Kathy Faulkner

Financial Adviser (Property)

Hi, I’m Kathy, a financial adviser (Property) at Opes. I am a qualified financial adviser specialising in property investment.

I am the typical “mum-and-dad” investor who realised almost too late that pouring all our funds into our owner occupier was not going to provide us with the comfortable retirement we were seeking.

Luckily we had a meeting with Andrew Nicol who showed us how we could use leverage. We now have a diverse investment portfolio of townhouses and standalones in various parts of the country which will allow us to have the retirement we are looking forward to and not dreading.

Life doesn’t always work on the way you think, and our parents are testament to that where due to their shortfalls in planning and life throwing curveballs, they are in a situation where their children are now supporting them. I want to break the cycle. The most important gift that every person can give to their children is to create financial independence at retirement. Everything above that is what you should absolutely enjoy in your golden years.

Despite purchasing our first owner occupier at the age of 22, we had not leveraged the equity or knew how to go about it until we found Opes. I am proud that my son has just purchased his first owner occupier at the age of 22. He is already working out how he can leverage to buy his first investment property.

I have a Bachelor of Commerce degree (sooooo long ago!), qualified in South Africa as a Certified Financial Planner and now have my New Zealand certificate in Financial Services (Investments). So great I have the qualifications, but the real question is – how can I help you? If you are looking for a pathway to financial independence, are wanting to act but need those lights on the runway to guide you and want to speak to someone who has been through it or heard it before, I can help you

So my pearly words of wisdom that I go by are:

Break the cycle

Be the change

Take action

These are the things I ponder when enjoying the outdoors, ticking off New Zealand Greatest Walks, walking along the great Tongariro River, and spending time at all our wonderful beaches.

Here's what a client recently said about Kathy: "Thanks for all your help and guidance Kathy. It's been a pleasure working with you. Very much appreciate the hand holding".

More from Kathy

Check out my featured episodes on The Property Academy Podcast:

Episode 1270 - Case Study Sunday: Mortgage Free at 37 … on a Single Income

Episode 1221 - Case Study Sunday: "Give Me My $12,000 Back!" How This Investor Got Their Money Back From a Financial Adviser

Episode 1081 - Case Study Sunday: "We Want To Travel The Country In Our Motorhome"

Episode 969 - Case Study Sunday: How This Investor Plans to Use Property To Build a $60k+ Retirement Income

Episode 1032 - Case Study Sunday: They Invested With A (Now) Bankrupt Developer ... Now They're Ontrack For $175k Passive Income

Episode 1130 - Case Study Sunday: $100k Passive Income By 58. How This Couple Plan to Do It

Episode 1487 - Case Study Sunday: "We had 2 advisers saying different things" Here's what Anita and Tim did

Episode 1550 - Case Study Sunday: Couple Saves 40% of Their Income And Are STILL Buying Investment Property!

Episode 1648 - Case Study Sunday: Breaking the poverty cycle with Sera and Quentin

Or check out my featured episode on Property Live (webinar):

3 real Kiwi investors share their property portfolios + look at their numbers

Policies, Predictions & Property - How to invest in 2024 - listen from 49:20 where investors that I helped tell their story

How to run the numbers on an investment property in 2024 - Listen from 39 minutes where Matt & Stacey share how I helped them into their first investment and what they did to get there

Reviews

What's it like working with Kathy?

  • 5/5 stars

    Feels like we have hit the jackpot!

    We got hooked on the "The Property Academy Podcast" that features Ed and Andrew which is honestly where you should start. We reached out to Opes Partners and feel like we have hit the jackpot! Opes Partners is a team of professional and trustworthy industry experts. Stepping into the world of investment is not easy, but being under their guidance we felt really well informed. They use evidence based data from third parties so you know you are receiving factual information that you can use to make the best decisions to meet your own financial goals. Their entire process is incredible from the way in which they present potential properties, their format for showing you how you can meet your wealth goals to the incredible spreadsheets comparing property prices etc. Highly recommend Opes Partners, without a doubt. Reach out to them and experience what it is like to work with people at the top of their game! We were grateful with our superstar team made up of Kathy, Jason and Olivia. Total legends! But I hear all their staff are pretty outstanding. Do not hesitate. We just settled and are already dreaming about our next property and working with Opes Partners again.

    Sera H2/3/2024
  • 5/5 stars

    The team hold your hand through it all and make it so simple

    Cannot recommend the team at Opes more highly. Have been looked after by Kathy, Liv and Andrew at various points and have had all the scary and complicated parts of starting the property investment process taken out of the equation. The team hold your hand through it all and make it so simple. We opted for the path of least resistance and just used all the companies affiliated with Opes and while this is definitely not my style normally (research, research, research, compare reviews and prices, agonise over decisions), I can say that everyone we have dealt with has been professional, friendly and fantastic. They have complied a great team, a seamless system, and we are just so glad we didn't try to do it by ourselves.

    Rebecca D16/2/2024
  • 5/5 stars

    Provided ongoing help and support

    Great experience - the team at Opes provided ongoing help and support right throughout the investment property purchase. Special shout out to Kathy and Olivia who were amazing!

    Carl3/2/2024
  • 5/5 stars

    We are exceeding our dreams

    We would like to send a massive shout out to one of your team, Kathy Faulkner. We just had our 2nd meeting with her and are blown away by her professionalism, passion and expert knowledge. She has been incredible at making us feel heard, valued, seen and ready to take the colossal jump into building a property portfolio with Opes. The tools your company provide are incredible and take away a lot of guesswork, as you implement evidence based data. We are truly blown away by the level of comprehensive information you are utilising that therefore means a lot of our questions are answered. Excitement does not sum up what we feel. We are exceeding our dreams with the help and support of Kathy and Opes Partners. We have included a whakatauki that sums up this email. Thank you to Opes Partners and Kathy for helping us form our team. Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari kē he toa takitini My success should not be attributed to me alone; due to it being the accomplishment of the collective and not only the success of me as an individual.

    Sera R27/1/2024
  • 5/5 stars

    We cannot recommend their service enough

    We have just purchased an investment property using Opes Partners. We owe thanks to our exceptional team for getting us through the process and are extremely grateful for their expertise and support throughout. Our property partner, Kathy, was motivating and encouraging, our client relationship manager was diligently organized and our mortgage broker, Jason, was phenomenal with communications and frequent updates. The entire team have worked tirelessly on our behalf and we are excited for what the future holds for us and our property portfolio. Do yourself a favor and take action! Give the team an email, set up a consult, start listening to Ed and Andrew on their Property Academy Podcast and take control of your future. We cannot recommend their service enough and we plan to do a lot more business with them in the future.

    Tamati R17/1/2024
  • 5/5 stars

    Very happy with our experience at Opes

    My partner and I are very happy with our experience at Opes. Thank you to Kathy, Olivia and the team for picking us a great property, and facilitating the purchasing process. We will definitely continue to work with Opes in the future.

    Tim10/12/2023
  • 5/5 stars

    They do not pressure you to make any purchases

    Our experience with Opes was fantastic. Kathy Faulkner was our property partner. We found her to be very informative and helpful. They do not pressure you to make any purchases. They assess your financial situation and based on your goals, provide recommendations. This is backed up with great detail, including clear assumptions and expected cash flows. You are then allowed to make an informed decision in peace. They do really mean it when it's said they are there to help.

    Puli R18/9/2021