Hi
Im new to the forums and even newer to property investment. I stayed up half of last night reading Steve’s book and am very excited to say the least. My husband and I live on the Sunshine Coast, QLD, near Noosa. We’d like to start looking at areas near us for investment but don’t really know where to start. The other question I have is whether it’s worth spending $3k on a property investment workshop?
thanks
kaiahNot if its your only 3k. Make sure its a good one, as there are a lot of pretenders out there.
Hi Kaiah,
I am in agreeance with Yorker.
At this stage it appeas as if you have read one book (apologies if this isn’t the case) which advocates one investment strategy.
I would suggest you read Jan Somers book ‘More Wealth From Residential Property’ to provide a contrarian investment strategy and will provide some balance to your knowledge base.
Then you will be in a better position to work out which strategy, or combination thereof, suits you and your circumstances. Once this has been determined you can target your learning in this area – read this community, talk to people who are investors and so on.
After this you’ll probably find that there is no need to pay $000’s of dollars for a seminar and the money can, instead, be directed to a property somewhere.
Having said that. if you do spend the money and do something with the knowledge then it may well be money well spent – the key issue is doing something with the knowledge.
Ultimately you only become an investor when you own that first property. This is usually the hardest and some people cannot overcome this hurdle.
Derek
[email protected]Property Investment Support Available. Ongoing and never stopping. PM welcome.
Derek/Yorker
Thanks very much for your advice. You’re right i’ve only read the 1. My husband and I are off to a free seminar tonight (hopefully it will be of benefit) and I’ll def take your advice and buy that book you recommend.
Thanks again
Kaiahkaiah- welcome
There are so many approaches to RE. Derek has given you the name of Jan Somers, and she is one of the most respected authors on aussie RE. Also check out the ideas of Margaret Lomas and Steve Navra. There are so many things to learn- pozz and neg gearing are both interesting, but you might also like to read about OTP purchases, flipping, commercial RE, depreciation- so many things, it’s almost without limit.
Most of what you can learn can be read about freely online. This forum can be a great learning tool, as can somersoft.com be (that’s Somers’ forum).
Imagine how many RE books you could buy for 3k. One course will give you one perspective. A hundred books can make you a bit of a generalist expert
kay henry
Hi Kay
Thanksfor your good advice. I’ll look at these other ideas and I daresay buy loads more books and think about whether a workshop is the way to go.
kaiaTalking about authors, has anyone read the Anita Bell books ?
Yes bennido, I have read her books. My first two RE books were Somers and Bell. I liked the idea of paying off property ASAP. I still do (although I’d never live as austerely as she did). I think one can pay off property if it is really cheap, but for the more exxy properties… well, you just can’t pay it off as quickly as a 50k property. But I found her books were a good starting point for me, absolutely. I also like her plain use of English- onya Anita, if you’re on here! [smiling]
kay henry
Hi Kaiah
We used to live near Noosa and then Bargara, near Bundaberg up until last year, but are working in England at the moment. Wish i was back there, but anyway!
House prices seem to be sky high on the Sunshine Coast compared to what they were and surely near the top of the market for now. So I reckon if you can`t find a bargain, look out for units or townhouse near the coast, or look a bit further north where there may still be some growth if you can find realistically priced properties.
In any case you will struggle to find positive cashflow properties.
You may need to be patient until you find what you are looking for, but keep looking.Hope this helps
Clintonkaiah,
Are you the type of person who gets very excited about new things but looks for fast results or doesn’t carry through? Or are you prepared to roll up your sleeves & work extremely hard to get what you want?
If you’re the first type then property investing will be a challenge for you. Property investing is slow, boring, dirty work.
It can take months, particularly when starting out, to find the right purchase, years before you see whether your investment was a good or mediocre one – particularly when you’re not in a boom market, and a decade or more before you could think of retiring on the cashflow from your investments.
This isn’t to be negative about property investing. A decade is a LOT better than 40 years in the workforce to retire in poverty. The work really isn’t that hard or unpalatial & good planning and research can significantly reduce your chance of buying underperforming properties.
However is it to say that you need to be prepared to make a substantial commitment. The decision to invest is only a first step. You have to take action to see real results.
Keep in mind that every dollar you spend on seminars & books & other aids to investing is reducing the funds you have to invest in your pocket right now – but is increasing your store of knowledge & ability to invest successfully.
Look to strike a balance. You MUST get significant value from every dollar you invest in your education towards investing, or you’re better off saving it for an actual investment property. Hence, beware of big price tags on seminars unless you can verify for yourself that the value will be there for you.
Your first task as an investor is to discover ways to procure knowledge at low cost. Start with forums such as this one & Somersoft, libraries & investor networking events. From those you will both learn a great deal AND be able to discuss with others the relative merits of other educational products.
Good luck with your investing journey. You can get whatever you want if you are prepared to commit to staying the course.
Cheers,
Aceyducey
Kaiah,
Also beware of those free seminars. Many are just disguised attempts to flog over-priced OTP real estate.
If the seminar gets you all hyped up with ideas of 100% returns a year and no tax, keep your hands in your pockets until you’ve had a chance to cool down and check out the claims in more detail. [
]GP
Greatpig/Aceyducey/Powderfingers
Thanks so much for your input.
Clinton – prices have certainly gone through the roof. We were lucky to get in when we did as our house has more than doubled in the 18 months we’ve been here, giving us lots of equity to start investing with.
Aceyducey – My husband and I are at the point where we WANT this. We realise it’s going to take time and effort and we’re not expecting anything overnight but it’s something we’re passionate about. Im spending heaps of time browsing through the forums and am learning something each time I do. Is there a thread somewhere that discusses where to find info on possible suburbs/areas to invest? Im wondering where to get data from?
Greatpig – fully aware of the seminar scams. We won’t get roped into anything that we don’t believe is of any value – thanks for the word of warning!
Kaia
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