The secret to success in property investment is starting early, and investing in yourself, your network and your knowledge, says Terry Ryder.
If there’s anyone who knows the tips and tricks to property investments, it’s Terry Ryder – Australia’s number one independent real estate analyst.
The founder of hotspotting.com.au has been informing investors and property buyers on the best locations to buy property for nearly two decades.
He shared his learnings and experiences on the road to becoming a successful property investor with KnowHow founder Bushy Martin on the Get Invested podcast.
Terry’s first piece of advice for property investors is to start early and accumulate, rather than buy and sell.
“I think probably the biggest mistake I made was not starting soon enough … so I urge people who are in their 20s, starting out their careers, to get your foot on the ladder as soon as you can,” Terry said.
“Start as early as you can and accumulate … don’t seek to trade yourself to wealth because it doesn’t work like that.
“Make a start. Get yourself a good property asset and then add to it by buying more good assets and building a portfolio. So, if you start doing that in your 20s, by the time you’re in your 40s, you’ll probably have a substantial portfolio. And then you’ve got options. If early retirement is your great objective then you may have that option if you start soon enough and go about it the right way.
“The best way to predict your future is to create it … too many people sit around waiting for things to happen.”
More importantly, Terry said you need to invest in yourself and invest in what you know.
“Too many people want to be investors but are not willing to put in the time and effort to educate themselves first,” he said.
“You should never invest in things you don’t know really well. And I think it’s a mistake a lot of people do. You really have to educate yourself.
“I think it’s really important that people should always be investing amongst themselves. And by that I mean learning. You always should be seeking to learn by doing courses, whether it’s online or going to seminars, not just for your career or your business operations, but also personally.
“That’s something I’m always looking to do, investing in myself, because success isn’t all about how many dollars you earn. It’s about how you are as a person and the lifestyle that you lead, and all of that’s important.”
But a crucial part of investing in yourself and building your knowledge is finding the right sources of information, and not looking for the cheap, easy way out.
Terry urged people to be either willing to invest their time or invest their money in order to become successful investors.
“Sadly, most wanting to be investors in Australia try to do it cheap. And I think that’s a huge mistake. It’s false economy, the worst kind of false economy,” he said.
“You’ve got to be willing to invest the money to make money. You’ve got to treat real estate as a business. Most Australians treat real estate investment as a hobby. The ones that are really successful are treated as a business, and any business is based on spending money to make money.”
He said that part of this process is also about surrounding yourself with a reliable, resourceful team of advisers, accountants, buyer’s agents and other experts who understand real estate.
“[Create] a team around you and be willing to pay for their advice and information they give you,” Terry said.
“Be willing to spend money on professionals who are really good at what they do. So, you have a team around you that ensures that you’re making good decisions.
“Where people come a cropper with real estate investment is they don’t do any of that. They try and do it cheap and they make bad decisions. And quite often, they end up with a dud, something that’s worth less than they paid or something that’s not grown in value the way they hoped it would.”
Listen to the full interview here.
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