Your Way To Wealth!

FROM: the desk of Mark Ogunwale

5th Jan. 2009 6:05 PM

Dear Friend,

I couldn't believe it when I realized close to £200,000 tax-free profit by self-building a lovely 5 bedroom home for my family in less than 18 months!

Sometimes it still feels like a dream even though my family and I have been living in this house for about 6 months now.

But I'm getting a little ahead of myself here. So let me take a deep breath … OK, done. Now let's continue, but from the beginning this time.

The Beginning

My name is Mark Ogunwale and I have been an IT consultant and a property investor for several years. Just under 5 years ago, my wife and I started searching for a larger home to accommodate our growing family. With the boom in the UK property market, it was impossible to find anything suitable within our price range. We spent 1 whole year looking at everything we could find and viewed close to 100 properties!

We even went as far as looking at properties up to 100 miles radius from London. We visited every auction you can think of and wasted so much time, effort and resources viewing properties before auctions, clocking thousands of miles in the process! The most painful part of the experience was the fact that we literally gave up our weekends for over 1 year in the search for a suitable property.

After searching in vain, we decided we were going to buy a property we could increase in size by adding an extension. This was the beginning of another journey! After searching for about 3 months, we found a property we liked and thought we could extend. We immediately put in an offer and then realized we had no idea how to proceed from that point.While I had been a property investor for a few years, neither my wife nor myself knew where to begin with extending a house other than enquiring from friends who had gone down the same route.

What we found out was horrific – as every single one of our friends who had gone down the route of extending their properties had tales of woe to tell and we were unable to find one (not even one person who said they will carry out a property extension again in the future)!!

This was a depressing discovery and the thought of continuing our search for a suitable property was not appealing in any form. We decided the smart thing to do was to first find someone who could guide us through the process of carrying out the extension successfully before proceeding with the purchase of the property we had found. In the course of our search, we came across all sorts of rogue professionals and lost over £4,000.00 to three of these rogues , whose only useful advise was for us not to commit to the property purchase until we had obtained the necessary planning consents. The property vendor was not willing to wait for us to obtain necessary planning consents and so we lost the property.

Our search now expanded to either finding a suitable property within our price range or finding one with the necessary planning consents for an extension in place. I made it a point of duty to stop at every property development site I drove past to try to have a chat with the workers on site and enquire if they could help lead me to someone who could assist with our project. Needless to say I wasn’t welcome at half of the sites and the other half were full of foreign workers who could not communicate with me.

This routine continued for about 6 months until about Xmas 2005, by what time my wife and I were completely exhausted and had really just given up on the search for an extension project. We decided we will just have to wait until we could afford a property that suited our requirements and if nothing promising came up within 6 months, we will extend our search to properties up to 200miles from our home in the outskirts of London.

The Turning Point

Christmas 2005 was tiring. Our second baby was due in a couple of months and the stress associated with finding a larger property in the last 2 years was seriously beginning to take its toll. We took advantage of the Xmas sales to shop for our new baby and before we knew where we were, our house was cramped to the point where we didn’t even want to be anywhere close to the house.. This was a blessing in disguise, as the events of that Xmas celebration changed our lives forever.

We were out late discussing our experience during a trivial discussion at a friend’s on one of those Xmas nights – not really because we wanted to be out that late, but more because we were dreading heading back to our cramped house when one of our other friends asked if we had spoken to another long-lost childhood friend about our travails. Apparently this friend of mine was in the real estate development business and could possibly point us in the right direction. I made a note of his contact details and didn’t think much of it at that point.

After the new year celebrations, I contacted my long-lost childhood friend and shared with him my experience. He invited us to his house for lunch and what my wife and I learned that afternoon opened us up to a new world. After sharing our experience with my friend (who eventually mentored us during our selfbuild project), he sighed and then asked sheepishly if we had what it took to embark on a development project. We explained the fact that we had no choice and I guess he probably just resonated with the pitiful look of my wife who was only about a month from delivery. He then asked if we had explored the option of a selfbuild . Up until this point, I had never heard the term ‘ selfbuild ’ and neither my wife nor myself had any idea what he was talking about.

He went on to explain that instead of looking at extending a house, why didn’t we just build one from scratch for ourselves. My wife and I looked again in amazement because the thought of building ourselves a home in the UK had never crossed our minds and was completely alien to us. We asked if that was possible and as our friend revealed the secrets of selfbuilding , our eyes lit with excitement. He walked into his home office and returned with a set of architect’s drawings and some pictures, asking if we were prepared to really change our lives . Once we convinced him that we were prepared, he asked us the following question, showing us the drawings and pictures he had retrieved. “How will you like to go from these plans to this complete house while earning a tax-free profit of btw £50 - £100K”:

We could not believe what we were hearing, but he went on to break down the secrets of selfbuilding , highlighting some of the major benefits as follows:

Our next question was where do we begin in order to embark on the journey. My friend went on to explain the maze of the selfbuild world and ended up depressing us, as it became very clear we did not have the skills, knowledge or contacts to embark on this journey ourselves. We asked if he could guide us on such a project, but he was way too busy and was out of the country too often to be able to assist.

We spent the next few months attending exhibitions, learning as much as we could and trying to find contacts who could assist us with a selfbuild project.To our total amazement, we couldn't find adequate information in any one location. Sure, there were books on how to do your own electrical work, plumbing, drywall, garden and on being your own contractor. There were also lots of specialized books for different trades and theoretical books on building, but not one book guided readers step-by-step through the selfbuild process in a way that sounded like someone who had actually gone through the process (all the books we found were to academic and theoretical for our liking)!!

Each time we drove past a site with a new house, we stopped by to speak to the developer. Most of the developers were friendly initially, as they probably thought we were customers, but as soon as they found out that we were trying to learn about building for ourselves, they retreated and became somewhat hostile. This experience was another big shock to our system, but we came to understand that a lot of successful developers and selfbuilders are unhappy sharing the secrets of this niche, as they see you as a potential threat to their future business!!

After about 6 months of looking for a headway with no progress, I contacted my friend again and made him an offer – if he was willing to guide me through the process, I will quit my job and work for him for FREE!! He said he would see what he could do, but didn’t think the offer will work as most of his current developments were much larger than a self-build and the requirements and skillset were different. I remember my phone ringing one August morning and it was my friend on the other line.He said a development deal had just come past his desk and although it was way too small for him to look at under normal circumstances and will not make financial sense for him considering other opportunities he was working on, if I was interested, we might be able to make it work!

He was looking at buying a house with an adjoining piece of land, applying for planning consent for 2 new dwellings on the adjoining plot and selling one of the plots to me. The deal was since he could not allocate a project manager to this project, as it was just too small for him to place permanent staff on site, I will have to be the project manager and himself and his staff will guide me during the development process!!From what I had experienced over the last 2.5 years, I knew this offer was too good to be true and I jumped at it straight – my wife was ecstatic when I told her about it and then the excitement turned into fear and a long learning process!!

The Build Project

Things moved really fast - within a week, I had met up with my friend and we had put in an offer for the house, contacted a broker to arrange finance, instructed an architect to put together drawings, contacted solicitors to act for us, etc. The transaction went smoothly based on my mentor’s contacts and experience and we obtained the necessary planning consents in November 2006. I handed in my notice at work as soon as we were granted planning consent and waited to resume in my new role as a selfbuild project manager, commencing January 2007!!

We broke ground in February 2007 and completed the development of two 5 bedroom detached houses in about 15months, with me as the project manager! Needless to say, I learned so much in the process, it has been unbelievable. Having gone through the selfbuild process, I have experienced all the benefits my mentor highlighted during our first meeting and in many cases, surpassed some of his projections, based on the economies of scale of building two houses together.

Coming out in one piece after such a life-changing experience is great. More importantly is the number of people I get asking me “how I achieved such a feat”. While I give myself credit for taking action to embark on the project, I realize that I was blessed in having a trusted friend and mentor guide me through the process. After spending numerous hours on the phone and in meetings with people asking me questions like:

I thought it wise to document the process, so anyone else who is where I was a few years ago and needs guidance in making their selfbuild dream a reality can get access to a no-nonsense depository of my experience!

Finally! Learn all the insider secrets that small developers and Selfbuilders don't want you to know

This e-manual is a no-nonsense knowledge reference depository, which I created from a personal journal I maintained during my selfbuild project. It presents all the steps you need to be familiar with as a Project Manager (which is the function you take on when you embark on a selfbuild project).The various tasks required to successfully execute a project may initially appear overwhelming, but I can assure you that with the right guidance, anyone can successfully execute a selfbuild project.

I am sure you have probably read several books, sat in seminars, etc that promised you the whole world, but fell short when it came to delivery. My aim in this e-manual is to exceed your expectations and to re-assure you that there are a few of us who are genuinely committed to seeing you succeed in your endeavours. My philosophy is one of abundance and my personal belief is that as more of us succeed and achieve our dreams, there will be more wealth available to spread to those around the world, who do not have the same privileges as some of us do.

It's much easier than you think when you follow our 'Self Build Your Way To Wealth' e-manual

My mentor shared a story of how a small mistake with the positioning of a retaining wall (about 50mm out of position) on one of his earlier development projects cost him over £20,000 to rectify .My hope is that what you learn from this e-manual will save you several thousand pounds by taking the correct steps and avoiding costly mistakes as you go out there and selfbuild your way to wealth.

If it is so profitable, why doesn’t everyone selfbuild ?

This is a very good question.

The fact of the matter is that the process of selfbuilding is quite daunting to many people and rightly so. Successfully executing a selfbuild project requires an understanding of the different tasks, dependencies and stages of the overall project as well as identifying the critical paths, key risks and issues and how these risks can be eliminated, minimized or managed.You also need to create and manage the project plan, budget and stages in an effective manner to avoid any pitfalls.

The plain truth is that selfbuilding could end up being an extremely risky, painful and expensive exercise if it goes wrong and most people are not willing to take on the risk associated with running a successful selfbuild project.

One of the challenges I’ve found is that most people who succeed in learning about the selfbuild sector just keep the information to themselves rather than share, as they see other selfbuilders as potential future competitors and will rather keep the number of future competitors down.

Having said that, if you are able to find a coach or mentor to navigate you through the maze of selfbuilding , this could turn out to be one of the most profitable and fulfilling projects you will embark on in your life!

Is now a good time to selfbuild?

I know a lot of people might wonder if now is a good time to selfbuild . I learned a very valuable counter-intuitive lesson from my mentor a few months back. I noticed he was increasing his activity relating to real estate acquisitions and wondered if he wasn’t worried about the downturn in the real estate sector.

I was pleasantly surprised by his answer that most of the big real estate players acquire the land for their land banks during economic downturns!!

Did you know… the value of land declines much faster than the value of actual real estate and so during economic downturns, while physical real estate might decline by say 20%, land values could decline by as much as 50% – 75%. What this means is that if you are able to acquire a plot of land during an economic downturn, it is the equivalent of buying an asset on sale. With this information at hand, I decided to double-check my mentor’s hypothesis and was shocked to find similar plots of land to ones I looked at when I was sourcing for a plot of land about 2 years ago selling for half the price they were commanding 2 years back.

The other point I picked up from my mentor was that a lot of tradespeople are currently out of work and so are offering very competitive bids to obtain work. In fact some of my mentor’s flat conversion projects which cost about £35,000 (labour) 2-3 years ago are being worked on for less than £20,000 now. The interesting thing is that since a build project will take you about 18 months (from finding the land to completing the build), you should be completing the development project round about when we are projected to recover from the current credit crunch and you will be positioned to make even more than the average 33% profit made by developers!

In this easy to read step-by-step manual you'll learn about the key 70+ project management tasks such as:

….and many more (Over 50 more )money-saving tips, tasks, including timelines, dependencies, over 80 live pictures, etc…

How do I proceed ?

Well I am here to tell you that you have not set your sights too high, yes you can!

There are two ways of learning anything. There is the quick and easy way and there is the painful trial-and-error way. I am lucky to have had a very experienced mentor guide me through the process and this e-manual will show you HOW!

Most selfbuild Project Managers (if you can find a good one) charge between £300 and £500 per day and I can assure you that most will know as much, if not more than most Project Managers by the time you are through with this e-manual. Here is what one of my mentor’s senior Project Manager’s had to say about the e-manual.

Most of my readers think that this is a steal with all of the money I am saving them. You will certainly think the same when you discover the secrets that I am about to throw your way.

A lot of these secrets have never been documented anywhere.‘ SelfBuild Your Way To Wealth’ is one of a kind and will be your consultant guiding you through your self build process. There's no fluff in this e-manual, just great usable information on how I did it and now you can too!

Click here now to order e-manual

The bottom line is, if an ordinary family like ours built our own home without the complete information that you'll have, then you can do it too. Some of the greatest challenges you'll find are only in your mind. But like the Nike commercial says, "Just do it!"

"OK, I'm ready. Please tell me how to get your eye-opening manual."

A lot of my contacts and even my mentor are surprised that I'll want to share this knowledge manual with anyone. They think that I'm just setting up competition for myself. In fact, if you study this manual you could become the neighbourhood 'expert' on building your own home in no time.

Remember I told you that we looked all over to find this kind of information and couldn't find anything worthwhile!! In addition to this, you'll be saving tens of thousands of dollars if you follow our advice. In a way my clients are right. It's a little crazy to be selling this manual, but the burden on me will be too much to bear if I keep this information to myself..

Besides, I believe that if you give true value then it will come back to you some day.

Along with the manual I also want to throw in these bonuses (now I'm really losing it)….

Special Bonus #1 (£100 value):