Author name: supervisor

Parental leave at Wealth Migrate

Company Culture /

Welcoming a new child to the family is an amazing event. Here at Wealth Migrate we want to ensure we are celebrating with you, and supporting you to thoroughly enjoy this very special time.

Key Principles

Our intention with this New Parent Leave Guideline is to create clarity for you and your family about our intentions as a company.  Here are some of our key principles for this guideline.

All parents are treated the same at Wealth Migrate – regardless of gender or sexual identity.

Anyone at Wealth Migrate who is becoming a parent through childbirth, surrogacy, adoption or foster care is eligible for paid leave.

As a global company, we are committed to working with your cultural or country norms. We will work with each person one-on-one to find the right approach with regards to new parent leave, and how and when you return to work.  

This benefit is available no matter how long a teammate has been on the team.

Paid Leave

New parents will be able to take up to one month of fully paid leave on the event of a new addition to the family.   After that, new parents will be able to take additional unpaid leave.   This is for all men, women and transgender team mates. 

The importance of bonding with a new  baby is not gender specific.  And a family working as a team in the first few weeks of a new babies arrival has significant benefits for the family and the baby.

When to take new parent leave, and how much to take?

Knowing how much time is right for you and your family is a tricky thing to plan for. Every family is different and we want to encourage each person to examine their own family needs and work team dynamics.

Sometimes a framework is helpful, and if that’s the case, we strongly urge a time frame of 4-8 weeks of full time off.

We’ll be excited to welcome teammates back following your leave no matter how much time you spend away.  Your place in Wealth Migrate will be waiting for you whenever it’s right to step back in fully.  As the nature of Wealth Migrate is to change and evolve quickly, we recognise that your role might shift a bit over time, though any changes will be communicated in detail.   Part of this ongoing conversation with team members and the Team and Culture team is to find the situation that works best for everyone.

You are welcome to split this family leave time over the first year of a child’s birth, adoption or foster care.  We’d love to discuss this on a case-by-case basis.

There are many factors that play into this: having a c-section generally means longer recovery time, if there are other children it might mean balancing more things, if adopting the process might require travel.

Part of not having a ‘policy’ is leaving a window of flexibility for these unknowns.

Your Time Away

When to start? Before or after your new arrival?  Babies – through birth, surrogacy, fostering or adoption) come on their own time!  Medical or legal conditions outside our control can also factor in with the “unexpectedness” of the start of a leave, and doctor’s recommendations may also come into play.

We trust team members to know what is best for their family, and urge you to take the time as needed, whether that means you take a few weeks off before your due date or work right up until delivery.

Our advice – settle on as firm of a ‘return’ date as possible so each team can plan around that.  For the ‘start’ date, we’ll be aware that his might be in flux and plan accordingly.

Easing back into work

Teammates are encouraged to consider a transition back into work – perhaps part-time for a short amount of time (from a week to a month) to ease back into work as part of the total leave time.  These lengths of times can be customized for each family and we urge full communication of this with leads and teams.

We are open to case-by-case discussions of extended leave or part-time hours at reduced pay.

This is a conversation we can between each team’s lead and the Team and Culture team either before or after the child’s birth or adoption.

If a team member need breaks during the day for baby care, breastfeeding or whatever is needed, one great way is to schedule them into your calendar (as best as you can ever ‘plan’ around a baby!).  We can help discuss and set expectations with your team leader and team. 

Our underlying philosophy is that we all share a commitment to each other and the team.  Through communicating we will come up with the plan that is best for you and your growing family.

Parental leave at Wealth Migrate Read More »

Is Real Estate the new Gold WealthE(TM) Coin – a cryptocurrency based on real estate

Cryptocurrency /

People are talking about it. Price is going up. It MUST  have value…

3 weeks ago I realised the world had changed. My Aunt (who is a very special part of my life) and who barely can use a SMART phone, asked how to buy Bitcoin. I knew we were now through the early adopter phase and probably into the next boom bust phase. They always say in real estate, ‘When your hairdresser is talking about buying investment property it is time to sell!’

Don’t get me wrong, crypto currencies are here to stay, but just because you can write a ‘white paper’ does not mean that you can create value.

Being an entrepreneur for more than 15 years I have learned one thing in life. You are only worth the ‘value’ you create!

Let’s take a few steps back. In 2008 Satoshi Nakamoto invented Bitcoin and more importantly in the process invented Blockchain. 2 years I got laughed at by my corporate mates when I told them how blockchain is going to change the world and yet 2 years later many people (including me) think that Blockchain is going to have a bigger impact on the planet than the internet itself.

Saying this, since we at Wealth Migrate understood blockchain, we have been aggressively building the solution. We knew it held the answer to our question of solving our vision of making real estate investment as simple as a swipe of the finger from $1. It can remove all the friction of not only local investments but also international investment.s

Long before we had ever heard the word ICO we embarked on the development of your Trusted Global Real Estate Marketplace. In October 2016 we launched the first global platform in real estate which was built on the blockchain. The intention was to build critical mass and then overlay it with a cryptocurrency based on real estate.

Our logic was I have a Master Degree in Technology (Cum Laude) (Greenwich, London) and I battle to understand the value of Bitcoin. How is my mother, who is a teacher, and my brother, who is a doctor, ever supposed to understand it?

However, every single person on the planet – all 7 billion, no matter how poor or unbanked, understand the value of land and real estate. Equally, it has intrinsic value which can be measured in every local market and is real, tangible and understood. Better than gold, which just sits in a vault and you ‘hope and pray’ it retains value and/or increases, real estate actually earns you an income while over the long term increases in value.

There is a reason that there are sayings like, “He who owns the land is King.”

We decided to reverse engineer the problem. Crypto’s are here to stay, however they are very volatile and the majority don’t understand them. Therefore why not create a crypto which is based on real estate. It is asset backed by real estate, has an intrinsic value and most importantly is understood by the entire global population.

On the 30th of August 2017, we unveiled to the world the solution. WealthE (TM) Coin a crypto which is asset backed by real estate.

From our last count, there are 10 ICO’s which are launching based on real estate. The only difference with us is that we are not a white paper. I wrote a dissertation on how technology was going to change real estate in 1998 and have spent the last 19 years trying to marry real estate and technology together. We have not only built the platform on the blockchain, but we have moved $62m through the platform and have investors from 40 countries. Yes, that is already more than 20% of all countries on the planet.

Our Global Real Estate portfolio is worth $362 million and is based on 4 continents… This is tangible, real and not a ‘white paper’ or an idea.

We are now ready and it is why we are launching WealthE (TM) Coin to enable investors. This is more than an idea, this is the future of real estate and is already happening.

Is the crypto market going to crash? Definitely. It is a classic dot.com boom/ bust which is about to happen, but like in the early 2000’s when the internet bubble burst, many companies went bankrupt but the great ones, with solid fundamentals, not only survived but thrived. Amazon, Google, Alibaba, Salesforce etc struggled initially, however the crash turned out to be the best thing which could have happened to them. 

I learned a long time ago, the best way to manage risk is to work out the worst case scenario and if you can manage it then everything else is the upside. We have measured the risk and we believe if we can work with the best on the planet, we will build something which is not only robust and will out live a crash but will be world class and become the world standard for real estate. An example of this is David Orban, a faculty member at Singularity University and an expert on blockchain and token/coin design. He is helping us build the solution the world needs.

Everyone in the ICO space is focused on speed. We are focused on quality.

If you want to know more then sign up on our platform – click here – and we will let you know when you can participate in something of quality which is sustainable.

Real Estate the new gold? We think so …

A final comment is that 49% of the world’s wealth is held in real estate, yet only 12,9% of the world’s population has access to it. On top of this, of the 12,9% less than 1% will retire wealthy at the age of 65. This is disgusting and it is time for a change. We are one of the drivers behind the Wealth Movement which is aiming to empower a billion people by 2020 and make a better and more sustainable planet for all. WealthE (TM) Coin is the catalyst which will allow this to happen!

I leave you with our manifesto:

Imagine a world…

A world where most or all people are literate

A world where education is par for the course

A world where woman are treated as equals

A world where all people have access to (investment) opportunities

In this world children will grow up in a family, and raised in a home their parents own.

Because of this, they will be healthier and have access to healthcare facilities and caregivers.

They live in less stressful environments with less conflict in their homes.

Imagine a world where 6 billion people on the planet who currently live in poverty can live a better life …

…Even if we can only help a billion in the next 5 years

Imagine that world

#WEALTHMOVEMENT aims to create that world

Click here and sign up to stay informed.

Create the future you want to see. We have events all around the world in the next 3 months and so don’t miss out world tour in UK, UAE, South Africa, USA, Australia, China, Singapore, Indonesia & Malaysia… Sign up to stay informed.

Thanks

Scott Picken

Founder and CEO of Wealth Migrate

Is Real Estate the new Gold WealthE(TM) Coin – a cryptocurrency based on real estate Read More »

Why is Texas a Great US State to Make Investments in

Real Estate /

It has much to do with the power house triangular region dubbed TEXAPLEX, which is framed by the cities of Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. 80% of the state’s population live in the Texaplex region, which has seemingly endless opportunities to offer its millions of residents.

Texas is a truly diverse and economically stable state, and Texaplex is the centre point of economic growth in Texas, home to 52 Fortune 500 companies as well as dozens of billionaires. The region continues to draw an increasing number of American firms, thanks to its no-state income tax for people and corporations, and no tax on goods in transit laws. It’s an incredibly “pro-business” environment, and the state rates highly among small businesses for its low taxes and simplicity with regards to regulations and licensing.

When it comes to investing, Texas real estate has always been a hot market, and it continues to thrive as a highly profitable and sought-after investment opportunity. The real estate market is also affected by the millennial generation, who make up the majority of the Texan population. It’s this generation who are pursuing job opportunities in Texas, and starting to buy and rent property – yet another key indicator of a strong local economy. Added to this, Texas is known for being a landlord and owner-friendly state.

So, if you’re looking to invest in the US, look no further than a solid investment in Texan real estate.

Why is Texas a Great US State to Make Investments in Read More »

Knock Knock

Real Estate /

“Change brings opportunity.” Nido Qubein

Sweeping changes have been brought to society by the birth of the internet a mere 25 years ago.  The new world we live in, gives us access to mountains of information and technology to open up new opportunities. Some would argue that many opportunities and jobs are lost and some would argue that many new opportunities, and even jobs that don’t yet officially exist, are on our doorsteps.

First question, who’s there?  Wealth Migrate, with its vision of empowering a billion people by 2020, to invest in quality commercial real estate with as little as $100.

“Success happens not by chance, but because you were given a chance and took advantage of it.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr

Second question, what’s here?  Diversification.  Until recently, the average investor did not have that much opportunity to diversify his real estate investment portfolio.  Most real estate investors had to invest in local residential real estate opportunities or REITS.  Commercial real estate investing was out of reach for all but the lucky, wealthy few.  Offshore residential real estate investing opened up to South African real estate investors, but remains open to a few, due to our weak currency, lack of knowledge and high investment levels required.

Today diversification is here by the click of a button. The internet, information and technology combined, allow the average real estate investor to participate in opportunities previously unheard of before.

“No one ever got anywhere by themselves. Find your support and keep close.” Anonymous.

The Wealth Migrate team needs to be commended and loudly applauded for utilising the expertise in their team, to bring true real estate investment diversification to all. 

“Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Wealth Migrate is already on the dance floor.  Traditional real estate investing is being turned on its head and disrupted by niche real estate markets such as:

Investing across currencies

Investing across borders

Investing in areas close to transport corridors and nodes

Investing in medical real estate

Investing alongside a developer

Investing in high growth areas driven by population growth and demand

Investing in cities with diverse economies and multiple industries

“If a window of opportunity appears, don’t pull down the shade.” Tom Peters.

The changing dynamics in society necessitates changes in the traditional ways of doing things.  Smart investors need to consider new and changing dynamics when investing in real estate.  The ‘old’ way will prove costly to investors who insist on ignoring the changes in society.  In days gone by, investors had the luxury of studying opportunities and markets for months and even years before taking action.  They could depend on their own research and information from their networks.  This has long been disrupted by the internet with information now been easily accessible.  Millions are breaking free from the old barriers and are ready to act on opportunities open to them now. Those who are willing to take quick action, to partner with others and utilise technology, are walking away with the spoils.

“Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Knock knock, wake up to the wonderful new world of choice, opportunity and diversification.

“There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity.” Douglas MacArthur.

DISCLAIMER: The above article is my opinion and nothing contained herein should be construed as any investment, tax, legal, or other advice, nor should it to be relied upon in making an investment decision.

Knock Knock Read More »

Real Estate’s Gutenberg Moment has arrived

Real Estate /

“German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer, and publisher who introduced printing to Europe. His introduction of mechanical movable type printing to Europe started the Printing Revolution and is widely regarded as the most important invention of the second millennium, the seminal event which ushered in the modern period of human history. [1] It played a key role in the development of the Renaissance, Reformation, the Age of Enlightenment, and the scientific revolution and laid the material basis for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of learning to the masses. [2] “

Some would question whether real estate requires a Gutenberg moment. Statistics prove the necessity resoundingly, since only 13% of the world’s population has access to owning real estate and share in all the benefits property ownership delivers. The low real estate ownership percentage is not surprising, even in the democratic, information- and technology-based environment we find ourselves in these days. Access to real estate still requires large sums of money as well as expertise and access to financing. To top it all, there are still many countries globally, where direct property ownership accompanied by the receipt of title deeds, are not a reality and citizens can only lease land from the state or are given rights to live on land by a tribal leader or chief. Buying property remains a complex process. It involves several steps and specialized knowledge such as given by lawyers in order to ensure the correct and legal transfer of the property. The legal and financial interests of the both the buyer and seller need to be protected.

What was so significant about 10 June 2016? Until this day only accredited, meaning high net worth investors, could participate in commercial real estate opportunities. They needed to invest amounts of $100 000 and more. On 10 June 2016, it was the first day ever, that non accredited investors were able to invest in commercial real estate investment, starting at levels of $10 000. Investors from all over the world could, for the first time partake, in a commercial real estate investment in a first world country. Very soon investment levels will be down to $100. Investors investing $100 will get the same yields and benefits, as the property experts and millionaires, they are co-investing with. A case study can better explain the true benefits to the average real estate investor. See the case study below.

Take the case of a 29-year-old engineer, ready to make his first real estate investment. He is permanently employed and has savings in order to get started:

THE TRADITIONAL WAY:

Approach a local real estate broker in order to view listings and see what is available and affordable.

Buy an online course from a guru, either by recommendation from family, friends or research on the internet.

Attend seminars on investing in real estate in your area.

View many, many prospective properties enlisting the services of several real estate brokers.

Cross check all information from the local real estate broker, who rarely is an authority on investment property and is largely driven by earning commission.

Select a property.

Put in an offer and apply for a mortgage.

If all goes well, take transfer of the property and assume all the risk.

Pay commissions.

Start the process of selecting a suitable tenant.

Make a thorough study of rental legislation and the consumer protection act.

Entrust your investment to a managing agent or embark on the management process yourself.

Deal with rental and maintenance issues, mortgage repayments, costs of levies.

Deal with inefficient city council employees with regards to utilities and rates and taxes accounts.

Experience how little protection landlords have in South Africa and the costs of dealing with defaulting tenants.

Time frame to get started, anything from 6 months to 12 months and longer.

Income all in ZAR.

After much trial and effort and some expensive mistakes, move onto investing in commercial real estate where yields are significantly better.

THE WEALTH MIGRATE WAY:

Make a study of Wealth Migrate and discover that the company consists of a team of leading real estate experts from all over the globe. They have more than 227 years of combined experience in investing and managing more than 10,000 investments on five continents.

Discover all about the new way of investing in real estate via a secure platform.

Attend their educational webinars.

Subscribe to their virtual buyer’s trips or join a buyer’s trip and spend time with true experts in all aspects of real estate investment.

Log onto the Wealth Migrate portal at www.wealthmigrate.com and sign up to study their real estate deals online.

Meet current investors at regular meetings and share in their experiences.

Stand on the shoulders of the experts in the team, such as Dr.Dolf de Roos and use his and their expertise, to pick the cherries at the top of the investment tree.

Select to invest in a commercial real estate opportunity and invest via the secure portal.

THE BENEFITS OF INVESTING WITH WEALTH MIGRATE

Become an international citizen, not by emigrating, but by buying into top commercial real estate investment opportunities across borders.

Receive first world income in first world currencies.

Receive higher yields because the traditional middlemen have been cut out.

Never deal with tenants or maintenance issues.

Benefit from diversification of property investment portfolios in 3 hard currencies, USD, GBP and AUD.

Benefit from the expert specialisation and GIDDS rating system when due diligence is done on behalf of investors. GIDDS is our Global Investment Due Diligence System.

Share in the same yields on commercial deals, earned by real estate experts and multi–millionaires, by co investing alongside them. They were previously the only ones with access to these opportunities.

Be part of the new shared economy, where benefits and risks are shared equally.

Experience transparency, honesty and accessibility.

Experience the cost saving benefits of technology and financial technology or Fintech.

COMPARISON BETWEEN INVESTING IN BUY TO LET IN SOUTH AFRICA VS INVESTING VIA WEALTH MIGRATE IN OFFSHORE REAL ESTATE

BUY TO LET IN SOUTH AFRICA

WEALTH MIGRATE OFFSHORE

Yields 6 – 7% on average

Yields USA Medical 5 deal from 8.3%

Profits taxed at 36% for this person

Dividend tax only at 15%

70% mortgage

Loan application on balance sheet

No loan application on balance sheet

Full exposure to devaluating Rand

Benefit from devaluation of the Rand

Tax efficient investment structures

Having regard to both the traditional way and the Wealth Migrate way, the 29 year old investor took his first steps in real estate investment, the Wealth Migrate way. He chose to utilise and benefit from the combined expertise and knowledge of Wealth Migrate’s world class team, and will soon receive his first rental income in USD, from a top class medical commercial real estate investment.  He is already looking to invest in a commercial real estate opportunity in Australia, thereby earning AUD. Across borders and in hard currencies.

Technology, the internet, access to information and blockchain technology have all come together to create a Gutenberg moment for real estate investing. No longer can people be denied opportunities to invest in real estate, no matter where they are.  Rapid adoption and utilisation is the order of the day.  Unlike Gutenberg who brought printing to Europe in 1439 and whose achievements were only recognized in 1465.  It also took centuries for the benefits of printing, to reach the masses.

Soon, the significance of Wealth Migrate’s foresight and achievements will create a tremendous stir. Access to wealth through real estate investing, is now available to the masses.

Real Estate’s Gutenberg Moment has arrived Read More »