Spot the signs before you get stung
Interest rates are at all-time lows, lending is flowing freely and a hand-out for first home buyers is giving prospective purchasers a leg up onto the property ladder.
It may seem all rainbows and sunshine but beware of the danger lurking in the shadows. The property spruiker!
Much like the troll under the bridge, the property spruiker takes advantage of unwitting investors and can trap novice buyers into making the mistake of a lifetime – buying a dud property.
No mortgage strategy – #4 of the top 7 Critical Mistakes (Ep.34)
How does an extra cool million $$ sound for your retirement?
Or how about a war chest that will get you through any battle life throws at you?
An effective Mortgage strategy can make this difference to you, but it is the least understood discipline of finance professionals.
Why is that, when for most people, it’s your largest expense? Ever.
In episode 34, we discuss “No mortgage strategy” – #4 of the top 7 Critical Mistakes.
Listen as David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through why mortgage strategy is vital to create wealth and protect your downside.
Avoid Buying Modern Apartments ‘Like The Bubonic Plague’, Expert Warns
As if high rise apartments hadn’t been in the media enough, reports from the CFMEU estimate that it will cost $6.2 billion to fix shoddy apartments!
Issues include defective cladding, water leaks, fire safety and structural failures.
Co-host of the Property Planner, Buyer and Professor podcast, and Chairman of Property Investment Professionals of Australia, Peter Koulizos, takes you through how to recognise a bad-buy when looking at apartments.
How will your mortgages serve you in the long run?
Your interest rate will save you money, but an effective Mortgage Strategy will create wealth?
Our Managing Director Dave Johnston and Mike Mortlock of MCG Quantity Surveyors discuss the top 5 mortgage strategies for Australian Property Investor magazine.
There is always a great rate out there, you don’t need to be an expert in mortgages to know that 4.01% is higher than 4.00%. You do need someone in your corner to ensure that your mortgage strategy incorporates…
Starting without a plan and an end goal – #3 of the top 7 Critical Mistakes (Ep.33)
Have you ever done a long-distance run with a blindfold on?
It takes longer, you come across bumps and collect some bruises on the way.
Not very effective if you’d like to cross the finish line in one piece Or at all.
Yet many people buy property without a plan or clear idea of where they want to end up. This is the property equivalent of getting into the starting blocks with the blindfold on.
Which brings us to number 3 of our 7 critical mistakes.
In episode 33, we discuss “Starting without a plan and an end goal – #3 of the top 7 Critical Mistakes”.
Listen as David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through why planning is critical to success, the mistakes to avoid when putting together your plan and the misconceptions that trap property investors.
Misunderstanding what makes a good property investment – #2 of the top 7 Critical Mistakes (Ep.32)
Give me one dollar and I’ll give you 35 cents back. Doesn’t sound like a great deal does it? In fact, it sounds like you’ve been cheated.
Yet property spruikers will point to tax deductions as a reason to invest. In their property. That they are trying to sell you. Which they make a margin on. At your expense. The ability to claim a tax deduction is certainly a benefit, but it should never be the primary reason for investing. And it definitely does NOT mean that the property you are purchasing is a quality investment.
In episode 32, we discuss “Misunderstanding what makes a good property investment” – #2 of the top 7 Critical Mistakes. Listen as David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through examples of the wrong reasons behind why some people invest in property.
The Bushfires, Davos and the World’s Largest Investment Funds – How the transition from fossil fuels will impact the economy and your property?
The Annual World Economic Forum (WEF) was held in the city of Davos in Switzerland last week. The Australian fires were a talking point, being in our fourth month of bushfires with over 18 million hectares burnt. This is greater than the size of Switzerland itself.
The lofty mission of the WEF is to ‘improve the state of the world’. It is telling that failure of climate change mitigation and adaption was ranked the number one risk, with biodiversity loss coming in second for the first time in the history of the event over multiple decades.
Nearly half of investors plan on buying property interstate next year: survey
A survey of property investors by PIPA has uncovered that nearly half of investors plan to buy a property interstate in the next year.
We’ve always said that your next property decision could be anywhere in Australia. Each time you purchase a property, you should aim to purchase the highest quality asset you possibly can and the location should be based on your goals and personal situation, rather than where you live or where a buyer’s agent is based. Or worse, where they are buying but not based!
Get rich quick schemes – #1 of the top 7 Critical Mistakes (Ep.31)
We all love the idea of a get rich quick scheme. Just imagine planting some money, growing it in abundance and next week you’re off on holiday… indefinitely.
Most of us understand that in reality, that’s not how things work.
In fact, get rich quick schemes are commonly a great way to lose your money.
In episode 31, we discuss “Get rich quick schemes”- #1 of the top 7 Critical Mistakes.
Listen as David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through the schemes to look out for, why higher returns demand higher risk and why if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
High-rise apartment prices lag houses by 50 per cent in some suburbs
Over the last 10 years, high-rise apartment prices in Melbourne and Sydney have underperformed houses by more than 50%, and if you have been listening to our education for the last 15 years, this would come as no surprise whatsoever!
Core logic data indicates that Melbourne’s high-rise apartment market is by far the worst of every other city in Australia. As we’ve been banging on about for years, high-rise apartments rarely make the grade as quality investments, if your goal is capital growth. Low land-to-asset-ratio’s is just one reason for this as we have opined in an article for Domain, in Podcast Ep#16 “unpacking land to asset ratio” and alongside property professionals CateBakos and Petewargent on landtoassetratio.com.au.
