Hello Beefz,
I am sorry Jamie that my idea is just opposite to yours. pls don't mind me.
Beefz, You said you are 26 now. I believe you agree that for most young people, a lot of things in their life still uncertain, such like career, residential location, life style, etc. If you think that might happen to you, IP would be the best way to start out. You will be only paying interest and gaining the equity as time passes by. After everything is settled down later on and you've built up a good size of your IP portfolio, you then free to use those accumulated usable equity to buy a home that you see yourself most happily live in.
It's really good that you have already though about IP. Lots of others quite often follow a usual pattern only – buying a home, and then be the monkey making machine to feed the hungry mortgage among the best years in their life. IP is definitely fundamental for building a much better financial future. Just make sure you don't stop after the first one. There's not much point if one just want to invest one or two and hoping to sell them later on to reap the rewards. IP doesn't work that way, but unfortunately a high percentage of investors stopped after one or two. As for myself, I invest to make money, I use the GOOD DEBT to make money and let it roll like a snow ball. One good advice is unless you are the professional in the IP industry, try to use someone specialize in IP to help you make a plan according your individual situation. Time is too precious to be wasted in IP DIY, because time will COST you dearly!