Hi all,
After trying unsuccesfully to find Steve’s book in stock anywhere we found ourselves on this site and have spent most of the day reading advice and forums etc. We would very much like to put into practice what we have been reading. A couple of questions for anyone who feels like helping out as we already have an area in mind of where to buy and do not know which steps to do first.
1. Should we take care of basics first such as a reliable accountant/advisor/solicitor? And if so is there some sort of section where people are recommended by other’s experiences with them?
2. Is there anyone on the Central Coast that would be interested in mentoring?
3. How do you go about investing in a property if it is a great distance away from you as in regards to inspecting etc?
Other than that we have so many questions it would take all day and there are too many percentages and figures and terms going round in our heads that also makes this very scary and are we “smart” enough to also be able to do this. Very impressed with everyone and their comments on here so hi to all and looking forward to any comments/advice/hello’s from anyone.Hi guys,
I think the most important thing for anyone considering investing in anything is make sure you take all the time you need to understand everything. Also make sure you understand that no system is infallible because markets by definition can go up or down – know your risk and be comfortable with it. The time taken to learn the art of investing will serve you well in the long term. Read books by Kiyosaki, Warren Buffet and other successful investors before you commit any of your own funds and never get caught up in the hype.
Good luck.
Thanks for replying Benson. Am doing all the reading possible without the book.
Seriously though if we arent great with “figures” are we ripe for someone to come along and just take advantage of us? Everyone seems to be quoting percentages and offsets and you name it.We are just average ppl who have been working hard for a long time and paying off our debt.
As far as it goes with us we have 2 properties at the moment..our “place of residence” which was recently valued in the high 300’s and an IP which also was recently valued in the mid 200’s and up….BUT we have debts of $372,000. We only have a small debt on the IP of $82,000. Does this make us viable for another IP without taking earnings into account (one of our incomes is very iffy at the moment) or would this be too big a risk for us.
Sorry for this thinking out loud but to be honest I think the first piece of advice should be…Do you have the “b**ls* to do this?
I feel comfortable with the idea of mentoring as the mentor would not be out for financial gain but would need to find someone who “spoke our language”. But any help is appreciated if they have patience with us. Once again thanks for replying and feel free to ignore this babble if you so desire.[
]Quote:Hi guys,I think the most important thing for anyone considering investing in anything is make sure you take all the time you need to understand everything.
It sounds like you would have sufficient equity to acquire another property however I suggest that you take your time understanding the numbers because the numbers are the key to deal, if you dont understand those you may be setting yourself up for a fall. Dont get caught in the hype there will always be deals out there as long as you take the time to learn what you are looking for and determine the strategy you will use to create wealth. Everyone has their own. In the mean time plough all your possible savings into reducing your home loan as this will be money well spent.
Goodluck.
Thanks very much for your honest and helpful advice. I guess we all want to get excited and jump into it with all the media hype that has been going on about investing. But you are very correct in assuming that crunching numbers is not our forte.
We will definitely read up a bit more and keep hunting for someone to explain the nitty gritty to us and hope that we dont miss the boat with the area that we have found.
Will keep up with this website and the interesting posts and simultaneously be inspired and forewarned. Will keep wading through the mud till we get to the river. []
It sounds like you would have sufficient equity to acquire another property however I suggest that you take your time understanding the numbers because the numbers are the key to deal, if you dont understand those you may be setting yourself up for a fall. Dont get caught in the hype there will always be deals out there as long as you take the time to learn what you are looking for and determine the strategy you will use to create wealth. Everyone has their own. In the mean time plough all your possible savings into reducing your home loan as this will be money well spent.Goodluck.
hi daretotry… whatever you do, don’t EVER believe MEDIA HYPE and don’t rush into anything through fear of missing the boat!!! Read, learn, research, make up your mind once you’re comfortable with it. I’m tipping there are plenty of other investors who know about the area you have found, but don’t worry… there’s ALWAYS other opportunities. By the way, don’t be scared to ask about people’s opinions on different areas… sometimes it’s better to put up a question and get feedback, than think you’ve struck a potential gold mine… others have different views to me on that, and that’s fair enough. There’s also a good discussion on somersoft.com.au with a “where to buy” sub-section… you can type in the name of your area and do some extra research on what people’s thoughts might be.
also, don’t apologise for “babbling”… if no-one babbled, there might not be a forum… hehehe
have a good one.
r>But you are very correct in assuming that crunching >numbers is not our forte.
Hi there,
don’t worry about that, it’s really not that bad, it’s only addition and subtraction and the odd percentage calculation which i found out how to do by finding some school -level maths pages on the net!! (just quickly – if you want to find out what percentage 8,600 is of 43,000 like if you wanted to calculate the gross yield, then you would go 8600 divided by 42000 and the answer is .2 which means 20 percent. Just divide the small number by the big number.
Also don’t forget they have these fancy new-fangled machines called calculators these dayssome of which even have a percent button, which means you don’t even need to be able to add!!!
Also i would say hold fire until you get Steve’s book, he goes through the calculations of a few examples to show you how he works out how much it’s going to cost/make, and what his return is on the actual cash he put in the deal (which is pretty much deposit and closing costs only.)
In the book he really does explain it as well as he does at the seminars, maybe even more simply.
cheers-
MiniThanks r [
] Trying not to panic but reading of others buying up properties left, right and centre is pretty daunting and does leave you wondering about how many good IP’s will be left. But will be back on the research trail for books tomorrow and will have a look at that website you gave me.
We are actually tossing up selling both properties and moving to a rural area ourselves as hubby is working himself into the ground 12-14 hours a day and never seeing us (wife & family). Our other option was to buy IP’s and somehow ease the load so that those sorts of hours weren’t necessary. So our research has to be twice as much with all the options we are weighing up.
Your post was very upbeat and every bit with us helps.[]
T & Phi daretotry
with respect to your third question – our closest IP is nearly 1600kms away and the others up to 3500kms away. We interviewed the rental property managers at several RE firms. We went with a list of questions such as:
how many properties do you manage?
do you have your own IPs?
what will you do for us that a property manager elsewhere won’t do? – why should we give you our business?
Some property managers were on the ball and quite prepared to discuss our needs.
It ended up being a gut-feeling and putting one on “probation” for a period of time. We had had a terrible time with one WA real estate company and let the new one know that we did not wish to repeat that scenario. It wasn’t given as a threat, but as an sincere indication of our expectations.
good luck!
[]Hi everyone
I have just been surfing and found this web site how wonderful. It is great to read everyones comments. I am a”gunna”. I have been wanting to buy investment properties for the last 7 months but am too scared. How do I start up? We have a property which we bought 3 years ago and it has gone up in value of 127K. We have about 100k in equity (as we borrowed to pay off visa cards….) Now what??? I live in Brisbane and am now scared I have missed the boat with the property prices just going mad. If any body has any advised on how to get started I need to get out of my comfort zone. I have been reading books on property investing for the last 7 months..
Please help
GunnaYes this is a great website. What I find wonderful is the willingness to help and give advice. So after following those Jenman links and reading the stories about so called “money hungry” (not the words used) investors, Im sure they would be surprised to learn just how many of those investors are willing to impart advice and knowledge to those of us venturing and/or thinking of doing so and with no monetary gain!
Thanks to anyone who takes the time and makes the effort to reply to all of us ‘newbies’ out there.
P & T
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