Property Investors Information

With over 30 years combined experience in the Real Estate industry, The Fuse Property Team have picked up one or two fantastic pieces of information for our landlords. Without a doubt, the most valuable information we have collected, is the connections and network we have built when working with our most successful Property Investors.

If you ask any successful investment property owner how they built their investment portfolio, they will tell you to do two things:

  1. Make informed decisions by educating yourself on all things investment properties
  2. Surround yourself with investment property experts

Let's hone down on these two things further...

Make informed decisions by educating yourself

Read books, follow leaders in the property investment field, listen to podcasts, sign up for newsletters and magazines, use Property Investment forums/websites, attend seminars and webinars... These are just a few things that can help you with self-education.

Below is a list of just some of the resources we have used to help further our own property investment education:

Books: 

  • How to Grow a Multi-Million Dollar Property Portfolio - in your spare time by Michael Yardney
  • The Armchair Guide to Property Investing: How to Retire on $2,000 a Week by Ben Kingsley and Bryce Holdaway
  • How to Buy Property with your Super Money by Tony Melvin and Ed Chan
  • Secrets of Property Millionaires Exposed By Dale Meaumont

Follow Leaders on Social Media:

Newsletters & Magazines: 

Websites/Forums:

Seminars & Webinars:

Podcasts:

  • The Property Couch
  • Everyday Property Investing
  • The Smart Property Investment Show
  • Michael Yardney's Podcast

All this information and education is fantastic when you have a team of experts to help you put it all together... which brings us to the second thing successful Property Investors tell you:

Surround yourself with Property Investment Experts:

Having a rental property or an investment property portfolio should be treated like a business. Successful business owners know that it is not possible (or wise) to try to do something that they don't know how to do. The same principal applies for investment property ownership. What you need is a trusted team of experts that you can rely on to help you make decisions. 

So who should be in your trusted team? We have got the list down to five key experts that every Property Investor should have in their team:

Mortgage Broker: 

A good Mortgage Broker will not only find you a mortgage but will put together a clear and concise mortgage application. There are dozens of banks offering mortgages and all have different criteria for lending. For example - Some banks are better suited for first home buyers, other banks specialist in rural property and some lend on Self Managed Super Funds while others don't. Your Mortgage Broker should be someone who doesn't get huge kickbacks from the bank for you choosing a mortgage through that bank. Your Mortgage Broker should advocate for you and you only. For this reason, small, family run Mortgage Brokering businesses can be very beneficial. This is not to say that the large Mortgage Brokering businesses are not working for you but going directly to your/one bank, is not always going to get you the best result possible.

Property Buyer’s Advocate: 

Some investors find a Buyer’s Advocate unnecessary, but these investors also tend to spend hours looking for properties and attending open homes and they are limited to what they are able to inspect (buying interstate is not easy). For most Property Investors, they just don't have time, which is where a Buyer’s Advocate comes in.

A Buyer’s Advocate will first work with you to determine what you are looking for and they should then do all the heavy lifting for you. This should include searching for the property (major bonus, Buyer’s Advocates often have access to off-market properties), conducting preliminary reports and due diligence (conduct demographic and economic reports) and inspecting the property on your behalf. Once they have determined that a property is suitable, your Buyer’s Advocate will then present you with their findings and help you take the next steps in purchasing the property.

There are two types of Buyer’s Advocates, the type who act for owner occupiers and the type who act for landlords. It is important to find a Buyer’s Advocate who acts for landlords. Buyer’s Advocates who work for landlords have a different mindset and set of connections that those who specialise in owner occupier properties.

Financial Planner:

Generally, a Financial Planner is the first step in most Property Investors journeys. A Financial Planner is someone or a team of people who focus on your financial future. Often they will be the ones to recommend not only if you should buy an investment property but also how you should buy. For example, buying under a Self Managed Super Fund is a good idea for some but not for others. Your Financial Planner should also help you ensure that your investment property is secured by working with you on personal insurances such as life insurance, income protection etc. 

Banks can have Financial Planners and some Financial Planners can be attached to banks. While the Royal Commission has certainly gone a long way to eliminating bias advise, an independent Financial Planner is more likely to provide you with advise that is suited to you, not advise that helps to benefit them or their business relationships.

Property Manager:

Again, some Property Investors deem a Property Manager to be unnecessary. As with a Property Buyer’s Advocate, Property Investors who manage their own properties spend many hours conducting open homes, vetting applications, preparing lease documents, conducting routine inspections and routine maintenance etc.

Outside of the physical task involved with self-managing, there are enormous legislative requirements in the heavily regulated Real Estate industry. There are over 30 different pieces of legislation that play a part in the management of a rental property. These can include contract law, tenancy legislation, health & safety legislation, environmental laws, privacy legislation... just to name a few. Property Managers have access to technology that helps to cover your legislative requirements and to ensure the smooth running of the tenancy. 

To put it simply, a good Property Manager should prioritise two factors of the management of your rental property. To prolong a quality tenancy and to help maximise the returns on your investment. They should want to work with your tenants when challenges arise, and they should want to minimise risks you are exposed to. For example, prolonging a quality tenancy will mean a longer-term tenancy and less vacancy (loss of rent) to you. 

Property Management companies that advertise their fees are a good sign. They have nothing to hide and they are confident that their fees are reasonable for the service they provide.

Small Property Management companies can provide more options to landlords simply because they are boutique and flexible. For example, offering weekly disbursements to landlords, not monthly disbursements so there is more money in your bank account or being able to do more frequent open homes at irregular house (such as 6pm at night).

Insurance Broker:

Insurance for investment properties is often overlooked or treated as less important by some landlords. This approach could not be more wrong. Insurance in general is a mind field and having an expert handle your insurance requirements is a must. Insurance requirements varies greatly from person to person and property to property. A good broker should be able to identify the right insurance policies for you and help minimise the risk you are exposed to.

As with the other experts, a small and independently run Mortgage Brokering firm is a good place to start. For example, banks may recommend insurance products as you have a mortgage through them but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's the best product for your circumstances. An independent Insurance Broker will give you advise after carefully assessing your property, financial position and your personal situation. 

 

Collectively, these experts will give you the well-rounded and educated approach that sees many investors succeed in the property game.

The Fuse Property team can put you in touch with experts in these fields and are always happy to chat with you further. Contact us here for more details.