How to Become a Super Investor

August 2012
How to Become a
Super Investor
.
Many investors get stuck on one or two properties and fail to
progress up the property ladder. They probably know in their
hearts that they’ll need to build up a bigger portfolio to have a
hope of achieving financial freedom.
How to Become a Super Investor
Investment Corner
How to Become a Super Investor Cont.
You might’ve read several property books or magazines and been
to a couple of seminars to get the basics, but things still aren’t
quite progressing. You might feel like there are missing pieces to
your property jigsaw puzzle.
Ellen's Insights:
Mo'Maintenance, Mo'Problems
You’ve seen stories about really successful investors buying five,
10 or even 20 properties and wonder if it’s really possible.
Perhaps you feel like a bit of a failure and get worried that things
will never come together.
Your friends and family might even be assuring you it’s not the
right time to buy, or talking about how uncertain things are. You
might’ve even read about how the resources boom is over. Then
several bills arrive, you find the hot water system in your
investment property has just blown up and that the tenants in the
other one are leaving.
Whatever your circumstances, the super investor takes a different
approach to the herd. See page 3 for five things that super
investors do to make it happen.
...Continued Page 3
Adelaide Metro Property Management
Phone:
Fax:
Email:
08 8269 1833
08 8269 7903
info@ampmadelaide.com.au
55 North East Road, Collinswood SA 5081
www.ampmadelaide.com.au
Investment Corner
Unley
$750,000 to $790,000
Northgate
$550,000 to $570,000
63 Arthur Street
34 Bradley Terrace
High Quality Contemporary (Circa 2000)
Crows Urban House at Lightsview
Beautifully built split level home on 358sqm, boasting
large main bdr with w.i.r, ens, priv balcony, 2nd & 3rd
bdr with b.i.r & priv alfresco entert area, frml lounge,
o/plan living/dining, modern kitchen, large bthrm, sep
laundry & spac under croft dble gge & large court yard.
Exclusively designed for the Adelaide Football Club,
currently under construction by Rivergum Homes. 3
Bedrooms with WIR and ensuite to main, o/plan living
areas & stylish interiors, outdoor entertaining & all
fencing/landscaping included.
Greg Blight 0418 834 525
Nathan Casserly 0419 358 699
Web Code: SCW3757
RLA 2215
Web Code: SOC3226
RLA 241337
Warradale
$429,000
Henley Beach South
$695,000
28 Hobart Avenue
25 Hobart Road
A Grand Easy Care Beauty!
Exquisitely Built – A Class Act!
Torrens title home built in 2010 feat l/scaped gardens
& top finishes t/out. 3 bdrms, main with BIR, Foxtel/
internet in 2 of the bdrms, spac o/plan living/dine area
leading out to patio, 2 way bthrm with a deep bath, sep
shwr, large vanity, Ducted r/c a/c, auto gge, close to
Marion shops, Aquatic Centre & Flinders med centre.
Stunning Tuscan inspired Torrens title seaside home on
approx 400sqm. 3 bdrms master with ensuite/wir. Open
plan designer kitchen, North facing family living/dine.
Café style bi-fold doors lead out to alfresco area. R/c
heating/cooling, duc vacuum, security, dble gge, drive
thru access, paved grounds and landscaping.
Linda Van Hoof 0411 844 550
Linda Van Hoof 0411 844 550
Web Code: SOC2978
RLA241337
Hectorville
$259,000 - $279,000
Web Code: SOC3232
RLA241337
Felixstow
$440,000 to $450,000
35/44 Glynburn Road
3/1 St Johns Lane
Affordable Townhouse in Popular Group
Townhouse with Style and Class
Charming,yet very affordable solid brick townhouse.
Offering a relaxed and carefree lifestyle. Open plan
living/dining room, floating floors & r/c a/c. Sunlit rear
low maintenance courtyard, undercover parking,
beautifully presented and updated interior.
This beautifully presented c/yard t/house has so much
to offer. 2 dble bdrms w/ BIRs, study area or possible
3rd bdrm. Large kitchen & adj dining, living area
opening onto private courtyard. LU garage with
internal access. Safe & secure gated complex less
than 5km to Adelaide CBD.
Alex Ouwens 0438 422 975
Daniel Harris 0400 455 392
Alex Ouwens 0438 422 975
Daniel Harris 0400 455 392
SOC3238
RLA241337
SOC2996
RLA241337
How to Become
a Super Investor
…Continued from Page 1
Value your time
The super investor understands the value of time. They realise it’s much more valuable than money.
You can’t get time back. Super investors use property investment to “buy” more time. By investing in
property now, you are investing in your own financial future that will give you more choices about work
and lifestyle.
Have a strategic mindset
How you think about yourself and others plays a significant role in how things turn out. Are you a glass
half full or half empty person? I always suggest people plan for the worst but expect the best. You do
need both types of thinking to be a super investor, but it doesn’t mean you should mope around the
house with a worried expression all the time. The super investor engages in strategic thinking,
researches extensively and considers the long term
Take action
To be successful in property, you not only need the knowledge but also the courage to take action.
Knowledge is not power unless you use it. Most people that go to seminars and read books don’t do
anything. They gain the theoretical knowledge, but very few use it.
Have a system
Abraham Lincoln said, “If I had 8 hours to cut down a tree, I’d spend the first 6 hours sharpening the
saw.” The same applies to property investors – getting the right systems and strategies are key. Super
investors repeat what works and refine what doesn’t.
Use a team of experts
The super investor has quickly discovered the power of leveraging experts. Trying to do everything
yourself will only tie you up in knots! A critical person on your team is a licensed buyer’s agent. They
can help you develop a strategy that’s perfect for your personal situation. They’ll quickly shortlist the
top suburbs for growth or yield using sophisticated research tools and can uncover off market deals,
new listings and hot properties through their established networks.
Set goals
Super investors love setting and achieving goals. It gives them a sense of purpose and destiny.
They’re not constrained by small level thinking – they’re motivated and energised to achieve
worthwhile goals. Most of the people on the BWR Rich 200 List are people who’ve worked hard,
saved and invested in growth assets long enough to enjoy the benefits of goal setting.
Rich Harvey
Rich Harvey is an economist, investor and the CEO and founder of www.propertybuyer.com
http://www.apimagazine.com.au/blog/2012/08/how-to-become-a-super-investor
Ellen's Insights:
Mo' Maintenance, Mo' Problems
There are a lot of things I would do if I had a crystal ball. Actually, I’d probably just want Saturday
night’s lotto numbers but I’m sure I would be magnanimous enough to let you know when the oven in
your investment property was going to stop working so you could be prepared! We’ve already looked
at some of the seasonal aspects of maintenance this year, but there are stages of a tenancy when
you may expect a higher than usual amount of maintenance to be reported.
The start of a tenancy is when most ‘teething issues’ tend to show themselves. When a tenant views
a property they generally are not able to check things like water pressure or whether all of the lights
work. Often these issues are reported when the Ingoing Inspection Report is returned to the office or
at the first routine inspection. These issues can range from cupboard doors being a bit hard to close
to the hot water service not working as well as it could. I often attend a property for the first inspection
in a tenancy and find that a tenant has reported several ongoing issues that a previous tenant never
mentioned. This comes down to different people’s tolerance levels of what they are willing to live with
and what they feel needs to be repaired. If it is a general quirk of a type of property (for example, the
same crack opening and closing over the course of the year, or low water pressure with a gravity-fed
hot water service), and the tenant is home, I will try to explain this to the tenant so they are aware
that it does not necessarily require repair.
Over two different tenancies in the same property, disparate amounts of maintenance may be
reported. The reasons for this are myriad. Some people are happy to attend to minor things like
leaking taps themselves while others do not have the time or know-how to attend to these items and
will report them to their property manager instead. During the tenant selection process, your property
manager may advise how particular a certain applicant has been during this process and this may be
an indicator as to how high-maintenance they may be during their tenancy.
You may also find an increase in the amount of maintenance reported at lease renewal time. This is
often due to a mentality of ‘if I have to pay extra rent, I want a working heater’. I find that this comes
to the fore after a large rent increase. Many tenants have told me that because they know that they
are paying reasonable rent for the calibre of property they are living in, they don’t want to bother their
landlord with maintenance requests that may cause a larger rent increase later on in their term.
However, if the landlord does not stick to their side of the hypothetical bargain, they want to get
‘value’ for the money they are paying in rent.
At the end of the day, you as a landlord are perfectly within your rights to raise the rent of your
investment property; however, I strongly suggest taking note of your property manager’s
recommendations. Your tenants are also within their rights to live in a property that is in a good,
liveable condition, and this means having appliances in working order. As I’ve mentioned before,
having an emergency fund set aside can help take the sting out of the costs of larger repairs. If you
would like to discuss any ongoing maintenance items at your property, please contact your property
manager.