This an excerpt from Sanjeev Sah’s whitepaper on property investment. To get the full access to his tips for profiting from investment in Australia, click here and download your copy today.
When Sanjeev Sah first arrived in Australia back in 2007, the path ahead seemed like a relatively straightforward one. He was visiting on a work visa from India to undertake an IT role, with visions of starting a family and climbing the career ladder. In practice, the job wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Marriage and a daughter followed swiftly afterwards, and although Sah enjoyed living in Australia and was well-paid, the job itself was demanding on his time and emotionally unsatisfying.
“It was a pretty standard 9-to-5 role on paper, but IT asks a lot of your personal time, too,” he says. “I wasn’t being the husband or father that I wanted to be; work came first, and I realised that I was going to need to change the way I approached both money and my job.”
The first inklings of how that could occur began to stir in 2009, when Sah started purchasing property in his homeland. Buying across a mix of commercial and residential property, Sah began to realise his future might lie in investment.
“I didn’t have grand visions of being independently wealthy or anything at this point,” he laughs. “It was all very pragmatic! It was a smart way to invest income, and if we eventually decided to move back to India, then my family would have somewhere nice to live.”
The real shift came in 2013, when Sah realised he could duplicate some of his overseas property success by purchasing in Australia, too. But to do that, he realised he’d need to have a more effective strategy in place. His previous purchases had been driven by opportunity, rather than a holistic view of how properties could fit into a larger income-generating portfolio.
In late 2014, Sah settled on his first property in Western Sydney. The difference from previous purchases was that now there was a longer-term plan and strategy in place. Unlike past purchases, which had simply been paid off according to rote formula, Sah was beginning to realise the true power of leverage.
Since then, Sah has found great success in property investment in Australia. Here, he outlines five key steps every investor should take before making a purchase”
- See the bigger picture
“Investors need to have a clear image of where a property is going to tie into their wider portfolio and help achieve their overall goals,” Sah says. “If you don’t have clear goals, you’re going to miss opportunities, purchase the wrong type of properties or – even worse – not take enough action.”
- Learn about various investment strategies
There’s more to investment than just buying a property, Sah says. Investors need to look at opportunities within their properties, such as renovations, adding a granny flat or another dwelling, subdivision and more.
This allows investors to play the game better,” he says. “Depending on the goals, investors can apply individual or multiple strategies to a property as required.”
- Know your numbers
Property is a numbers game, so make sure you have the information you need at hand.
“What sort of equity and cash flow do you currently have?” Sah asks. “Will this purchase impact that positively or negatively? It’s a simple but critical question.”
- Consider location
Sah notes that location is one of the most critical considerations for investors. On too many occasions, he says, people buy properties based on emotion rather than prospective returns.
“You can’t let emotion make the decision for you,” he says. “You need to have data on your side.”
- Build your team
“Having the right support network is critical,” Sah says. “Make sure you know what you know, and don’t be afraid to have people on your team who are smarter than you and successful in this game. They’ll be able to give effective advice around your purchase decisions and help mitigate risks.”
To get two more tips, plus more great insights on making property investment a full time career, download the whitepaper from the link above, or reach out to Sah directly for more information on property investment.
