It’s a “BATTLE ROUND” Q & A Day, folks!!

In other words… This vs That.

Yep. After 4 solid weeks of some seriously special guests interviews — starting with Alan Oster and ending with Stuart Wemyss — we’re finally in the ring for a good ol’ Q & A Session!

The Battle Round includes…

• Melbourne vs Brissy
• Sell vs Hold
• Costs of Property Investing vs Gains of Property Investing
• House vs Beach apartment
• … and plenty more

Resources to help if you’re battling a decision right now…

Demand vs Supply…

• • Episode 008 | Investment Stock vs Investment Grade
  • Episode 125 | Everything you need to know about picking the next hotspot – Chat with Jeremy Sheppard
  • Episode 143 | When will the Power of Big Data and AI decide the Real Value of your Property? Chat with Greg Dickason, Chef Technology Officer at CoreLogic
  • Episode 156 | Tim Lawless – Property Outlook 2018 with CoreLogic’s Director of Research
  • Property Hotspots & How To Find Them
  • Property Market Swingers Report

But before we hear the crowd roar (Stig stay silent) as we battle it out…

… we need YOUR answers!!!

For our brand new book coming out, we want to help as many Aussies as we possibly can!! So before we put the sprinkles on the icing of the cake/book… can you help us out?? (Especially if you’ve implemented The Money SMARTS System!)

• What are your “Money Temptations”?
• Where do you feel tempted to deviate with the Money SMARTS System?
• What do you struggle most to manage with money?

TELL US your Money Temptations here.

And finally, don’t agree with Labor’s policy on Negative Gearing? Sign the PICA Petition here.

Question from Mal:

My question to you is about growth, and buying either into the Melbourne and Brisbane markets given their different position at the moment in the property market. If you had $650K to spend, in terms of growth on a house would you buy a smaller property further out of Melbourne or a larger property closer in Brisbane? With a buy and hold strategy of 15 – 20 years. Thanks, looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Question about Costs vs Gains from Jennifer:

Hey Ben and Bryce. I’m a huge fan of your podcast and The Armchair Guide to Property Investing, and am very much looking forward to your new book. I’ve recently read another finance book, and their recommendation was that investing for the long term wasn’t a good investment because, although property prices do almost always increase, the costs associated with property investment like interest, property management fees, repairs and renovations are so high that it makes for a poor investment. And you’d likely get a better return with something like a shares portfolio. I’d just like to know your thoughts. Thank you.

Question about House vs Beach Apartment form Dennis:

Hi Bryce and Ben, my name is Dennis, living in Melbourne with my fiancée, in our early 30s. We are fans of your podcast, very informative. I have some equity from my family home I co-paid with my parents and after borrowing, our budget is about $500k.

First consideration is a 3 – 4 bedroom house in Ballarat because the Ballarat West Economic Zone is up and coming, aimed to create 9000 jobs.

Second consideration is a 2 bedroom beachfront apartment within 10 min of Apollo Bay/Lorne central area. We plan to rent it out as an Airbnb?, however our concern is the long vacancy periods during the colder months. What are your thoughts on both options? Which is a better first investment property? We are looking to hold it long term, unlikely to sell within 5 years.

Question from Steve:

Hi guys, my question is, “When do you know when the right time is to sell in an area?” Like they say in the stock market, no one rings a bell at the top … and I wouldn’t expect to be able to pick the top… but how do you decide when is the best time to sell? Is it data driven? Where yields are low and it’s had years of growth and now there isn’t as much affordability when mortgages are say 40% of the average income loan? Or is more of a sentiment-driven thing where the market’s now too crazy … people are bidding way over reserve, so you should just sell into that? The reason I’m asking is because I bought a Gold Coast 4×2 house for $350K in 2014, worth around $420K now, and at some stage the Goldy’s run will end and it will level out and this may be one earmark to sell. I mean, it’s very easy to look back and chart the price growth to see where you ”shoulda, coulda, woulda” sold; but it’s much more difficult when you’re in the middle of it. I think Geelong and Hobart are good examples of strong markets now. And they’d be optimal studies to see when would be a good time to sell into. I worked in Perth for 10 years, go the Dockers and (more footy talk!)