Definitely do some reading. If you are interested in property investment there is no such thing as too much information.
Two books I would recommend that cover off the basics and let you get an idea of what you need to look at in more depth are:
Property investment for Dumbies
Smarter Property Investment, by Peter C ???? (cann't remember the last name).
But there are plenty of books on the market.
I would also advise visiting a property investment forum, reading through all the threads and asking any other questions - they can be a wealth of information. I don't think I am allowed to post other forums on here??? But if you are interested in the name of one that I would recommend, drop me a pm and I will let you know. Otherwise you could try googling 'property investment forum' and then troll through tem until you come across one you like.
Also finding a good mortgage broker is a must, someone who knows about property investment (not all mortgage brokers know as much as they claim) and about structuring your mortgages correctly and tax efficiently - it can be a good idea to talk to a financial advisor who specialises in property investment too, but that is optional
Good luck with it all, property investment has become a passion of mine, but one of the worst things you can do is rush in blind.
who owns investment properties? we purchased an investment property earlier this year. It is a 4 bedroom family home, about 30 years old, but has been extended and has a newish kitchen and bathrooms.
What are you strategies to tide you over if your income drops? I am currently a SAHM, and plan to be for at least another year or two. DH is the only income earner. We have actually paid off most of the loan for our own home, so are therefore putting any extra money into savings- we will access those savings if we need to. We also decided that if worst comes to worse, we simply sell the investment property, and as we own our own home pretty much, and will have some savings, ideally we wouldn't be too much out of pocket.
Do you think this is the time to invest? It was the right time for US to invest. We wanted to buy in our local area, and the purchase prices of homes at the moment are ok, and the rental demand is reasonable strong, and financially we could do it- so we went for it.
What other advice would you give a novice like me? Is DH right to want to wait, or am I right to want to act now? For us, this investment is a long term thing. Without going too much into personal details we have an interest only loan. So we have to pay the bank about $1800 a month. We get $1500 a month in rent, and we make up the difference. The property was purchased in DH's name, as he is working, and it works out better for any tax benefits we may be eligible for. If you and your DH sit down and work it all out, you may find you are only out of pocket a few thousand $$ each year, and ideally you will then on sell the property in 10 years time for a decent profit.
I have to admit I was like your DH- I wasn't too keen on the whole idea at first. But once I established that our own home wasn't at 'risk' if something should go wrong then I was happy to look at the options. TO me, having some security and money available was the main thing- as long as we have emergency money, and are safe in our own home I am happy
Like some of the others have mentioned, be careful about the areas you buy in, and remember the rental market you want to attract. If you want to attract uni students, buy somewhere near uni and public transport. If you have a family home like we do, be aware that the majority of applicants will be families with pets. We were also told to avoid high rise buildings, and for us, we wanted to have a house or unit on it's own title- so w can basically do whatever we like with the land down the track. for example, if you buy a unit that has a body corporate, you may find it difficult to renovate, or change the appearance of the property, which could make it more difficult to maybe sell the property in 10 years time.
if you have any more questions, or want to convince your DH let me know .
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