If I could turn back time
If I could, I’d do this differently
When it comes to property, and knowing what I do, there are a few things I’d do differently.
Having said that, I have absolutely no regrets because everything makes sense in hindsight.
I want to share these with you, as you’re going through your process of deciding what’s best for you, particularly in such a volatile market that we’ve all experienced over the past 12 months.
Point one is an interesting one. Off the back off the property buying frenzy that so many people got caught up in during ‘20 and ‘21, lenders were sign-up happy (I didn’t want to say trigger happy) getting super creative in many instances in the way they helped clients process loans. I don’t mean to insinuate tricky behaviours, just that in many instances, I believe that due diligence and a more conservative approach would have been in the best interests of clients. The same goes for buyer advocates/agents. Certainly, more caution and diligence could have been exercised in some of the properties purchased. So back to point 1, during that 18-24 month period of Covid madness, people were maxing out their borrowing power on investment properties just because they could.
Watch what you spend. Just because you can borrow, doesn’t mean you should borrow it all.
Adding to point one, I had no game plan. Have a game plan. This will serve you well when considering future borrowing capacity and tax implications.
Four years of an investment property with no depreciation schedule = leaving money on the table. Don’t do it.
This one’s for the business owners, I let my business earnings dictate the course of my investments rather than running my investments like their own business. Limiting and adding years to potential loan repayments.
Using residential investment as a launch vehicle is a good plan but I would have moved into commercial property sooner.
So as you go through these - feel free to reach out to me. I’d be more than happy to share what my experience has been in both residential and commercial property - both as an owner-occupier and an investor.
Prepare yourself with the information, research as much as you can (although there’s so much out there, it can get overwhelming), get a good team around you, question and be curious.
If you have a specific question about any of the above, feel free to book a call. You may not be ready to purchase yet and that’s ok - I’m happy to help where I can :)