Finding it hard to get the ball rolling

Hey all! I'll try keep this short.

I've been educating myself about property investment for the past year and I now have the funds to seriously start searching for a property.
Problem is, I'm finding it hard to get started.

Few of my friends are looking to invest in property, in fact only one is @Matt Ad, and I met him on here! So I need to surround myself with more people you you reading this post!

I need someone to hold me accountable to make progress, but I'm also finding it hard to take that first step because I don't know what the first step is!
Find a property investment adviser? (although some may argue you don't need one?)

I'm based in Perth but work FIFO to Orange, NSW on a 2/1 roster just to make it a little harder. Or so I tell myself.

I am looking to buy in Perth, ideally within the next 6 months!

 

I can call you every week and abuse you if you want? My retainer for this service per month is $499.

 

Double it and you have a deal.

 

What's holding you back?

 

You should start with a kick ass broker. @Jess Peletier is in Perth and is amazing.

Other than that...chill. You've got plenty of time.

A lot of people (who are much smarter and more experienced than I am) like to work backwards...they define their goals then draw up a plan on how to achieve them.

 

I have no sense of urgency. Other than getting annoyed at seeing my money wasted sitting in a 'savings' account.
Skipping forward a bit here too, I find it hard to determine who to trust and what angle they're getting at. For example is a broker just telling me to go with a specific bank because they get the best kick-backs? Is that 'adviser' working for me or does he not care because it'll be 10 or so years and the investment never pays off.
Do my own research and educate myself yes, but then why get an adviser?
Do I trust my own research vs an actual adviser who has done it before?
Its a vicious circle!

I like to work backwards too, but there is so much information out there and its easy to get caught up in the walk-score of a house and cost per m^2 etc. Paralysis by analysis!
So working backwards I arrived at this - I need to surround myself with a team of people. First I need to find the first person to add to that team. And I'm not sure who to start with. No one I know has bought an investment property before and been successful at property investment!

 

Read the thread about habits. Write a list, then just do the list. It might be speak to a mortgage broker by next month, go inspect 5 properties a week.

 

Any of the brokers on here are the real deal. They work for you, not against you.

There are also good buyers agents on here too, but you might be able to figure things out just by reading this forum.

Whatever you do, don't rush.

 

l'll check that out for sure 5 properties a week is hard when doing FIFO and I'm only in Perth for a week out of every 3.

That's good to hear! I guess everyone on here is the property investment savvy type...

 

I also find it all quiet daunting.
I wish to buy a property with renovation potential, and that just adds on another whole level of planning complexity. Renovate and rent that is.
Has anyone done a renovation while working FIFO? I would think using a renovation manager would be a good idea, especially with the first reno...

 

My advice would be to define some actionable steps that take you in the direction you want to be, don't agonised over the precise steps... Just make them doable (start with some easy ones).

 

I renovated a property from a completely different city (albeit just the kitchen). Property manager did most of the leg work at no extra cost.

 

Wow that's an amazing property manager!?! I am also just looking for cosmetic renos, so that makes it more simple.

 

I think you're right to be wary. There are some supposedly good business people on here but only take recommendations from someone who's used them. And how do you know that someone is bona fide? And why are they spending so much time on a forum?
You will need a conveyancer and either a mortgage broker or just the loans person at the bank. Personally, I don't even think a mortgage broker is a necessity, though they can be useful - especially if you can't get a loan by yourself. Some people like to have 'a team', others don't.
If you're the kind of person who can work things out for yourself and banks like you, you should be able to do it by yourself.
Just start looking at lots of properties in your week off. You could find something decent in both Orange and Perth!
Then you can just surround yourself with friends who like you for who you are.

 

@A.Baxter, welcome. I'll suggest that you get yourself along to as many meetups as you can.

 

There is a good PC crew in Perth so you should be able to get some good personal recommendations.

If we can arrange another Perth meetup, that would be great to go to. I have found the Perth PC crew very genuine and not at all agenda driven.

 

I'd start from the beginning and keep it simple so you don't get too overwhelmed.

1. Work out some goals you'd like to achieve in the short, medium and long term.

2. Meet with a good mortgage broker in Perth that comes well recommended from some folks. Not only can they give you good finance advice but if they invest themselves they can also give you some suggestions on basic strategy. Imo and from past experience, a good MB can really work wonders for you on a few levels. At some point you have to put some trust and confidence in others (who come well recommended of course) to help you otherwise imo you wont get very far. If I was investing in Perth now, there are a few ppl on here I would reach out to. Its not hard to figure out who these Perth ppl are. They have a world of knowledge/experience and contacts IN Perth (eg lawyers, tradies, rental manager recommendations, etc etc) and it makes total sense to want to be able to leverage all that for yourself . I wouldn't buy into the 'do it all yourself' motto. That's just how I see it.

3. Really try to attend some meetups.

4. You need to really figure out why you want to do all this. If you don't have strong enough reasons for this then its unlikely you will follow though and you'll just keep the status quo.

Good luck.

 

rule one of investing = dont lose money

rule two.. refer to rule one..

because this member ask a superb question.. whats holding you back.. why property ? have you worked out why property before even start looking at properties ?

if your looking to make money.. is property the vehicle to do so ?

because in investing there is opportunity cost and cost of making money.. the benefit need to outweight the cost (and allot more toward the benefit side)

dont buy property for the sake of buying property.. that is why you are finding hard to move forward is my guess.. you havent work-out mentality what is that your really looking for & the vessel you use to reach your destination.

 

Hi @A.Baxter, good to have you on the forums

You're not alone in having no friends who are looking to do what you are - none of my friends have investment properties either, outside my PC friends. That's why I love my job, my clients are more on my wavelength than most of my 'real' friends!

A good mortgage broker is your first port of call. They'll be able to check your borrowing capacity, give you a budget based on your plans for the immediate purchase and have a chat about your longer term plans to make sure it all fits in. They'll be able to create a bit of a plan so while you're focusing on IP1, IP 2 is getting worked toward also - it's good to be able to see how it all fits together.

Don't be afraid of how your broker will get paid - just have a chat with them if you're concerned. All payments will be disclosed to you (it's a legal requirement) and the difference between lenders is usually pretty minimal.

In terms of renovating, you could easily do that in Perth with your roster. If you never were on site that would be a little more difficult, but if you're back every couple of weeks you can easily check on works to make sure it's all up to scratch.