Property investment: Have you missed the boat?

Have you missed the boat?

“We have been thinking about doing this for years.”
“If only we had done this earlier.”
“Imagine if we had bought a place in that suburb 5 years ago.”

…is what I commonly get told with regards to purchasing an investment property.

‘Why didn’t you?’… is normally my reply.

The most common answers I receive are:

“I didn’t know what to do.”
“I didn’t know who to talk to or who to trust.”
“The media said it was a bad time.”
“My friends and family talked me out of it.”

It’s understandable that you need to take time to make important decisions.

But there are always going to be reasons – or let’s face it, excuses – that support your decision not to make major changes in your life. Or take action that involves risk.

This is human nature.

But what’s the difference between someone who acts and someone who just sits on their hands?

It’s this:

Having your kids set up so they won’t be struggling to buy their first property.
And at retirement, you can look forward to ticking off your personal list of places-to-see-before-you-die.
Cruising comfortably in your luxurious campervan.
Living it up with the retirement lifestyle you deserve.
OR this:
Living from week to week.
Cutting out discount coupons and relying on seniors nights for meals.
Laying up awake wondering how to live more frugally on the pension.

Don’t you owe it to yourself to tackle your fears right now?

Let’s do it together, shall we?

Property investment: Common reasons people miss the boat

Fear: “I didn’t know what to do.”

Not sure when to get into the market?
What mistakes to avoid?
How to buy property with no money?

Learn – or better still, find someone that knows.

The Oakley family didn’t have a clue either. Yet they were hungry for it – and they now own their first investment property.

Fear: “I didn’t know who to talk to or who to trust.”

Referrals are usually best. Alternatively, a quick search on Google can kickstart your search. A little investigation can go a long way if you’re really keen to get started.

It pays to be a little street smart in this industry so protect yourself: know how to spot a property shark.

Fear: “The media said it was a bad time.”

The media is controlled by a variety of stakeholders and interests: How high on their agenda do you think your best interests are?

Their role is to sell advertising, so the more shocking, the more readers.

Fear: “My friends and family talked me out of it.”

The ones that own an investment property? Or the ones that don’t?

Often people are trying to make sense of why they haven’t done something themselves. Or helping themselves feel better about mistakes they’ve made.

Are you ok making decisions based on someone else’s regret?

The only thing riskier than investing

One of my mentors taught me from a young age that the only thing riskier than investing is doing nothing at all.

If you don’t invest, you are almost guaranteed to be reliant on the pension in retirement.

That is of course… if there is a pension when you reach that stage of life.

In saying that, you still need to invest wisely to give yourself the best opportunity to make a profit, particularly if you are using your hard-earned savings.

2 ideal ways to invest in property

1. Use equity in another property

When it comes to property investing, if you can use equity from another property (like your home) to borrow 100% for the investment.

You are now leveraging OPM (Other People’s Money) for your advantage.

2. Find property that doesn’t cost anything to hold

If you can then find a property that doesn’t cost you anything to hold – that is:

Rent
+ Tax Benefits
= or is greater than Total Expenses

… this will give you the best chance of letting time do it’s thing, to increase in value.

How much profit would you be happy with?

If you were able to arrange an investment like the example above, where the property does not cost you anything to buy and nothing to hold, how much profit would you be happy with over 5 years?