Where to start - which professional?

Discussion in 'The Buying & Selling Process' started by Retirenow, 4th Aug, 2016.

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  1. Retirenow

    Retirenow Member

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    Been reading a while and thought I'd Jump on in. Had enough of the rat race and looking to put some plans in place for an early exit.

    Before I start approaching people for assistance, was just looking for some guidance on where to start. Broker, accountant, tax adviser, other?

    Couldn't find this info after a quick search, so apologies if it's been covered many times.
     
  2. bob shovel

    bob shovel Well-Known Member

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    Other.

    Keep reading and keep an eye out for a broker that tickles your fancy ;) then take it from there. They usually like atleast a coffee or lunch meetup - your shout of course :D
     
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  3. Jerry O

    Jerry O Well-Known Member

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    Hey Retirenow! Welcome aboard.. What's your end goal? I know you did mention you had enough of the rat race and will start putting a plan together. So that is great, start with that. Start with your end goal and then work backwards, plan and build up strategies on how to achieve that end goal. Once you have a basic plan, you will then identify which one you will need first. More often it will be a broker first to determine your borrowing capacity, then a tax accountant for buying structures and other tax planning. Then the research part where you can work with a BA (Buyer's Agent), a PM(Property Manager) and other field experts (B&P inspections). This is just a basic guide and each circumstances is different.
     
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  4. Jess Peletier

    Jess Peletier Mortgage Broker & Finance Strategy, Aus Wide! Business Member

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    If you have a reasonable idea of what you'd like to achieve, a broker is usually the first port of call as very often your strategy will be determined by your ability to finance.
     
  5. Fortune Favors the Bold

    Fortune Favors the Bold Well-Known Member

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    I think Jess gives some good advice, as usual. I recently bought a property and made significant mistakes almost every step of the way, learning the very, very hard way.

    Probably the biggest mistake I made was not working with a really good, investment-focused broker from the very beginning, and it really hurt me, likely in the long-run. After spending some time on this forum you will begin to get a sense of who the top brokers are. Message several of them, speak with them on the phone, and start working with one of them. They can really help you build and follow a smart strategy in a way that you'll likely never get from a bank.

    Another mistake I made was engaging a buyer advocate without having first worked closely with a broker to identify my strategy. The buyer advocate was able to help me identify good properties but was not nearly as strong as I'd hoped in identifying smart investing strategies. I don't consider the buyer advocate fee wasted, but it certainly wasn't as worthwhile as I'd hoped. That recognized, I do think his advice would been much more helpful if I'd already done the strategic work with a broker and then asked the two of them to work together on achieving my goals.

    Anyway - find a good broker and start a good conversation with them, focusing on strategy - short and longer term - and not just on immediate borrowing power and interest rate. You'll be happy you did.
     
  6. Terry_w

    Terry_w Lawyer, Tax Adviser and Mortgage broker in Sydney Business Member

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    It depends on what sort of advice you are after.

    It is probably better to start of working out if you can borrow any money and if so how much, If you cannot borrow then there may be no point in paying for structuring advice
     
  7. Corey Batt

    Corey Batt Well-Known Member

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    If you're looking to use property as a vehicle to help you achieve an early retirement, sitting down with an investment focused mortgage broker is paramount. This will give you an understanding of your current potential and any challenges which need to be overcome so you can then formulate a plan on how to get from A (today) to B (early Retirement). Once you have that in place the need for accounting, advisers falls into line.
     
  8. Jamie Moore

    Jamie Moore MORTGAGE BROKER - AUSTRALIA WIDE Business Member

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    Hit up @Corey Batt - dude is a gun broker and is in your town.

    Cheers

    Jamie
     
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  9. Colin Rice

    Colin Rice Mortgage Broker Business Member

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    Finance would be your first port of call but be warned there are strategic brokers, who will start with your short, medium and longer term goals and there are transactional brokers who will sell on rate and convenience (to them).

    If a broker does not start with your goals and designing a strategy to fit then they are likely transactional in nature and will just look at the deal at hand rather then how will this deal effect future deals? This approach can stop you in your tracks sooner than what is possible.

    Decent brokers will have a network or professional that they have worked with that you can access as well. Just be respectful of their time and acumen realising they are working for you for free until a deal actually settles and then they get paid up to 2 months later :)
     
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  10. Retirenow

    Retirenow Member

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    Thanks all, appreciate the insights. Some good points to consider.
     
  11. Steven Ryan

    Steven Ryan Well-Known Member

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    Seems unanimous ;)
     
  12. Ace in the Hole

    Ace in the Hole Well-Known Member

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    I'd start with yourself.
    What are you offering to achieve this goal?
     
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  13. sash

    sash Well-Known Member

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    Second that...no point seeing anyone before you work out the following:

    1. What income you need for your lifestyle
    2. What risk tolerance you are prepared to take to get to your goals
    3. Have you paid off your home
    4. How much super do you have and when can you realistically access super

    Also.....work with a INDEPENDENT Financial Planner......lots will simply sell you Managed Funds. You need one who will take a wholistic view.

    Also...Centrelink run a lot of free programs which can get your bearings right...before you spend hard earned money on advice. Some financial planners will charge a couple thousand for a plan.

    Personally...it is much better to educate yourself......
     
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  14. Chris Au

    Chris Au Well-Known Member

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    Yep, agree. Certainly see a broker, who can indicate borrowing capacity and strategies, but I found learning about strategies and how these fitted with my risk level to be a huge ah ha moment for me - it then let me understand what type of houses I was looking for in my price range (and just because someone says you can borrow $x doesn't mean you have to use all that allocation).

    Read books - Lomas, McKnight, ..... (others might be able to fill in the blanks here), then you will be able to ask targeted questions.
     
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  15. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

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    Reading the right books can literally save you 10s of thousands from simply avoiding some simple stuff - no exaggeration.
     
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  16. sash

    sash Well-Known Member

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    Yes certainly true....be an educated investor and foremost...most people are looking for a silver bullet....the best person to look after your interests is yourself...no point blaming someone else for your woes. Take responsibility for your actions....

    Very true Mac Fields....
     
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  17. Colin Rice

    Colin Rice Mortgage Broker Business Member

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    Well said. Most people dont want to do the hard yards of reading, attending seminars, getting finances in order and eventually applying the knowledge with a profitable outcome. This is why they fall victim to spruikers or buy a sub par IP.
     
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  18. KJB

    KJB Well-Known Member

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    Most people advocate starting with an end figure in mind and reverse engineering your strategy to meet that target (and rightly so) however it can seem a bit overwhelming and daunting, at first (it did at least for me)

    I downloaded a PDF+spreadsheet package called 'Wealth Sabotage' which I found a great help to put a figure on what I'm trying to achieve. it also allows a target date to your goal which I find helps keep me accountable along the way.

    I also added a couple extra tabs on the spreadsheet; a expenditure/savings tracker and goals list (personal and financial) - all goals/finances in one handy file

    also +1 to everything everyone else said

    hope this helps and Good luck :)
     
  19. Retirenow

    Retirenow Member

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    @KJB can you give me a pointer on where to find the "Wealth Sabotage" package - I've done a bit of searching but the links I've found seem out of date. Thanks
     
  20. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

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    Start with yourself by self education. Most important person that will make all the difference in your outcomes is first and foremost YOU. So educate yourself. The loftier your goals are, the more educated you need to be imo. Once you have a decent understanding of the basics, find a good broker, conveyancer and accountant. Then put your knowledge into action. I'm not one that advocates to just take action, I think taking 'informed action' is much more powerful and reduces more risk imo. That's my approach.
     
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