All Topics / Help Needed! / Hello Property Investors – Would You Share Your Thoughts With a Newbie

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)
  • Profile photo of KevinKevin
    Participant
    @kevinjamesmcauley
    Join Date: 2014
    Post Count: 3

    Hi there all,

    I’ve recently bought steve’s book and recently just really started considering the idea of property investing. Initially my thinking was you need to buy a house anyway so you may as well be smart about it and try and make it as benificial for yourself financially as you can.

    The more I read however the more intrigued I become and the more of Steve’s book I read the more I realise just how little I know!

    Anyway I was reading a few of the posts on the forum and it seemed like a pretty helpful, all be it straight shooting place so here goes…

    About Me
    I’m a 29 year old first time buyer. Been told I can get about $450k mortgage on my own or with my girlfriend we could get over $1,000,000. Don’t have any debts bar a student loan and as I have no existing properties I could potentially implement Steve’s strategies from the start.

    To Buy a Home or an Investment
    Originally we were looking at buying a house or an apartment that we could live in for 6-18 months, then rent out, repeat the process. It seems thats how everyone else thinks this game is played but as I read the book it seems like this could be the wrong approach as we a mudding the waters between home and investment.

    Therefore it seems the first decision that we have to make is do we want to be property investors or do we want to buy a home. Would I be right in saying that?

    I have lot’s more questions but I suppose I have to make a decision on this before anything else.

    Appreciate your thoughts,

    Kev

    Profile photo of Don NicolussiDon Nicolussi
    Participant
    @don
    Join Date: 2005
    Post Count: 1,086

    Kev,

    Welcome. If it were me starting today I would buy IP first and look for property with two things: 1) Cash flows balanced where rent at least covers the interest payments, 2) Potential to manufacture equity through a value adding strategy. * Repeat *

    Your residence will need to be near work, friends, family and you have a lifestyle considerations.

    Your investments can be anywhere that fit your strategy.

    Don Nicolussi | Mortgage Broker - Home Loan Warehouse
    http://homeloanwarehouse.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    "I think of finance as a technology, a way of getting things done." Robert Shiller

    Profile photo of Jamie MooreJamie Moore
    Participant
    @jamie-m
    Join Date: 2010
    Post Count: 5,069

    Hi Kevin

    Welcome aboard :-)

    Start by educating yourself. There’s tonnes of books out there – and forums like this are a good resource too.

    When you’re ready to roll – surround yourself with a good team of professionals. An accountant and finance person are a must.

    Cheers

    Jamie

    Jamie Moore | Pass Go Home Loans Pty Ltd
    http://www.passgo.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    Mortgage Broker assisting clients Australia wide Email: [email protected]

    Profile photo of KevinKevin
    Participant
    @kevinjamesmcauley
    Join Date: 2014
    Post Count: 3

    Thanks Don and Jamie,
    Appreciate the replies.

    We have been thinking about it a lot more over the last few days and have decided that our strategy now for now is to focus on buying an investment property and placing tenants in there from the start as we were considering moving into it. The goal is to then try and scale this up quickly so Don we will be looking to follow the strategy you suggest.

    One of the first thinks that we have done is look at our current budgets and how we manage, or don’t, manage our incomes. We earn a decent enough wage between us but it’s definately a leaky pipe so we need some good professionals around us as Jamie has suggested.

    Happy to take suggestions on account and finance person in the Kogarah/Hurstville area of Sydney?

    Profile photo of PHPPHP
    Participant
    @php
    Join Date: 2014
    Post Count: 111

    Hi Kevin,

    Do you really require a face to face meeting?
    I find it that due to everyone’s busy life, doing transactions like this over the phone and email is beneficial.
    Just need to find a knowledgeable and reliable person. Someone with a good reputation is a must as well. You can easily find them on forums like this.

    PHP | Mortgage Station Pty Ltd
    http://www.mortgagestation.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    Give us a call or send us an email for a free residex report.

    Profile photo of sciencesurfsciencesurf
    Participant
    @sciencesurf
    Join Date: 2012
    Post Count: 63

    My two cents. I find the reply by PHP a little suss.

    I agree that finance and accounting can be completed over email/phone for the more experienced investor, once a relationship has been developed.

    A face-to-face meeting, and a step by step explanation of the process, is INVALUABLE for a newbie to the game.

    The professionals on this forum give amazing advice and assistance, but in the end someone is getting paid out of the process.

    sciencesurf
    http://sciencesurf.wordpress.com/
    Email Me | Phone Me

    Click my website for the Sunshine Coast Property Blog

    Profile photo of PHPPHP
    Participant
    @php
    Join Date: 2014
    Post Count: 111

    Hi sciencesurf,

    Apologies if my post made you feel that way.
    I asked the question if face to face meeting is a must for the OP and then suggested what I would prefer. At the end of day, it is still up to the OP’s due diligence and comfortability.
    A step by step explanation can also be done over the phone, email, Skype, FaceTime, etc. Technology is helping us with this.

    And I agree, someone will get paid out of the process, but that’s the price to pay for employing their Professional services.

    Not trying to enter an argument. all I’m saying is that in this day and age, you need to work smarter, not harder. Technology is there for us to use. Would you meet up a non property savvy professional who’s office is just 10 minutes away and listen to him explain things about property investing but is not an active investor himself, or FaceTime someone who’s been there and has done what you are trying to achieve?

    Cheers!

    PHP | Mortgage Station Pty Ltd
    http://www.mortgagestation.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    Give us a call or send us an email for a free residex report.

    Profile photo of Richard TaylorRichard Taylor
    Participant
    @qlds007
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 12,024

    Welcome to the forum Kevin and I hope you enjoy your time with us.

    I totally agree with PHP that face to face meeting whilst all good and nice is useless if the so called local professional has never purchased an Ip in his life and us merely a paper shuffle.

    I assume from his website science surf doesn’t work for nothing and not wound investor expect the mortgage broker etc to do do.
    All Brokers receive a commission which us disclosed to the client and in 26 years of being in the industry I have never had a client complain.

    This evening I spent over an hour on Skype to a forum client in Dubai who has purchased a couple of IP’S thru our property sourcing service and wanted to discuss finance options.
    Obviously a face to face sit down over coffee would not be practical but he appreciated the depth of our investment knowledge and certainly had no complaints we were receiving a commission for the credit advice.

    You have to understand not all Bankers or Brokers are equal. There are those who have no clue and those that have been around the traps once or twice and have their own portfolio.

    Cheers

    Yours in Finance

    Richard Taylor | Australia's leading private lender

    Profile photo of Kylie WalshKylie Walsh
    Participant
    @kylieppi
    Join Date: 2014
    Post Count: 23

    Hi Kevin

    Budgeting is the most important part of getting started with investing. Our incomes coming in are consistent but usually our spending habits are not consistent especially when it comes to every day living. You need to establish a budgeting plan, put it in place and then monitor this for a period to see what is a “true” affordable amount for you to invest.

    It is important to establish a good relationship with your advisers as these are the people you will surround yourself with and put trust in. Whilst it is great to meet them face to face, you can also get a feel for them over skype as to whether they would be the right fit for what you want to achieve. Also, just don’t jump in. Do your research on them and what they say as there are some great sales people out there who promote themselves as advisers.

    Kylie Walsh | PPI Investment Advice
    http://ppiinvestmentadvice.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    Licensed Property Financial Advisors who provide Tailored Property Advice and Solutions

    Profile photo of KevinKevin
    Participant
    @kevinjamesmcauley
    Join Date: 2014
    Post Count: 3

    Hi all for the replies,

    I really appreciate you taking the time out to reply. I would agree that a face to face may not be necessarily critical, I suppose I just assumed that done thing was that you would typically go for someone local when making big purchases such as these but it makes sense that you just find someone who knows what they are talking about rather than the first person at the end of the street.

    Kylie I think that you make some good points, managing the money I have earned has not always been brilliant and I definately need to develop more discipline around my spending habits but finding a financial advisor, and account and a property investment mentor are the next things on my property to do list!

    Thank you all again

    Profile photo of CatalystCatalyst
    Participant
    @catalyst
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 1,404

    Hi Kevin,
    as others have said it’s critical to get the setup right and to do this you need someone with lots of experience.
    getting your loans etc set up correctly is crucial.

    Start by reading forums. Get recommendations and go from there. I’ve used a few recommendations off forums. Some have been great, others not so.
    Everyone is different and wants/needs different things.

    Networking is also very important. Meet like minded people to chat about things. There are many meetups in Sydney. Go along to one. Most are casual. Some have guest speakers.
    Look on meetup.com type in property or investments. There are a few others also. Message me if interested.
    PS I’m not selling anything. just happy to help people get started.

    Freedom
    Participant
    @lindaq
    Join Date: 2014
    Post Count: 22

    Catalyst, do you happen to know if there are any meet ups in Adelaide, or if anybody could Skype in to one in Sydney? Struggling to find them over here!

    Profile photo of CatalystCatalyst
    Participant
    @catalyst
    Join Date: 2008
    Post Count: 1,404

    Unfortunately you just missed one on 27th October.

    http://somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84714&page=14.

    I think they meet regularly. There are a few investors in Addlai de on that forum

    Also Google meetup.com and type in property Adelaide.

    Good luck. It’s great to network with others, its hat gave me the kickstart to get going.

    Profile photo of PHPPHP
    Participant
    @php
    Join Date: 2014
    Post Count: 111

    Catalyst, do you happen to know if there are any meet ups in Adelaide, or if anybody could Skype in to one in Sydney? Struggling to find them over here!

    Hey Freedom,

    I think you will find it hard to Skype in to one of these meet ups. First is they are normally just casual meet ups, no hard selling or anything like that. Just a group of property investors or would be property investors sharing ideas and stories. And it is normally held in a club so people can have dinner and a few drinks while discussing things. I am sure there will be more meet ups in Adelaide.

    • This reply was modified 9 years, 4 months ago by Profile photo of PHP PHP.

    PHP | Mortgage Station Pty Ltd
    http://www.mortgagestation.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    Give us a call or send us an email for a free residex report.

    Profile photo of sciencesurfsciencesurf
    Participant
    @sciencesurf
    Join Date: 2012
    Post Count: 63

    I agree with Catalyst about meetup.com and finding a property investing networking group. These things are fantastic! That is how we found our broker. He is local and has been the difference between a deal getting over the line, or not. Interesting to note that the last purchase was completed completely over the phone/email so maybe I’m a hypocrite in some way.. But then again my point was about the importance of building a professional relationship to begin with, and that is assisted through a physical face-to-face meeting. Would you trust a buyers agent to purchase a property for you without a physical meeting? Same goes with finance as they are equally important and can cost you thousands in the long run.

    A question for the professionals and experienced investors on this forum. Would you part with your money on a deal without meeting someone face-to-face?

    And for the record @qlds007, my advice or website has never come with a pricetag. Building a community of like minded individuals and sharing information is what it’s all about.

    Good luck

    sciencesurf
    http://sciencesurf.wordpress.com/
    Email Me | Phone Me

    Click my website for the Sunshine Coast Property Blog

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