Hey everyone! Hope you're all doing well! I am an 18 year old university who is very interested in real estate investing. I joined biggerpockets but it seem to be US based and thus I couldn't find much about REI in Australia. The house prices here in Melbourne are currently extremely high especially compared to that of the US which is the reason why I believe most strategies in the US doesn't seem to work well in AUS (i.e the '2% rule'). This is just my opinion on it and I want to hear other people's opinion on this. I was initially only passionate about buy and hold properties but I realised that I could grow even faster if I knew how to do flips or wholesale(does this exist in AUS?) or other avenues that I still am unaware of. The problem, however, is that I am no expert at pretty much any of these; I can't fix anything and I can't analyse deals (I really want to be able to do at least this by the time I finish university in 3 years). Currently, I am trying to get an understanding of the game by trying to 'blindly' analyse deals and going to auctions nearby. I am ready to learn, network and help! Any help would be much appreciated! Hok
Hi Hok, Which side of Melb are you in? Drop by to a meeting! East Side: VIC - Melbourne Meet Up (East Side) Matthew Flinders Hotel Tues 13 Sept West Side VIC - Melbourne (west-side) meetup - Thurs 29th September 7pm - Pascoe Vale Hotel, Pascoe Vale VIC The Y-man
Hi Hok! Problem with trying to do flips in Australia is that you encounter capital gains tax (CGT) from dollar 1 if you sell within 12 months and we have high buying and selling costs. Stamp duty tends to be a killer and you can't get around it. This all encourages people hold their investments (as long as they are generally increasing in value or flat) and then pull out equity rather than flip. Anyway, lots to learn from the forum and its great you are thinking about this so young. My advice to you right now is to save as much money as you can now, read some good books (many mentioned on the forum), ask questions and continue to read the forum. And go to as many meetup opportunities as you can. Good luck.
Welcome @Thaihok. 18 years old and highly ambitious and now you have discovered PC Forum. What a great recipe for success. You have time on you side so be patient. Focus on building up a deposit so you can buy your first property and in the meantime read, read and read more, listen, listen and listen more. Think, think and think more, then do. Happy to email you some great info I have built up over the years that I know will help you on your journey. Just ask Cheers.
Thanks for the advice everyone! It looks like the general consensus is to read and listen a lot while saving up a deposit which I will definetly be doing. My plan so far is to learn about as many avenues of REI as possible and pick a niche to specialise in. What are some resources that can help me do this? Once again, thank you very much for taking your time to help this student out
Great that you're interested at such a young age. The sooner you can start, the more you'll have to work with over a lifetime. If you're investing in real estate, odds are you'll need to borrow money. There's fundamentally two criteria for this: 1. Your own money - Banks want you to put some money down before they follow up. You're going to need a deposit and the purchase costs. 2. Income - Banks want to see that you can pay the mortgage and still put food on the table. My own experience as a student had both of these lacking, but they will come as you move into employment and work towards them. In the meantime, educate yourself as much as possible so when things do line up, you already have a good understanding of what your moves will be.
Welcome to the forum @Thaihok You're doing what you need to to learn - asking questions. Keep reading and posting and you'll develop an extensive knowledge. This seems to be the place most of the passionate Aus property investors hang out so stick around
18? have some fun, party hard, get wasted. come back here in few years time but be good to your parents...
