The Top 3 In Property Investing

If you were to ask 100 successful property investors to choose 3 keys to being successful in property investing, what do you think they would say?

Would it be:

Doing the numbers?

Employing a good team?

Having a watertight rental agreement?

They are all very important, but how about these 3:

Is there ONE key that will make the difference to your Investment Property?

There are so many things to consider when you are buying an investment property, is there any one 'thing' that will make the difference?

Yes, by far and away it's location. But which location is best?

It obviously depends on where your property is located e.g. rural vs city etc. But if you were going to buy an investment property in a city such as Melbourne, Sydney or Perth, buying as close as possible to the CBD makes sense.

Why?

Lets Talk about Dog Poo

I'm sure being in Melbourne you know all about dog poo, it infuriates most people.

How appealing would your rental property look if the front yard and footpath were covered in these doggie bombs? Would it be harder to attract the right kind of tenant? Well I don't think it would put off everyone, but I'm sure there are a few people who it would adversely effect.

It seems that this problem has caused frustration around the world, I came across this article where a solution has been found and it seems DNA testing is the answer.

What would you do with this kind of Property Manager?

So you have a rental property and you have made the decision to employee a Property Manager to take care of it. You want to be able to enjoy the benefits of owning but you don't fancy dealing with the stress. The property manager you've selected seemed nice and ticked all the boxes, so all looks good so far.

Lets skip ahead...

It's been 12 months and you've heard practically nothing from your Property Manager. You've been receiving the rent into your account, so no major red flags have been raised.

The Holy Grail - Buying Before a Boom

Isn't that what we all want to do, buy property before the boom hits? But how do you determine exactly when that is going to be?

Your Investment Property wrote a great article on exactly this, comparing a couple of different approaches.

Here is a reprint of the article, you can find the original HERE

Do you Use the Bad Books?

One of the most stressful aspects of owning a rental property is deciding on good tenants.

It is normal to worry about who you are choosing. Are they the right person? Will they trash the place? Will they pay their rent on time? What have they been like in the past? 

Yes you can call their references and ask questions, but are those references genuine? Or are they friends of the potential tenant posing as a landlord? 

There are some landlords who employ a Property Manager who take all the stress out of it. There are others who run on gut feeling (those who have been in the business for a while), and there are those who make their potential tenants jump through as many hoops as possible,in the hopes that only the good ones will make it though. But how often do you consult "the bad books"?

Rental Property: Renovate or Buy Brand New?

You have two potential investment properties you are looking at: 

Number 1: You have a brand spanking new, fresh from the box, 4 bed, 2 bath home in a new development.

Number 2: You have a tired and unloved but lower priced property that needs quite a bit of work. 

How do you choose which is the better bet?

Signing your life away!

Do you know what you are signing when you are buying a rental property? There are numerous forms to sign and while a few will look straight forward, I'm sure there are many that seem a bit baffling, but you just sign anyway.

I would advise you to stop!

The old adage "read the fine print" is even more important when it comes to property. But not just reading the fine print - but understanding it. If it all seems too daunting then turn to your team who will help you not only understand what you are getting into to (and how to get out of it, if necessary), but will be able to make sense of this new language.