For more than 17 years, we’ve worked with lots of successful property investors. We’ve secured finance for knock-down rebuilds, subdivision projects, interstate off-plan purchases and of course, residential investment purchases in Canberra locally. We’ve helped investors secure their first – and twentieth! – investment loan (we’re not joking) and arranged countless loan restructures to help clients save interest and maximise their borrowing capacity.
Whilst no client is ever the same, we’ve noticed that our most successful property investors tend to have the following qualities.
1. Successful property investors make the most of what they have
You don’t need a massive salary to start investing. (Unless of course, you’re planning to buy your first investment property on Sydney Harbour!)
It goes without saying that you WILL need enough to pay interest costs on your investment loan as well as cover the running costs of your rental property. But you may be surprised to learn that those with the largest property portfolios are not necessarily the ones with the highest salaries.
It’s all about making the most of what you have.
Many successful investors are just ‘everyday Mums and Dads’ who’ve decided to do something different with their income. They’re careful about how they spend their income – and what they spend it on.
2. Successful property investors ask for support when they need it
Things are much easier to accomplish when you have an experienced team supporting you. There are accountants who love property and mortgage professionals who love investment finance. Make sure you have these professionals on your team!
Getting the right support from the right professionals can make a significant difference to your bottom line. If you have the incorrect structure, the wrong type of loan, or fail to claim everything you can at tax time, you’ll end up paying more than you should. Meaning that despite trying to improve your financial position and net wealth by investing in property, you’ll just end up eating into your returns – which kind of defeats everything you’re trying to achieve.
3. Successful property investors know that it ‘won’t happen overnight’
Growing a well performing property portfolio takes time. It’s not something you just wish for and suddenly have when you wake up the next morning. It requires research and patience combined with an eagerness to start.
Investors who have multiple properties generally started with one. As the equity builds in your investment property (and you become comfortable managing your portfolio), you can add to your portfolio over time – as your income allows.
4. Successful property investors put in the work
If you want to buy quality property at a good price, it won’t happen without research. Understand the area, talk to local agents and do your own analysis of past sales data.
You might think that a ‘good buy’ happens at an auction. In reality, it’s the time you spend online sifting through past sales data before the auction that actually creates the opportunity. (If you hadn’t spent any time researching the market or talking to agents, how do you know it’s such a ‘good buy’?)
*If you’re looking for some research on 2017/18 Canberra Land Values, you can find the special Report we published here. As well as the full article we posted about it here. The Report outlines median land values per square metre for 91 Canberra suburbs, which may help to identify buying areas you hadn’t yet considered.
5. Successful property investors are willing to give it a go
If you haven’t grown up hearing about investment property or none of your social circle owns any, buying your first investment can be daunting. It can seem risky, overwhelming or maybe all just a bit too hard. And that’s ok – maybe it’s not for you.
But maybe it is. There’s so much information readily available and we’re here to help, too!
If it’s something you’ve been thinking about, why don’t you just start and see what happens. And by ‘start’ we don’t mean go out tomorrow and buy something at auction right away – because that would be risky! We suggest you start by taking little steps. Find out if it’s possible. Understand how it could benefit you financially over the long term.
Once you know more about the process and implement the well-known strategies to reduce the risks – i.e. do your research, buy quality property, structure your loans correctly, build in financial buffers to help fund holding costs – you’ll be in a much better position to decide whether it’s something you want to do.
If you wanted to take a small step towards becoming a successful property investor, download our FREE ebook for Property Investors here.
