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How to become a property millionaire
By Stephanie Bateman
Property investment is often touted as the key to building real and lasting wealth, but how easy is it to get started?
In today’s property market, owning even one home can seem like a fantasy for many of us, however with some planning, saving and know-how, property investment to build wealth can be achieved.
OpenAgent, Australia’s leading real estate agent comparison site, has worked with top expert property investors to give you the know how to make a property portfolio (and your first million dollars) a reality.
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Choose a strategy that suits your financial position and appetite for risk
“It’s important to carefully review your financial position and assess your capacity to borrow money, particularly in the current financial market where regulations and policies are continually changing.
I started property developing in my mid 20’s but had the support of family and I’ve always had a fairly keen appetite for risk. Many successful property investors and developers start with renovations or small subdivisions before building up equity or the funds to take on larger projects.” – Amanda Gauci, Pulse Property Solutions
Location, location, location
“The most common way to make money in property is to buy and hold numerous investment properties that grow in value. The growth in value will largely be determined by the location of the property. If you are seeking capital growth, the best suburbs/areas to buy in are those that are reasonably close to the CBD and/or the sea.
The street you buy in also plays a key role in the capital growth potential. The best streets are wide, tree-lined streets” – Peter Koulizos, The Property Professor
Do your research
“If you want to be successful in your property investment, you have to do a lot of research. You’ll find that a lot of the information you need can easily be found online. This is most essential when you’re investing in an “out of town” or “out of country” investment.
Look up what the local councils are doing to promote business investment in the area (which ultimately creates jobs), what infrastructures are being built and what the zonings are in the area.” – Armand Aguillon, Great Gold Coast Homes
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One size doesn’t fit all
“Unlike the financial planning, mortgage and insurance sectors which are governed by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), the property sector isn’t regulated by ASIC at all! This means that anyone WITHOUT any qualifications whatsoever can provide property investing advice, so you could be putting your hard earned dollars at risk.
Buying the wrong property can have devastating effects. If it doesn’t grow in value, investors can’t leverage into other property to build their portfolio. If it’s not the right property type or doesn’t have the right features for the type of tenant you need to attract, it can be hard to rent, costing you thousands in lost rental income. Also, if you buy in the wrong location, you could miss out on tens of thousands of dollars in capital growth.” – Miriam Sandkuhlr, Property Mavens
Power in numbers
“Knowledge is power and if I have learned one thing over the last 13 years as a full time investor is that one person cannot know it all. We are only as good as our team. When you start out, find a group of advisors and mentors to help you out.
Investing as a group also makes you more powerful. You can leverage both in your knowledge as well as your purchasing power to exponentially speed up your success. By buying as a “quasi conglomerative” you can access wholesale, rather than retail buying power. I think everyone would agree that wholesale buying power is the better way.” – Uwe Jacobs, Property Friends
