thoroughly enamored by your business idea, but chances are not everyone else will be. And they won’t be afraid to tell you. Suddenly, everyone will be an expert in how to run a business, what book to read, which direction to take. Listen for useful advice and by all means, if it resonates with you, take it. As for the rest, smile and move on.
Pat your own back
As an employee, you receive feedback from performance reviews, other team members and managers. With any luck, this feedback will be positive and encouraging or at the very least, supportive. When you are on your own, unless you look in the mirror and tell yourself how great you are, praise won’t happen. Change your mindset to know that your reward is money and freedom. Now that’s praise enough for me!
Be your own cheerleader
Are you internally or externally motivated? If you want to become an entrepreneur, you need to learn how to motivate yourself. No one will be waiting for you at the water cooler or in the boardroom to help you structure your day and achieve your goals. It is all up to you! You can do it.
Downtime becomes a thing of past
In a corporate role, when you walk out the office for the day, you can leave your work behind you. As an entrepreneur, that no longer happens. You will eat, sleep and breathe your business as you figure out how to make it work, improve it, get more customers, insert task here. Even as you lie on the beach sipping your cocktail, your thoughts will drift back to your business. If that feels like a big price to pay, remember that you should LOVE your business, be inspired by it. And if that’s the case, thinking about it 24/7 is exciting!
Of course, there is so much more required to start a business, from mission statements to business plans to finding funding. However, it all starts with the mindset and if you don’t have the right one and aren’t prepared to move towards the right one, you are doomed to fail.
If you lack skills in one of the areas listed above, work on developing them and grow your skill set to change I can’t into I CAN.
WHAT I AM READING: Mike Dooley: Manifesting Change: It Couldn't Be Easier
Mike has taken all the pieces of manifesting and conceptualized it into bite sized chunks to follow every day for 4-5 minutes. The book is jam packed with useful information. I love Mike Dooley's way of writing. He is sooooooo much fun!! For about 13 years, I've been getting his daily emails called "Notes from the Universe" If you go to Tut.com, you can sign up for the free daily emails.
I can't tell you the number of times I was having a sad or 'off' morning and read Tut that totally changed my mood and made me feel so loved and inspired. Tut Rocks!!
Read this book "Manifesting Change" and be open to receiving all that is yours by Divine right from the Universe.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Did you know I run workshops on:
HOW TO PRESENT POWERFULLY: Learn how to communicate your message with confidence and ease.
FINANCIAL WELLNESS: Learn how to build wealth, budget, save, and invest properly, formulate a workable plan to get you out of debt as quickly as possible, know your financial status and understand where your money goes and so much more!
MORNING RITUALS: The way you begin your day has a profound impact upon you feel and how your day flows for you. Learn how to experience life in a peak state most of the time, and you will experience more joy, fulfillment and success as a result.
Contact me on tanya@tanyahaffern.co.za to find out more!
NEWS FLASH!
The next intake of #sidehustle Online Business Academy kicks off on 1 May 2019!
Work with me over three months from anywhere in the world as you learn how to create additional streams of income with ease!
Contact me on tanya@tanyahaffern.co.za to learn more or click on the image below to watch an informative video now!
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