As you may know, I am a big fan of property investment. Wifey and I have been fortunate enough to purchase several properties over the years and continue to grown our financial nest egg.
One of the reasons I am so keen to invest is that for my generation, we will not have a pension. It is not that I will not be eligible for it, it is that there will not be enough workers or a big enough tax base to pay retiree's a pension. Rather than wait for someone else to do something about it, Wifey and I have taken the situation into our own hands and are building our own "pension base".
I am fortunate in that I have a formal education in finance. In all honesty, I don't use most of it. The education that has had the most impact on me is the self education I have gained since leaving university.
When I speak with my friends and those who ask about investing, I am constantly asked, "Why property?"
The answer is simple and it is one word - LEVERAGE.
With property, I can get excellent leverage on my finances. That is, with a 20% deposit, I can buy a house. Most other investments I would either need to pay for in full or only be able to finance 50%.
Also, I am lazy. I am not interested in watching stock markets on a daily basis to calculate buy and/or sell regardless of whether it is shares, options, managed funds or some other investment vehicle. Having said that, we do have some shares but again they are buy and hold shares.
The other thing with property is that I like the security it offers. Even if the house burns to nothing, I still have the land it was on. That land holds the majority of the value of the entire property. I have seen too many companies lose 100% of their value and I would hate to be caught (again!)
So why should you care what I invest in?
Well part of the fun of investing in property is looking at how you can increase the value of that property. Whether you want to increase the value of it just before you sell, just before you move in, just before you look for additional finance or just because you want to know what renovations or refurbishments will give you the best bang for your buck.
It is not uncommon for investors to spend a few thousand dollars on a place and add three to five times the value to the property. From carports to new bathrooms to a quick n dirty paint job - so many things are possible.
How would you like to add thousands of dollars to the value of your property?
Whether you want to draw down on your mortgage for a holiday/new car or if you want to maximise your potential for further finance or even if you simply want to get a higher sale figure when you sell, there are some very simple things you can do to add this value.
I have teamed up with Katerina Kapellaki, one of Australia's best interior designers, to present a series of seminars on how to Power Up Your Property. We are starting with an introduction session in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and will then follow that with a two day intensive for those that are serious about Powering Up Your Property.
I would love to see you at one of these sessions. You can find out more detail and book using the relevant links below. Whether you are new intro property, an old time developer or somewhere in the middle, this is the kind of session that will pay for itself time and time again.
I look forward to seeing you there.
Melbourne Session - Tuesday 17th September
Sydney Session - Wed 18th September
Brisbane Session - Thursday 19th September
Today I am off to consult with an Exhibiting client to help them Get More from their next expo. The key focus for me will be their Strategy. Too often people approach exhibiting without a decent strategy.
