Hello I've recently discovered this forum, so please excuse any silly things that have been asked an answered a thousand time previously. I am a single mid-30s first-home buyer, I have a decent sized deposit, earn a slightly above average wage and have pre-approved finance. I am looking to buy my first property, with a view to turning it into an investment property after the time-clause conditions of the first home buyer bonuses are met (must live in property for X months and so on). I am attracted to property investing due to the tax incentives and capital growth prospects. My strategy is to use the rent-vest method, as I prefer smaller apartment living, and I don't need to live in a large family home at this stage of my life, and I enjoy moving around quite often. If you know if any resources that could help and guide me in the do's and don'ts, and especially how to identify growth areas, I would be really appreciative. I'm currently trawling RE.com.au and Domain every day, but my eyeballs feel like they're going to fall out because I don't know what I'm really looking for. I have looked into the "group buying clubs" and decided they're definitely not for me. Too much BS. So I would like to learn myself how to identify a good property, what a growth area looks like, and how to build a property portfolio the right way. Thank you so much for your time in reading this, and I look forward to becoming an active member of the forum.
Cant help with the asset selection but just a couple of pointers due to the intended future use of the place If you have spare cash left over, place it into an offset attached to the loan, since if you use redraw, and later draw the cash out for non deductible purposes, you may end up with a messed up loan for tax purposes. If possible look at an IO loan from the get go, but would need to do a cost benefit analysis to see if this is worthwhile given your income and your future goals, resources and risk profile ta rolf
Some books if you're interested. No one resource is the holy grail, they all have their pros and cons. The more you learn from (books, pod casts, forum etc), the better chance you'll be able to make sounder investment decisions and reduce your overall risks. It will also start to help you shape your own perspective on many of the topics and build a foundation of knowledge for you to call upon when analysing markets/strategies/properties. Michael Yardney, How to build a multi million dollar property portfolio Jan Somers More Wealth from Residential Property Margaret Lomas How to achieve property success Margaret Lomas How to Create an Income for Life I buy Houses, Paul Do 20 must ask questions, Margaret Lomas In terms of mindset and philosophy, if interested, "the seasons of life" by Jim Rohn. The principles/ philosophical ideas in this book changed my life and how I approached investing and life in general.
I notice you're in Sydney . Are you planing on buying in Sydney ? My experience is that you make money in property when prices are going up . Sydney's gone up dramatically in the last few years ( our PPOR has trippled ..) and I'm not expecting it to grow much more in the near future . I have three children in their late 20's - early 30's . They all live in Sydney BUT , they've all bought IP's outside Sydney because the expectation is that's where the growth will occur . While it's nice to look at the first home grant and buy in sydney , but don't be surprised if that property goes sideways for 5-10 years * and Sydney has done that in the past after booms ) . If on the other hand , if you buy elsewhere that goes up you can sell , and then you'll have a better deposit . Or if you really do your reasearch , there's one member who bought a whole pile of properties in Geraldton , took her profit and paid cash for a place on sydney's northern beaches ... In terms of what to do at the moment . Read as much as you can , on the forum ( ask questions ) / Books etc . You will get to the point where you " know " what to do , with out asking . Everyone does things differently so there is no correct way , just different options / opinions . As an example, I like to do my reseach and then buy multiple properties in one area . @sash likes to diversify ( he also does his reseach ) , so he'll buy 2-3 properties in one area and then buy 2-3 in another area . Reality is that both approaches have worked for each of us but you'll see debates about the pro's and con's of each approach diversification Vs " Deworsification " / " spreading your eggs around " or " putting all your eggs in one basket and watching closely." For me , I've made most of my money by getting my timing right and that usually means buying when and where others arn't , BUT , when I talk about others , I'm not talking about people on this forum . There are many experienced investors on the forum and when every one here starts talking about where to invest next , they're usually ahead of the pack or worse case scenario at the begining of the herd . At the moment most of the experienced investors are talking about Perth or North Queensland . Cliff
Cliffy baby....we agree! I cringe when I see people jumping in Sydney...with 900-1m to spend. I actually feel sorry for them...but hey each to their own. I agree that Sydney could go sideways for many years. Perth is no brainer...with care Brissie/Adelaide is okay. Stay away from Hobart (you are probably exiting here)...Melbourne (for the next 18 months).
Find an agent you can trust that operates in an area you are interested in buying in, take them out for a coffee, and tell them your plans. I.e. basically what you've covered above, especially the pre-approval part are all important pieces of information. If you don't hear anything back in two weeks, give them a call, and if that doesn't work, find another agent and repeat the process until you have a mutually beneficial relationship with one. This will open up opportunities for off-market opportunities in the future. Agents LOVE buyers like this, trust me.
