Are you thinking of starting your property journey? If so, you're probably feeling overwhelmed by the current state of the market. Australian property prices in capital cities like Melbourne and Sydney are much more expensive than they were 10-15 years ago. As someone who started their property journey at a young age, I have been through the ups and downs of the property market and have learned a lot along the way. In this blog post, we'll discuss the five things that I wish I knew when I started my property journey.
When I started out, I only looked at the 10 suburbs where I went to school or work. I didn't consider other suburbs or cities that may have been more affordable. If I were to start again, I would expand my knowledge base and look at different capital cities and areas. This involves taking more drives and exploring different options outside your current field of vision.
When I started my property journey, there weren't many mortgage brokers, buyers advocates, or investment firms available. Nowadays, there's so much information and analytics available online that larger firms have more power in terms of data. I recommend engaging more advisory people like mortgage brokers, investment firms, and buyer's agents to get a bigger breadth of options to choose from. However, be careful of scams and do your research before engaging with any firm.
When I started out, I was very attracted to development and building townhouse developments. However, I didn't realize how difficult it would be. I owned debt-heavy, large properties with not much cashflow. In hindsight, I would recommend focusing on buying one or two basic properties first with good cash flow and capital growth before thinking about developing or chasing fancy scenarios later.
My family always emphasised paying off debts and being on principal and interest loans. However, I didn't realise I was good at managing money and should have considered interest-only loans earlier. I recommend thinking about interest-only loans and your budget early on and understanding your own money management skills.
I admit I got sucked into the timing of the market when I was younger. However, my best assets were the ones I bought at the top because they were good quality assets. Ignore the hype and focus on the long-term game of property, which is a 20-30 year game.
In summary, starting a property journey can be overwhelming, but with these five tips, hopefully you can make informed decisions and have a successful journey. Expand your knowledge base, engage more advisory people, focus on basic properties with good cash flow and capital growth, consider interest-only loans, and ignore the hype. Good luck on your property journey!
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