To paraphrase an investment saying "The best time to have discovered propertychat is 10 years ago. The second best time to have discovered propertychat is today". We (wife and I) are in our 50s and very late into this round of property investing. I say this round as this is not my first marriage or first attempt to create a portfolio of properties. First time around (20 years ago), I made a number of mistakes (bought a Brisbane townhouse from a property spruiker who flew us up, negatively geared for 10 years, sold for the same amount we bought it), learned a lot of lessons (did a number of buy/reno/flips), bought a number of PPORs and increased capital value for next purchase, got into mezzanine funding developments (mostly units), made 7 figures from them, then lost it all in 2 bad developments and a divorce. The plan is to semi-retire to the Sunshine Coast in 7 years (2027) as we will have passed 60yo. We have worked hard for the last 5 years to start again, amass deposits, etc. We are self-employed in education consulting (to RTOs if that means anything to you - you can see more about use at Corporate Training & Consulting - Roaring Trade; David Wayne; roubai | roubai). The plan is to buy 1 property a year. We bought the first one 2 years ago on a yield strategy (5.5% gross), the second one a year ago (on a hold and reno in a few years strategy - also returning 5.5% gross). About to buy the next one through the SMSF we just set up (capital growth strategy to take advantage of no CGT in SMSF), and were looking to buy outside of areas we are familiar with, probably using an agency to do the legwork (when I look at the months of research, flying up to areas we are investigating, hiring cars and accommodation, offers rejected, etc., having someone do all the legwork and putting a shortlist of properties through out checklist and research just seems to make sense), which is how we came across this site. It's been AMAZING having access to the experience and wisdom on these pages as I research the next purchase (and the next and the next), and service providers. Thanks to everyone who has made this what it is. I hope I can be a giver as well as a taker of value.
