All Topics / Help Needed! / Young Investor

Viewing 12 posts - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
  • Profile photo of Ethan1Ethan1
    Member
    @ethan1
    Join Date: 2012
    Post Count: 2

    I am 14, I very interested in property investing and plan on doing this when I am older. I spend a lot of time on realestate.com , and in one of steve’s books books I noticed the site finders fee. I wonder, am too young to do this? If so, what could I do to until I am old enough to do site finding or investing?

    Cheers,

    Ethan

    Profile photo of Shiny_Suit_ManShiny_Suit_Man
    Participant
    @shiny_suit_man
    Join Date: 2012
    Post Count: 54

    Hi Ethan,
    Hmmm and i thought i was young when i was interested in property (i was 16). Basically i don’t really think there is much you can do but choose business orientated subjects at school and pay attention. I started saving for my first house when i was 16 and bought it when i was 19. Reading a lot of books is something else you can do that may help. However there maybe a fair bit of stuff in there that you might not understand, but thats what mums and dads are for. If i were you i would concentrate on doing well at school so you can get a great job and maybe even ask for some work experience in real estate or accounting places. This will be difficult though because i think your still to young for work experience, I could be wrong though. Basically at the moment all you can do as far as i know is read books, and read the threads on here. There is a lot you can pickup through reading other peoples posts and listening to their experiences.

    Good Luck.

    Profile photo of Matthew_WMatthew_W
    Member
    @matthew_w
    Join Date: 2009
    Post Count: 19

    Wow! 14?

    Consider yourself lucky Ethan that you know what you want to do with your life and start now.

    I don't think you're ever to young to start – anything! You can probably read, read, and read for now. And like Shiny_Suit_Man said above me, if you're not sure on anything, ask your parents (or here  ).

    You should start building up a wealth of knowledge through this reading, and then in a couple of years when you get to do work experience at your school, you can get a bit of experience in the field at a real estate firm.

    Then go from there

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

    Hi Ethan

    Welcome to the forum.

    Wow – that's incredible, only 14 and thinking with that mindset. When I was your age I was spending all of my money on basketball cards.

    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 NHGNHG
    Member
    @nhg
    Join Date: 2010
    Post Count: 198

    Wow,

    Great effort. I purchased my first place when I was 17, however didn't have a clue why or what next till I was 23 :p

    Have a plan, read lots of investment books, learn to live frugaly and network network network. Learn from those that have walked the path before you, your only limited by what you see possible.

    Remember some of the best lessons learnt come from mistakes, doesn't mean they have to be your mistakes, starting so early means you'll be full of wisdom by the time you get started in the near future.

    Profile photo of DerekDerek
    Member
    @derek
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 3,544
    Shiny_Suit_Man wrote:
    However there maybe a fair bit of stuff in there that you might not understand, but thats what mums and dads are for..

    Not necessarily so.

    Sometimes parents are the last place you should be looking for property advice from.  If your parents are into property or actively encourage their kids to spread their wings then they may be a good sounding board if not then you may need to look elsewhere; a close family friend, trusted neighbours etc who are into property.

    Profile photo of xdrewxdrew
    Participant
    @xdrew
    Join Date: 2010
    Post Count: 479

    I think if i was 14 again .. and asked the question .. what would I do to get where I am . . . . in property ….

    Find a mentor .. someone who has already made the good and the bad happen in real estate. Sit back and listen to what they did .. how they did it.

    Go to a couple of open houses with an adult .. and look at what people are doing for solving problems. They may not be how you would solve a problem .. but they may lead you to innovative solutions and creating easy fixes for complex problems. Ask yourself how you could have done things better.

    Learn what is available in tiles .. carpets .. blinds .. lighting .. stoves .. heaters and insulation. Become a little bit of an expert in each. Learn what a bargain is, as opposed to a cheap item.

    Ask questions of the agent, or if you feel intimidated to .. ask your adult friend to pose some of the questions.

    The ideal setup is … you turn 18 .. you've saved a little .. and you have a couple of goals for what you want to do next.

    Do work experience for a developer .. you'll learn heaps. Even if its just carrying his lunch orders.

    Profile photo of Property TraderProperty Trader
    Participant
    @property-trader
    Join Date: 2002
    Post Count: 111

    Ethan,

    Over the past 12 years, I personally done well over 100 property transactions and from my experience I will share a couple of ideas with you:

    THE PROPERTY FINDER A BUSINESS

    1. I pay my Property Finders $1000 for every good lead they provide me. All they have to do is give me the property location and a bit of background information on why it would be a good deal and I take over from there. When not running a little lawn mowing business that was your age, a $1000 paycheque would be very nice to bank.
    2. Our business is based on “you make money when you buy” and therefore we have a high emphasis on processing due diligence and checking out the opportunity when you see one.
    3. Being a Property Finder is like paper trading on the sharemarket. You can go through all the due diligence you like; especially with all the web-based tools available during these days, you can really be an armchair property buyer. If you do it right, your major investment will just be your time especially if your mentor or the person you work for gave you access into RP Data or Price Finder.
    4. If you understand what your client is looking for, then it will be 10 times easier for you to spot the opportunities when they come along.
    5. There are a lot of times poor people/professionals out there went through a lifestyle choice where they do not want to spend their time trawling real estate portals finding half decent opportunities which you can provide for them.

    MENTORS

    1. In choosing a mentor, focus on someone who is a DOER not just a TALKER. There are loads of people who know all about the theory of property investing but they’re only a handful of people relatively that get off their backsides and actually do it.
    2. Theory is a good thing to know but action will trumpet it every time. The right mentor will allow you to get out there and take action knowing that he/she is only a phone call away to answer a question if you have one or they will know someone who they can ring and get the answer for you.
    3. Find a mentor who is active right now in the type of property investing that you wanna get into, as the market is constantly changing, what worked 12 months to 24 months ago might not be relevant in today’s market. Case in point, we’ve got four property transactions on go at the moment as we just finished one renovation, just put on the market and sold two weeks later. With another renovation that is about three weeks away from completion and we have two other properties that were trading at the moment plus we own a number of rental properties. How we acquire and calculate the buy price of our renovation projects now is totally different from 12 months to 18 months ago.
    4. Being a Property Finder is a great way to learn the ropes especially when it comes to due diligence and everything you need to know when purchasing a property.
    5. We’re not looking to get into commercial real estate investing. A good friend of mine who owned a large firm in the city once allowed me to be a Commercial Property Finder and get paid a fee by doing so. And then he allowed me to see how the project developed over the coming years so I can see one in real-time and observe all the ups and downs as it went along.

    BEING TOO YOUNG
    That’s only a self-limiting belief if you decide that to be true. Where there’s a will there’s a way.

    I hope there are a few gold nuggets in what I’ve said to you. All the best in your future endeavours in getting into the property market.

    One question I should have you is where you currently live at the moment (city/town and state).

    All the best,
    Jason Moore

    Property Trader | Boston West Pty Ltd
    http://bostonwest.com.au
    Email Me | Phone Me

    Private money lending opportunities available paying upto 12%, secured by bricks and mortar!

    Profile photo of Kieth BenjKieth Benj
    Member
    @kieth-benj
    Join Date: 2012
    Post Count: 4

    Until you’d get older i think you must continually studying about the real estate and having knowledge about the market because it’ll be so helpful for you when you’d start investing, It’ll work for you as your experience. And when you’ll start it you’d have knowledge about all the markets and previous info of the real estate industry, So you could get ideas before investing anywhere about the benefits.

    Profile photo of DubstepDubstep
    Participant
    @dubstep
    Join Date: 2012
    Post Count: 395

    Hi Ethan1,

    Good on ya mate, keep researching and learn all you can, this site will give you a wealth of knowledge on real estate.

    You should also watch the news and learn what's happening in the rest of the world. ( the web is great for this )

    The world markets and economies are connected, and learning about business news, politics etc, can give you a good insight into what can become potential opportunities and what can become potential risks.

    Or you can just be 14 and enjoy being care free  ! !  

    Anyway, I hope we get to hear lots of questions from you.

    Profile photo of Ethan1Ethan1
    Member
    @ethan1
    Join Date: 2012
    Post Count: 2
    Property Trader wrote:
    One question I should have you is where you currently live at the moment (city/town and state).

    Thank you everyone all the useful information you have given me,
    In answer to you question Jason, I currently live in the melbourne area in Victoria.

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

    Hi, I would seriously look up Nathan Birch. He started looking at real estate books when he was 13 or 14. He made his first million before he was 21. He had no help from anyone. Left school, worked 2 jobs and started.

    I'd send him an Email. He's a wonderful guy who goes out of his way to help people get started.

    If he's got a seminar lined up in Melbourne definitely go. If you are really serious maybe see if your parents will bring youy to Sydney to meet up with him.
    He's one mentor you'd be hard pressed to beat.

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