Look at what everyone else is doing… and do the opposite!

Expert Advice with Michael Yardney. 28/06/2017

I’ve come to the conclusion that when you do what most successful investors do, you get to become one of them, and if you don't, you won’t.

Interestingly the latest tax office statistics show only 16% of Australians own an investment property.

Of these 2 million or so property investors:

•    71% own just one investment property

•    19% own two properties

•    6% owned three properties

•    2% own four properties

•    1% own five properties, and

•    1% own six or more investment properties

•    In other words, if you do what most people do you’ll get the same results they get, and that’s not a pretty sight.

In other words, if you do what most people do you’ll get the same results they get. And that’s not a pretty sight.

So why don’t most Australian’s become rich through property?

Let’s look at six simple reasons:

1 – Most people wait too long to start

Most people can’t wait to succeed, yet they are willing to wait to get started on the road to riches.

Many are waiting for everything to be “perfect” before they get going. They wait for the right time in the cycle, the right property, the right economic environment or the right interest rates. Which means that they never get going.

The longer you wait to get started with your investing, the longer it will be before you acquire the money, success and freedom you want. It takes time to grow real wealth. It takes time for the power of compounding to work.

You need to understand that the timing will never be perfect and you will never have all the information you want. You need to develop the confidence to make an investment decision based on knowing enough and realising that you will learn the rest along the way.

2 - Fear

Fear keeps many of us from getting what we want, especially in matters of money.

Some fear taking on more debt, others fear failure and some even have a fear of success.

Successful investors have learned to harness their fears and rather than focus on the negatives, they use fear to force them into positive action.

For example, rather than allowing fear of debt to stop them taking on the commitment of buying a property, they use the fear of not moving forward with their investments to motivate them.

They use the fear of being stuck in their job for the rest of their lives, without the financial independence they are craving, to motivate them to take on the commitment of an investment property.

3 - Waiting until they know enough

The fear of not knowing enough prevents many investors from getting started.

However, the irony here is that the more you learn, the more you learn that you don't know! Once you start learning some basic investment concepts, you suddenly realise that there are a whole lot more things about investing or property that you don’t understand.

The key is to recognize that while you don't know it all, and you never will, you do know enough to get started with your investing and you will learn more as you apply your knowledge in the real world, surviving any mistakes and challenges along the way.

4 - Focusing on linear income instead of passive income

Not all income is created equal - some streams are linear and some are passive.

If you're not making money while you sleep, you'll never become rich. And the best way I know how to do that is investing in income producing residential real estate.

5 - Not using money making systems

A system for making money is something that takes the emotion out of your investment decisions and makes the results more reproducible.

My preferred system is investing in high growth property in areas that will outperform the market averages and add value through renovations or redevelopment.

I never sell these properties. I borrow against the increasing equity in my property portfolio to buy more properties.

6 - Not being patient

Warren Buffet once said: “Wealth is the transfer of money from the impatient to the patient.”

Successful property investment is a long-term affair. It’s not a get rich quick scheme.

The problem for many investors is that the successful buy and hold strategy I advocate is boring, so they speculate rather than invest.

They look for the latest fad or try finding the next hot spot or speculative growth areas.  

When you are tempted to do this, remind yourself that real estate has been the number one, long-term multi-millionaire maker throughout Australia’s history, yet most people that speculate in the latest fads have not made much money.

So, it's really quite simple...

Decide to do what successful property investors do and you are much more likely to become a successful and wealthy property investor.

If you don't do them, then like most people, you may never get rich.

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Michael Yardney is a director of Metropole Property Strategists, which creates wealth for its clients through independent, unbiased property advice and advocacy. He is a best-selling author, one of Australia’s leading experts in wealth creation through property and writes the Property Update blog.

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Disclaimer: while due care is taken, the viewpoints expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Your Investment Property.