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Reproduced with permission.
At first, the title sounds like a dreaded medical condition. It is a dreaded condition but it’s not medical. It’s the name I have given to the condition where people procrastinate and do endless amounts of research but never end up owning property.
Now don’t get me wrong, research is absolutely vital when purchasing property but in the end, you are not going to create wealth for yourself if you don’t actually buy any property!
The worst case of analysis paralysis I have encountered was last year. I attended a seminar at the invitation of an acquaintance of mine and in the class I met a student who had come to one of my property investment classes 15 years ago. During the lunch break we got together and had a chat. He mentioned that he had attended many wealth creating seminars over the years. I assumed (wrongly) that if he was so interested in making money and had attended countless seminars that he must have a few properties. To my surprise, he said he hadn’t bought any!
I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard this. How can you think about buying property, learn about buying property, pay money to attend numerous seminars to learn about property and after 15 years still not have bought anything!
This is a typical symptom of those who are afflicted with this dreaded disease. Some of the excuses that they give to cover up their disease include:
• “I am waiting for prices to fall”.
• “I am waiting for interest rates to fall”.
• “It’s just not the right time for me yet”.
• “I haven’t found the right property yet”.
All of these excuses lose their legitimacy if you just keep repeating them over and over. To have been looking for a month and you can’t find the right property, I can understand that. To be looking for 15 years and you still can’t find the right property, I can’t believe that.
As I stated earlier in the article, to create wealth you need to actually buy an appreciating asset, not just think about it. If the reason you haven’t bought any property yet is you don’t know enough about it, try the following strategies:
• Subscribe to the property investment magazines
• Read some books on property and investment
• Get some advice from reputable companies
• Attend education seminars and workshops, but beware! Some so called “education seminars” are just a front for developers to sell off-the-plan apartments or new house and land packages.
• Attend a reputable short course on property
Don’t think that you’ll get all this knowledge for free. You’ll have to pay for much of this but when you consider that you will probably be making the most expensive decision of your life, it is money well spent.
After educating yourself, you need to:
• Find the right style of property
• In a quality street
• In an up and coming suburb
• Organise the appropriate finance
• Get some tax advice
It’s not easy investing in property but you also don’t need to study for years to buy your first property. With the right education and assistance, you can maximize your opportunities to make money and minimise the chances of losing it.
Happy House Hunting!
Written by Peter Koulizos, university lecturer, author and buyers advocate.