Hi everyone.
A few years ago I was living with my family and being hassled by unreasonable landlords. Finally we had enough and decided to move, but my sister suggested that perhaps I should think about buying a house to live in instead. Cue standard reply/excuse: “I can’t afford the deposit right now”. I decided to start saving for a deposit, but… well, famous last words!
It’s always been in the back of my mind, but I never got any closer to my goal.
Last week I was in a bookstore, indulging (did I mention my $10,000 gold Visa?), and I picked up a copy of 0-130. I flipped through, it seemed quite good (and not too complicated), so I bought it. I stayed up until 2am that night, reading it cover to cover.
Finally I feel like I have direction, not just a vague “I want to buy a house”.
I can’t quite start yet – I have that nasty Visa bill to conquer (the card now stays at home, not in my purse), and a personal loan to pay off. I have set myself a target to buy my first property: July next year. In the meantime, I am going to do some TAFE courses to see if it will coax my bosses into increasing my pay a little.
I’ve read through the forum and see that some people are having trouble finding properties that fit the 11ss, which is a little disheartening. I have had a look locally and have found a couple that barely or nearly make it. I love hearing that people are picking up some great bargains.
The point of my post is: how can I compete? I see that people in southern states are buying property as far away as northern QLD – how can I muscle in if they are already here? What’s worse – I have to sit back until JULY to even get started. I see a few bargains in the local paper, but I can’t do anything yet!
So I’m sitting here whimpering, thinking about all the good deals that I’m missing because southern investors are jumping in ahead of me.I can’t help but think that by July, there’ll be nothing left!
The whole situation conjures up images of vultures crammed together on a carcass, squabbling desperately to get any tiny morsel of meat that they can (um, no offense guys, of course!).
One thing that consoles me, though, is the fact that I have contacts. Thank GOODNESS. I work for the largest law firm in my area (Central QLD), and we do quite a lot of conveyancing.
We (as a firm) have an excellent relationship with a number of real estate agents around town, so I will be able to jump straight in and tell them about what I am looking for without first having to try to get them on-side.
Another benefit is that any legal costs (excl outlays) are also discounted or free – that will help quite a lot. I can also go to the partners of the firm, put on a confused look and get them to explain all the legal stuff that I invariably will not understand.
I had a sticky at our conveyancing records and was very pleased to see a large proportion of them were in the $50K to $90K range.
So, I’m clinging to my contacts (my precioussssss!) and praying that come July, I can be more charming and influential than the rest of you. [
]Hi Smaointe,
Welcome to the crew!
Steve’s book is a great starting point to your investing career. It is full of common sense ideas, but it hits you like a brick – (so logical). He makes success seem so easy, well it can be. I believe success starts from your attitude. If you “believe” – then it will happen. (You also have to put in a LOT of hard work, and research).
You are well on the way, by getting rid of that visa debt & loan, and by the time that they’re wiped out, the property market may be changing a bit.
There will be plenty of excellent deals availalbe when the “downturn” happens.
The $2 question is “when will that be”?
My answer: Your guess is as good as mine, but be ready!!….Good luck,
Del
Thanks for replying, Del.
While it will be difficult to sit back until July, at least I can keep an eye on what is happening, talk to all the agents beforehand, get everything ready to go, etc.
I think I will really benefit from a few months of sitting back and learning more, too.
It’s all very exciting! [
]Smaointe,
Another thing you can benefit from is by reading more. Start going to the library again – (feels like being a school kid again) [
] but it saves heaps of money.Try reading some more property investment books by authors like Robert Kiyosaki – Rich Dad, Poor Dad etc..
“Education” is gaining a competitive edge over many “average” investors. Helps to give you the correct mindset to succeed.
Bye,
Del
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] but it saves heaps of money.You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
