How long did it take you to get going?

Presuming I"ll get my first IP early next year, would say one year. Having moved to Australia 2 years ago, my only aim then was to buy PPOR & pay that loan off as soon as I can. Investing in property was never in my agenda. However, things changed after I bought PPOR early 2015 and started focussing on SS/PC forums.

When I have decided to get started with PI, APRA spoiled the party. One of the options given to me by MB was to get the funds for deposit + purcashing costs to secure a loan. Currently in the process of selling my overseas property to fund my first IP purchase.

 

Not super long, but by no means as fast as some people I know. Made my first move around 22 and a half from memory. Very close friend started around 18.

 

I hope you thanked your accountant!!

 

3 months. I was on holidays in January and read 'The Millionaire Next Door' and it got me thinking. Settled in IP1 in April and in the process of purchasing IP2. To be fair, I had been reading up on investing for years and watched my mother invest over the years- I just didn't realise we were in a position to do it until I read that book in January.

 

Well, I found out later that he gets a commission split on loans written by a broker that he recommended who tried to x-coll my soul. So it was good to start my journey, but probably the wrong team to do it with.

 

Wow.... so he had a ulterior motive...

 

Bingo!!

 

It took me until about 24 to 'jump in' and buy a property. Turns out a Brisbane OTP apartment in the CBD was the worst investment decision I've ever made. I paid too much, the growth has been pretty subpar and a high interest savings account would have earned a better return. Oh well!

I spent the next few years going to seminar after seminar (Steve McKnight, Michael Yardney, Bill Zheng, Ed Chan) and joined SS in 2006 plus reading almost all of the available property books available on the local bookshelf.

So really, the first investment was in 2007 when I forked over $11k to Metropole to buy a property as buyers agents. They found a house in Stafford, 7km from Brisbane and bought in the highest week at the very top of the boom... and the property did close to zero capital growth for the next 7 years.

Since then I've made good and bad investment decisions... the journey continues...

 

I spent two years reading heaps of books from the library and researching forum posts on Somersoft while saving for that initial deposit.

 

We bought our first investment property back in 1985 just before the intro of the CGT.

I had been interested in investing for a couple of years by then but it was only a half-hearted interest. There were not Oz books then and certainly no internet. I did bot know anybody who was investing and my first real intro was from RE agents who were showing me 'investment' properties. The investment properties I was show were sub standard shanties on big blocks around Blacktown. I was after houses that would rent without to much effort and without really negative gearing to much so we didn't see eye to eye.

Kept looking and ended up out at Penrith but was still not happy with the quality of properties although they were 5-10 years old but built on top of each other. We ended up buying in a place called Leonay at $65k renting for $140 pw. Loan was at 12% but ended up gettting capped at 14% through the high rates at the end of the 80's. The impact of the CGT allowed us to increase the rent very quikcly and ended up with a rent of 180-200pw without an substantial upgrade.

The main reason I bought then was that I had been retrenched as the company I had worked for just over 10 years closed down their separate computer bureau and I didn't want to move to Adelaide.Used the money I received as the deposit.

Cheers

 

About 11years.
When I was about 12 my old man an I were enjoying a day out on the Swan River in our 15ft runabout, a 'boat' which looked to me at the time to be about the size of the QEII passed us. I asked dad how much a boat like that would cost. He said simply 'more than our house'. I asked him 'how do people afford a boat like that' - his response... quite simple and perfectly honest "I dont know".

Later that week he brought be a book. For the life of me I have no idea today which book it was, but it described saving, investing and money matters. He said if I read it, I might be able to buy the boat we saw pass us.

By the age of 19 I was sure I had calculated the method to be a millionaire by the time I hit 30. So went about trying. I bought my first IP at 21 (I remember signing my mortgage docs at my 21st).
In order to do so, I took my savings ($20k), borrowed $10k from my parents and put $10k on a credit card. Then took a second job to repay my CC and repay my parents which took about 12months.

Blacky

 

I was just made redundant, then out of pure luck landed a contacting gig on three times my previous income. I went shopping for a new car, but knew instantly it was a bad idea. My GF's mother said we should buy a house as an investment. I said ok, and targeted crappy houses in crappy suburbs, but with development potential. It took about 3 months to bite the bullet and buy the first IP... Then bought an IP every 3 months for about 2 years.

Those crappy houses are now being developed into income generating assets, and form the basis for our retirement in our mid-30's.

 

I know there is something called investing in property since I read Rich Dad Poor Dad at a young age, but it's not until I sign my OTP contract and then came across Somersoft it hits me that "I can afford this". I was working on a very low income, paycheck to paycheck for the first 1-2 years and my mind was on default that it's not possible to do.
From that realisation to first IP, approx. 6 months.

 

Bought my first ip in 2001 straight out of uni and in my first job. was made redundant and ip was foreclosed. took a year off and saved and have bought and sold more than 10 ips during from that time till now.

 

I got started after reading Jan Somers first book - Building Wealth through Residential Investment Property, after seeing her being interviewed on a morning TV show promoting it.

After reading, it inspired me to go out the following year (1993) & buy my first property (ppor).

Did nothing the following 7 years due to lack of equity from purchasing post boom & the recession we apparently had to have according to Paul Keeting.

In 2000, leveraged against the ppor equity and actively started building our portfolio.

Over the course of the following decade, basically purchased a property per year. Some years none, other years purchased two depending upon our financial position at times of looking to purchase .

Last year I fully exited the rat race having built a multi $million residential property portfolio spread across many states of Australia.

Jan Somers and her book/s were the catylist to where we find our selves today, having attained financial independence/freedom and mentoring others who ask about the property investment strategy I used to do it.

 

Im still in the umming and ahhing stage. we have plenty of equity and are making extra repayments on our PPOR so its not finances that are holding us back.

I stumbled upon SS about 2 years ago and posted looking for advice. The general advice from most people was start budgeting and reduce our hefty PPOR debt (except euro73, who ran through an interesting alternative). We weren't saving at the time. you wrote something very encouraging steven ryan, but here i am still umming and ahhing and browsing domain.

Since then we have reduced our mortgage by 50k +. Ive also had a baby and stopped working. I suppose we didnt want to take financial risks on one income but we are managing fine so back to thinking about getting an IP.

my partner is open to the idea but too busy to do any research or read anything like this so its down to me to do the selling and explaining. I know the advice here is you dont need to see a financial planner for advice but i think it would help to give him the push he needs. Or maybe just speaking to a mortgage broker will get the ball rolling. I think we are both suffering from a bit of analysis paralysis. Im terrible at finishing tasks and hes too risk adverse and preoccupied to engage.

Even our accountant is a bit lackluster. My partners had the same accountant for years. this year my partner had a return of about $200 (after paying 80k in tax). The accountants fee was about $400 lol. I think the accountant spent about 30 seconds running through a few options.

Maybe after christmas.

 

I got my first job when I was 15 and started looking at investment properties straight away. Of course it was just a dream for a 15 year old but I was doing basic cashflows at that point. I didn't actually buy my first IP until I was 33. I spent the intervening years pursuing other dreams

From decided I would buy to my first purchase was 3 months. I didn't have much savings so my first IP was cheap - $205,000. I didn't have enough to cover all of the deposit so I borrowed the rest from a mate.

 

Knew I wanted to invest in property since a young age because dad did it. Didn't know how to afford it though because I spent way too much time in uni. When I got a stable job, got a ppor and waited 2 years after to invest start investing, at the rate of 2-3 properties a year to catch up with the damned uni years (although it did net me a well paying job)

Now I'm stuck again after having a kid but luckily managed to secure finance right before for my development and build so it will keep me happy until wife goes back to work part time.

 

To me the decision of buying property has nothing to do with saving tax or paying more tax. It is a consequence of.

I am an accountant myself, so It really annoys me when other accountants propose buying/selling property based on the tax merits of it all.

They understand the function of tax and will be good at assisting with the matters concerning the property, but sometimes not the wealth creation aspect..

It is such a closed minded micro view.
I wouldn't take property advice from an accountant who does not have their own significant portfolio.
It is dangerous to take the opinion of those who have a perceived position of authority ie an accountant..

Again, many people in our lives offer advice, but it should only be taken from those who have achieved what you desire..

Sorry to post off topic everyone..