By Rich Harvey, CEO & Founder, propertybuyer.com.au
I recently celebrated my 50th birthday and the milestone had me thinking about retirement.
Let me be clear… I don’t want to stop work yet! I’m having too much fun and there’s plenty more to do.
But reflecting on my life and where I am helped remind me that retirement isn’t a pipe dream.
Thanks to some wise investment choices, and one very important mantra, the vision of driving off into a future sunset is well within reach.
That mantra? Don’t procrastinate – act now!
A big mistake too many people make is putting off the resolution to build their property portfolios, because procrastinating costs you big time when it comes to building wealth.
Here’s why.
Every lost day is dollars wasted
Some would-be investors think ‘now’ is not the right time to buy.
When I say now, I mean right now. The big-city markets are soft after an extended period of price drops, and there’s uncertainty about what’s around the corner. Will prices fall further? What’s happening with the economy? What about interest rates?
It’s true some markets have had a rough trot. As to when they bottom out and begin their recovery… well, even for seasoned professionals that’s hard to determine with pinpoint accuracy.
But that reasoning of ‘not now’ could be applied to countless other times in the past. Hesitant investors I spoke to during the last boom were finding different justifications for the same lack of action – “Prices are too hot prices so we should wait for them to cool?”
They were hesitating in the lull before that too, and the boom before that as well.
My point is that some would-be investors will always have a ‘not now’ viewpoint.
And I’m here to tell you, ‘now’ is exactly the time to act. Your determinant on when to buy shouldn’t be the overall state of the market, but rather your ability to purchase and your stage in your long-term strategy.
There’s never a bad time
Successful property investors know there’s never a bad time to buy. Never.
It doesn’t matter what markets are doing, what shape the economy is in, how high or low interest rates are, how confident or nervous banks are, and especially what’s in the newspapers or on the six o’clock bulletin.
Because the best gains are made from buying and holding long term. It’s the best way to build true wealth in your portfolio.
So, if you buy when the market is hot and it goes through a period of correction, it doesn’t really matter what happens over that period – you’re a long-term investor.
Likewise, buying when things are uncertain and holding for the long-term means even more potential to profit, because you can purchase when everyone else is fearful.
Market cycles are normal. Riding them out is part of being a savvy investor who knows the value of waiting for compounding capital gains over the many years to come.
The problem is that the longer you put off purchasing, the further behind the eight ball you’re likely to be. It’s better to start sooner and establish the first building blocks of your portfolio.
The key is buying the right type of property, not tracking the cycles. Opportunities to purchase great investments exist at every stage of the market, you just need to know how to spot them – or be able to rely on an experienced advisor.
Ask any property investor…
The next time you’re at a backyard barbeque, a dinner party or your kid’s sporting event, and you’re talking investment with like-minded folk, ask them a simple question:
Do you wish you’d started investing sooner?
I guarantee nearly every response will be a resounding, ‘Yes!’.
Experienced investors know, with the benefit of hindsight, that the longer they left it, the harder it was to achieve their goals and milestones.
There’s an opportunity cost in procrastination that’s hard to catch up. Those who bought in 2014 wish they’d bought in 2012. Those who bought in 2012 wish they’d purchased in 2010.
And those who wait until next year will wish they had moved today.
Timing isn’t critical
As I’ve said, while there’s never bad time to buy, there are bad locations and property types, so it’s imperative you do your research before jumping.
Markets will rise again, competition at auctions will heat up and those who continue to procrastinate will undoubtedly create another reason not to join in.
Knowing what to buy and where, and how those opportunities fit in with your investment strategy, is vitally important. It’s why you should work with an independent, properly qualified buyer’s agent. We have our ear to the ground, eye on the analysis and a talent for sniffing out brilliant opportunities – no matter what the property clock reads – so you can act now.
To have our friendly buyers agents contact you:
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call us on 1300 655 615 today.
