I was going over some old property “Daft Reports” today and something in David McWilliams Quarter 2 2005 post hit me:

“If you are buying today to generate an income from renting residential property, you have missed the boat. However, as the banks are lending hand over fist to the market, you can still make a few quid by avoiding being Paddy Last. That’s the rule. As Paddies continue to buy property as if it is going out of fashion, everyone’s exit strategy in this inflated market is to make sure there is another Paddy investor behind you to whom you can flog. So make sure you are not that guy – make sure you are not Paddy Last. Always keep the exit doors open”

Could this be the reason why some people are still swearing blindly that Ireland is invunerable to the looming property crash??? Is it as simple as they are still too heavily invested in it and therefore can’t admit that things have changed?

Fundamentals and Confidence are what drives a market. The fundamentals of investing for cashflow went years ago and the confidence is currently falling all around us. In Ken McElroy’s book the “ABC’s of real estate investing” (Kiyosaki’s Rich dad series) he suggested that the monthly rental should be 1% of the total purchase price on a reasonable investment deal. With Ireland running at three times that and a potentially shakey rental market in an economic down turn. So are you a Property Paddy Last???