How to Become a First-Time Property Investor and Change Your Family’s Future

PROPERTY INVESTMENT IS YOUR SOLUTION TO THE QUESTION OF HOW TO SECURE YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE. IT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE, AS LONG AS YOU DO IT WELL.

What do you see when you look towards the future?

You’re working a full-time job right now and earning enough to pay the bills. You’re paying money into your super and you’re hoping you’ll have enough to retire on.

But having enough isn’t the same as retiring comfortably. And struggling with constant work isn’t giving you the quality of life right now.

That’s where property investment comes in. With the right investment strategy, you can completely change the course of your family’s future.

It sounds like the stuff that only the wealthy can do. The money needed to buy a property isn’t exactly small potatoes for the average person.

But that’s not the case at all. People just like you have created property portfolios that get results. Even single-income families can succeed with property investing.

Such was the case with Luciano and Melissa. They came to Wealth for Life with big dreams of creating an amazing future for their family. Let’s dig into what they wanted and how we helped them to get there.

LUCIANO AND MELISSA – THE CASE STUDY

Luciano and Melissa Fiorio came to us with a single income background. Luciano earned $100,000 from a six-day workweek. Melissa stayed at home with their young son Rocco. Both in their 40s, they wanted to work to clear their debts.

That’s what people had always told them to do. Work hard, clear your debts, and then retire.

But there are so many problems inherent in that approach. In Luciano’s case, working six days a week meant he had almost no time for his family.

This approach also wasn’t going to get them what they really wanted – their dream home. On top of that, they wanted to send Rocco to a private school. Plus, they wanted to avoid the difficult retirement situation that their parents had found themselves in.

The couple hadn’t even considered property investing before they came to us. But with our help, they charted a course to achieve their dream.

Our Solution

Our aim was to build a carefully-selected property portfolio. This portfolio would generate a passive income to help the Fiorios achieve their goals.

We started by looking at their home. We helped the couple to refinance their house so they’d get a better interest rate on the mortgage. Straight away, they made savings of $7,500 per year that could go towards their investments

Then we got started with the business of building a portfolio. Our financial planning team helped the couple to set up a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF). Through this, they could invest in two properties to get their portfolio on track.

We also understood that the Fiorios were newcomers to investment. We’re all investors ourselves and we understand how scary it is to try something new. That’s why we created a team of financial planners, solicitors, and property managers to take the hard work out of their hands.

Furthermore, we made it a point to explain everything to them in clear terms. We didn’t want to leave them feeling uncertain about any aspect of their strategy. Our team took them through everything step-by-step so they always understood what we wanted to do on their behalves.

This single-income family now owns three properties with a combined value of $1.635 million. Between them, those properties collect $1,250 in rent. As long as they keep following the strategy put together for them, they’ll retire at 60 with a passive income of $160,000 per year.

That’s more than Luciano’s earning from working six days per week.

And here’s the best part.

They’ll be able to enjoy all of this in the comfort of their dream home. They’ll be debt-free and living the high life thanks to property investment.

Perhaps you find yourself in a similar position. You’re a new investor who wants to make the most out of what you have now to build an amazing future.

Here are four tips that every beginner needs to keep in mind.

 TIP #1 – MAKE RATIONAL DECISIONS BASED ON RESEARCH

There’s this common trap that a lot of new investors fall into.

They see an opportunity that looks amazing from the outside and they jump at it. Maybe they think someone’s going to grab it before they do.

And then the problems start. They didn’t carry out any building inspections and there are now tons of costly issues for them to deal with. The property isn’t the right fit for its location and they struggle to get tenants.

What seemed like a golden goose has now laid a…you know what.

That’s the situation that the Fiorios wanted to avoid at all costs.

As a new investor, research is your best friend. You can’t make decisions rashly or let emotion get involved. Remember that this is a business that you’re creating. Plus, more opportunities will come, so don’t rush into something without putting in the legwork. 

TIP #2 – MANAGE YOUR CASH FLOW PROPERLY

You have to get good with money to manage an investment property. You’ve got rental income coming in and a bunch of expenses coming out. There are council rates and all sorts of extra fees to consider.

Some of your expenses are irregular too, which means you have to account for emergency situations.

And as your portfolio grows, your cash flow concerns become more complex.

You have to understand what’s happening with your money at all times. That means knowing how much you’re owed and collecting it on time. It also means accounting for all of the expenses and keeping an emergency fund available to deal with unexpected issues.

TIP #3 – GO FOR LOW-RISK PROPERTIES

Some people see property investment as a way to get rich quick. They hear stories of people who bought something, renovated, and flipped it to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars.

That’s not how it goes for most people.

Property investment is a long-term wealth building technique. That means you’re looking to manage risk at every step of the journey.

Remember that you’re new to the game. Overcommitting on a property early leaves you no room to manoeuvre later on. And if it all goes wrong, you’re stuck.

Keep it simple and low risk, especially when you’re just starting to build your portfolio.

TIP #4 – DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF GOOD MANAGEMENT

Finding a great property is just the start of your journey.

Keeping your tenants happy is how you earn a consistent income. An unhappy tenant isn’t going to stick around for long.

That’s where property management comes into play. You need to stay on top of every issue that your property has.

If there’s a maintenance problem, you have to be right on top of it.

When a tenant communicates with you, your response has to come quickly.

Property management is as much of a challenge as finding the property in the first place. Don’t underestimate the value of a great property manager.

THE FINAL WORD

Wealth for Life helped Fiorios to make their start with property management. We also built a long-term investment strategy that will see them retire by the time they’re 60. They’ll have their dream house and will live comfortably from the passive income they generate.

With us, they have great property management and a low-risk strategy created by investors.

That’s right! We’re all investors ourselves. We don’t just give people advice. We put what we preach into practice. If it works for us, we know it’ll work for you.

So what are you waiting for?

Take action today and contact us to talk to one of our Investment Advisors. We’ll show you how even a single-income family can achieve the same success as the Fiorios.