Checklist/Questions for Property Experts.

Hello,

I am quite new to the property investing game and was recommended by my granddaughter to start looking into it.

Does anybody have any hints, tips, questions, or certifications I should ask to see from property experts, before committing to anything?

Is there a checklist/question list anywhere online that might help me?

I know it may seem like a big open ended question, but you read more horror stories than success stories.

I would be most appreciative of any advice regarding finding the perfect property expert/mentor/coach for a simple fellow wanting to get his first investment property.

Thank you.

 

I suggest that you search topics of interest here before parting with your money. So called property experts should be judged on their winners and losers. They have to be active and seasoned investors and not just expounding on the theories.

There are people here are either retired or close to retirement because of their property investments. Pay for the lunches or dinners to learn first hand experience.

So get going with reading as much as you can here.

 

Hi @cheesebites I would google their name, business and holding company (if available) before approaching them. This will give you an idea of what feedback is out there about the service and result. It will also give you an idea of what strategy and risk appetite they display. You can easily decide if it matches your goals.

I would also ask to see results and contact details of previous clients.

Hope this helps and best of luck.

 

You can't do better than the savvy people here.

Get to one of the meetups if you can. You will learn plenty in a spruiker-free zone. Regular people with investment experience just chit-chatting about property.

See Networking & Meetups

 

Hello dark knight!

 

Thank you very much everybody. Some excellent help so far.

I have been given a few names so far (which lead me to here to begin with).

I have also been looking at Jenmans site, and Somerset forum.

Definitely not something I want to rush in to, but I am sure many do!

 

I posted this approach in a thread last year. Gives you timeframes and a plan:

The key is to learn by doing. Identify a strategy for yourself from the myriad of strategies discussed here.Then identify the steps you need to take to start investing and create specific time-based goals so that you move forward. 6 months is a reasonable and realistic time-frame to get started.

A risk management mindset is also important at all phases.

The following general time-frames worked for me for buying my first IP last year.

• 2-3 months of self-education ( via somersoft / property chat, meetups, seminars, books / magazines )
• 1-2 months analysing locations
• 1-2 weeks to get ducks in a row for finance pre-approval
• 2-3 months buying phase
• 1 month post-settlement renos and finding a tenant

These activities overlapped at various points.

In this process I engaged with an accountant, broker, trust advice, solicitor and buyers agent. I also dealt with the following to manage some of the risks for the purchase - building & pest, electrician ( safety issues in B&P), plumber ( gas safety issues in B&P ), handyman ( safety repairs and other renos ), property manager ( to find a quality tenant and manage the property going forward ).

From the decision to buy an IP ( approx February 2015 ) it was around 6 months to settling on an IP, completing minor repairs/renos and getting a tenant in ( approx July 2015 ).

Nb - a buyer's agent and a trust is optional.

 

The first thing you need to know is that some of the property experts/gurus are spruikers. Some are just out to rip you off. There are lots of concepts to master: gross yield, net yield, value adding, depreciation and cashflow. My best advice is to read as much you can and if you don't understand something, ask questions! There are still things I don't understand and I am still asking questions and figuring things out. Lucky the good people here are very patient in guiding newcomers through the maze of property investing information

 

Thank you everybody for your posts.

Still here and still a lot of reading to do to see if this is right for me.

Thank you. This is what I see as difficult. With little regulation in the industry it seems, it is very hard to determine the legitimate from the trash. Sadly with property being such a big ticket item, the risk versus return requires much investigation, as one false move, and you could destroy your future, or (in my case) your retirement.

and I don't want to have to cut back my daily avo on toast simply due to a bad financial decision.