X

173 | Q & A – The BATTLE ROUND: “This” vs “That”

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…

 

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

Demand vs Supply…

 

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!)

 

 

 

172 | The 5 Rules for Mastering the Game of Building Wealth – Chat with Stuart Wemyss

Ever wanted the formula to win the game of building wealth?

Well, folks… you’re in luck! Because today we have a very special guest on who’s going to hand you the GOLDEN RULES of building wealth that are founded in logic, simple maths and supported by historic evidence! (Sounds alright, huh?)

Joining us is Stuart Wemyss, author of the newly-released book Investopoly, and Founder of ProSolution, who has over 20 years’ experience in financial services. Plus, he comes with a Bachelor of Commerce, is a Chartered account and a repeat guest on the Couch — you might recognise his voice from Episode 81 when he brought the wisdom to long term investing!

So, his new book — again, it’s called “Investopoly” — discusses the 8 Golden Rules for Mastering the Game of Building Wealth… and Stuart’s sharing 5 of them today, and many other hacks to excel at property investing…

 

Stuart’s also kindly giving you the chance to pick up Investopoly for 30% off!!
Just click here, select a physical or an electronic copy and enter exclusive TPC listener discount code: COUCH

 

And, folks — PICA NEEDS YOUR VOICE

PICA has started a petition to campaign against Labor’s poorly thought through Negative Gearing and Capital Gains policy positions. Although Labor is not in Government at the Federal level, they plan to take this policy to the next election.

PICA has serious concerns about what this would mean for the economy, jobs and property prices across Australia.

We are calling on all Australians who don’t want to see the value of their property fall, or who don’t want to see our economy potentially falling into recession, to put your name to this petition.

PICA’s goal is to reach 100,000 signatures before the next election to help Labor understand that this policy is dangerous to the property market and the economy as a whole.

Please sign PICA’s Petition here to stop Labor’s Negative Gearing Changes.

 

Today’s reasons for listening:

 

Oh, and before these skips our mind…

  1. You can access Stuart’s blog here (well worth the read!)
  2. If you missed this week’s Facebook Live: catch it here.
  3. And for our new book on Money Management….

 

 

168 | Q & A on What % of your Income should you Spend, Borderless Investing and Smart Money Management Tips

It’s our favourite day of the month folks… Q & A Day!!!

And we’re covering quite a bit in a short & sweet amount of time today— including AN EXCLUSIVE ANNOUNCEMENT for our Couch listeners!!! (As it so happens, this was dropped with, “Yeah, go on, let’s tell ‘em” and a nod of the head… so an absolute scoop.)

Not only that, but also we answer 3 solid questions, thanks to the legends who leave us a SpeakPipe voicemail message (remember: we prioritise your Q if you do this too)!

But back to today’s episode — if you want to know what we think of investing in Hobart, and down in good ol’ Tassy in general (it’s been getting a bit of attention from a fair few property investors), OR you want to find out if now’s the time to invest in Perth … tune in.

But 100% TUNE IN if you’re keen to get on top of your Money SMARTS — we give you a rough rule of thumb for the amount of income you should allocate to your spending habits ie. How much you should spend on Bills, Living and Lifestyle and your Loan/s!!

 

The Q’s we’re answering are:

 

Question about investing in Perth vs Melbourne from David:

Good morning Ben, Bryce & The Stig,

I’m a keen Property Couch listener and thank you for your time generously sharing all your knowledge — it’s much appreciated. Just about myself, specifically: I’m a property investor with 3 properties — 2 in Perth, one in Brisbane. I’m a medical specialist with a good income and I’m looking to go again. I have a 900K pre-approval and looking at either Perth or Melbourne through a Buyers Agent. Clearly the Buyers Agent have biases… the Perth guy things Melbourne is a terrible place to Invest and the Melbourne guy thinks Perth is a terrible place to invest. If you had 900K, you wanted to go now and are a Buy and Hold investor that lines up with your ideas around a good quality growth asset, what would you do?
Thanks very much & come on the Dockers!

 

Question about Money Management Habits from Nerida:

What percentage of my income should be allocated to living and lifestyle account, primary account and payments account?

 

Question about investing in Tasmania from Stuart:

Hey guys, I just wanted to get your opinion on whether you’re focusing your attention on Tasmania? The reason for that question is I was just on a work trip to Tasmania last week, and there was a lot of commentary on the radio about shortage of supply in rental accommodation; even talk of people living in tents. I didn’t really get full across it … but something to do with legislation taking a long time to release land or planning approvals taking a long time, so bureaucracy essentially. I just wondered if any of this shortage of supply means your Buyers Agents were looking a little more closely at Tasmania, certainly on Hobart … I’m not sure whether somewhere like Launceston comes into that. But yeah, really interested in your take on what’s going on in Tasmania at the moment, especially people looking to make an investment entry sub- $500,000 as places like Melbourne and Syd make that harder to achieve. Interested on your opinion. Thanks very much!

 

P.S. The webinar we mention:

Webinar: Property Hotspots & How To Find Them: CLICK HERE to Watch

 

167 | When you SHOULDN’T use a Buyers Agent?

Alright, folks! Let’s bring on Episode 167!!

Today is all about Buyers Agents… and when you SHOULDN’T use one!

Yep — it might seem a bit strange considering Bryce is one… but we’re going there! And why? Well, we’ve received a couple of questions recently about the cost of a Buyers Agent, and whether or not this represents value for money

So, how much (in $$) is a reasonable Buyers Agent fee? — and WHY exactly do they charge what they do?

More importantly, how can you tell if you’re dealing with a Spruiker?

 

… just a heads up before we jot down the 2 questions we’ll be answering Folks, the 2nd question is particularly long, so if you can’t catch everything Bryce says on the podcast, we’ve got you covered below 🙂

So, the questions that came in are:

 

1st Question:
“Good afternoon Team. I have organised an interview with a Buyers Agent and they told me what I should do, which has been in line with the fundamentals of The Property Couch. But the bottom line is it’s $15,000 for them to find my first investment house! I wanted to think about the best way forward, and ever since they keep ringing, and picking on my FOMO, which has since turned me off using them. What I want to know is, what risk do Buyers Agents hold and are accountable for? Because as far as I can see, they don’t hold any risk in regard to a return on the investment I am left with. Should people place an act against its members to ensure a warranty or guarantee in place to hold these business accountable?”

 

2nd Question:
“Hi Ben. I have a question on using Buyers Agents. I am genuinely considering using a Buyers Agent; but the cost is much higher than other property professionals. I think that if the price was affordable, very few people would fall prey of the spruikers. Here’s what I mean: solicitors are equally important partners in buying a property and they are appropriately trained and their role is important — it’s actually mandatory to use a solicitor or a conveyancer and yet they don’t take advantage of the fact that you can’t buy property without them. Most charge around $2000 — and one can pay even less with conveyancers — I’ve used conveyancers twice in Victoria and paid $770. They arranged settlement, made sure your bank doesn’t delay to settle, they advise me on the contract, their fee is NO WHERE NEAR that of a Buyers Agent. BA charge around 10K when buying a $450,000 house, this is more than 3% — that’s a very high price to pay for financial advice. The other important person for a property investor is a building and pest inspector — and yet they are nowhere near what a BA charges… $100 will get you a building and pest inspection. Another important person — around $600 will get you tax information from an accountant so one can have a clearer picture on how one’s decision will affect one’s position, one can see whether they can afford the investment, they can also do the tax … and yet they charge nowhere near the BAs. Financial Advisors are equally important. They charge about $700 – $2000 their fees are around 1% of investment, the rate charge for investments in SMSF is also around 1%. This includes financial advice, assistance with selecting, usually investing in shares, which can be more risky than property. This is why I think BAs are overpriced and are very good at instilling fear in property investors when they fall into the hands of Spruikers.

The irony of this that the equity they normally use to buy an IP is usually from their home, which they bought themselves. I think that if a BA charged around $2,000 more people would use them and spruikers would be out of business. I’m also aware that some BA provide financial and strategy advice and, therefore, feel as if they should charge more. I don’t think most of them are qualified financial advisors, but they charge more than financial advisors. To be fair to them, they don’t call themselves as financial advisors but, rather strategists, which is the additional serving to source a property. I don’t think mum and dad need a strategy plan every time they buy a property, and yet they pay for this every time they buy a property through a BA. And the ones I have spoken to say they charge so much because they don’t only do sourcing. Financial Advice can be done once, and one can pay, say, $1000 – $2,000 session for the planning, formulation of the strategy and the sourcing … be not more than $2,000, which is less than a lot of property investment professionals. I think the high cost of BAs and the fear in which they instill in investors make those who can’t afford their exuberant price fall into the advice of spruikers.

I’ve identified a region I want to buy in Adelaide and want someone who can view properties for me and buy for me. I’ve already seen a Financial Planner and strategist and what is remaining is the property. I’ve done my adequate research, I’ve contacted a BA and the average price is $10 – $15K and I fail to find justification in this fee. I know that a provider of this service can charge whatever they want as someone on the other side of the transaction is willing to pay that much.

My question is: I wanted to ask you as a Financial Advisor whether you find Buyers Agents fees reasonable?

164 | Q&A – How to Avoid Poor Loan Structure

It’s Q & A Day, folks!!

Off the back of last night’s webinar, “7 Deadly Sins of Building a Property Portfolio” we’ve got plenty of questions leftover that we reckon are going to help you with ALL THINGS LOANS and INVESTMENT LENDING!!!

Before it kicks off though … we’ve got a BIG announcement (well, big news for Bryce!!)… so make sure you keep an ear out!

So, we’ve got SIX questions to get through, which will help you in avoiding poor loan structure and more importantly, your planning stage of building a property portfolio!

 

Question from Mark:

I have a PPR mortgaged at the moment, as does my girlfriend. We wish in the future to turn both into investment properties and buy a further property to live in long term. Should we be spending money doing any works to the properties that we currently live in? Or should we spend the bare minimum and save every cent for our “together” house?

 

Question from Laudy:

I thought they’d changed the PPR loans and didn’t allow interest only loans anymore — how can this be done?

 

Question from Dean

Can you use equity in your investment properties to wipe out your PPR mortgage?

 

Question from Chris:

I understand the concept of “tapping into property 1’s equity” but HOW do we do it? Is a Line of Credit an appropriate method? Is this with the same bank or a different bank? Thanks guys, appreciate the help!

 

Question from Matt:

In the case studies it shows the debt on investment properties being paid off over time. When do you switch from IO to P&I? Should you refinance after 5 years to extend IO period as long as possible or switch to P&I when your cash flow allows?

 

Question from Shanki:

Regarding loan structure, can I use the equity from 1 property to pay the deposit for 2 separate investment properties? Is it similar to collateral?

 

 

p.s. Here are all the links for today’s podcast!

 

 

 

Instagram

Free Resources

What to be notified when there are
new updates & free resources?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

×

MONEY SMARTS SYSTEM

Plus We Will Also Notify You When We Release New Episodes

We Only Send You Awesome Stuff

×

SUGGEST A GUEST!

We Only Send You Awesome Stuff

×