Get a head start to 2015 Property investment plans

Jay Karunathilake 

As we approach March, are you on track with your Real estate objectives for 2015?

Are you going crazy looking for property at the moment or did you set the bar too high and already lost interest?

It’s easy to start the New Year full of enthusiasm and optimism. But to maintain the momentum through the year, you need to set powerful, crystal-clear goals and lots of determination. The most successful investors are those who are goal-oriented and set powerful goals and objectives for themselves.

What I personally feel sad is when I meet clients, who are meticulous with the annual budgets, re-forecasting & sales planning cycles at their employment, but get too busy with life even to put together a simple time table for their personal targets. Do you need a professional helping and guiding you to achieve the property targets?

If you have not set any plans for this year, how should you get about doing it?

A. Be stretched - Let it be buying the first investment property, buying a house to live or expanding your property portfolio, always dream big and be prepared to be stretched to achieve your goals. If you feel that you are challenged in achieving them, never give up and find ways to overcome the challenges.

Remember, Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.

 
B. Write it – The first thing that need to be done is writing down the goals. State why you require it and how you plan to achieve it, with a deadline. Remember, a goal without a plan is just a wish.

C. Break it down – Break down the objectives to chunky size tasks that is manageable. Once you break down a goal to few manageable tasks, the daunting goals will look easy.

D. Daily on it –Work on the targets daily, keeping them fresh in your mind all the time.

E. Get Surrounded – What’s’ equally important is to surround yourself with like minded people who will motivate each other. Having others who have the same objectives, goals will allow you to share thoughts, experiences and learning's. Make sure the people you consult make you positive and people who have been there and done it before will be able to assist you.   

 F. Seek a professional – If you plan to run your first marathon, the first thing you will do it seek a trainer who specialise in training first timers for marathons. Same way, consulting an expert in your field is a fast and more assured method to get you on the plan to achieve your objectives. We help property investors daily to achieve their objectives amidst their busy life.

 G. Action it – Procrastinating on your plans will not help you to achieve your objectives. Do the due diligence, get professional advice, action it, and then look for the next challenge.

If you are a new property investor, and not using a buyer’s advocate like Australian Property Selectors, what are the steps involved in your property purchase process. What should be the steps in your plan?

Step 1. Finances first – First task should be taking an A4 sheet/ Excel sheet out and making a simple list of your financial situation. Your income, expenses, loans, assets, so you are aware of your current situation. If you are expecting any funding guarantees from family make a note of them. Include any cash inflows like a bonuses, that you intend to receive. 

Step 2. Mortgage approvals – Meet an experienced mortgage broker, provide your financial information and obtain a pre-approval for the mortgage. This will let you know the maximum loan amount that can be borrowed and the possible monthly payments. Now you are ready to begin the property search. 

 Step 3. Search is on - Commence the search for property in your target area. Always do research on the suburbs in terms of past sales prices, rental rates, vacancy rates, infrastructure, transport, employment opportunities and the demographic changes.

Always keep your intentions with the property in mind during the search. A property that may appeal to you as a place to live, may not be the best rental property for that suburb. The suburb that you live or know very well, may not give the best rental yields and capital growth.

Talk to real estate agents in that suburb, call the council to understand the development plans and talk to home owners/ renters from the target suburb to understand why they choose to live there.

Step 4. Conveyancer – Now is a good time to establish contact with an experienced solicitor or conveyancer. Solicitor can explain the steps in involved in the purchasing process and will look after your interests during the settlement process.

Step 5. Make an offer – Once you come across the property that meet your requirements, complete your due diligence, make comparisons with previously sold properties and it’s time to make the offer. Discuss with your solicitor and include any terms and conditions that you want included in the offer.

If your offer is accepted, now is the time to engage the professionals and let them do the analysis of the property. Never skip this step to save money on professional fees as the repercussions for not doing can be disastrous. The building inspector will check the building for structure and defects, Pest inspector will check for possible pest issues, if the property has a bodycorp/ strata conduct a strata inspection as well. Bank will organise the valuation at this stage as well. It’s a busy time and all this should be completed during the cooling-off period.

At the end of cooling off period make the deposit payment, exchange contracts and now you can ease until the settlement day. Discuss the insurance of the property with an insurance professional. If you intend to lease the property, begin a selection process for a rental agency and line them up to rent the property without any delays. Meet your accountant and discuss the accounting for the rental property. Discuss the stamp duty payments with your solicitor.

Step 6. Next Challenge - On the settlement day, conduct the final inspections and work with your solicitor to settle the house and get your hands on the keys. Well done .. !! Time to open the bottle of Champagne and start planning your next challenge in 2015!


About Jay Karunathilake
Jay is a director at Australian Property Selectors. Jay is an avid real estate researcher and a buyers advocate, who is passionate about helping his clients to build large property portfolios. Professionally Jay is a CPA and a Licensed Real Estate agent, and work exclusively for buyers as a buyers advocate. He can be contacted at [email protected] or please visit the Contact us page.