So when you look at this from a property point of view it surprises me that more people do not join either a mentoring program or use a mentor. Part of the reason for this is that many people believe that property investing is easy and they believe that they know more than they do. However I have had students of mine tell me that to be successful in Property you have to expect to lose some money along the way. This is in fact rubbish. Provided that you carefully research what you are doing and plan for the results you want, you should never lose money in property. Most people lose money because they simply do not do the research and buy what they think might be ok.  The end result is often people cost themselves tens of thousands of dollars because of poor research or listening to the wrong people.

So if you look at your results consider, if you had a mentor who had strong property investment experience would you be in a stronger position today. Because great investing comes from great planning, it is essential that you work with your mentor to work out what you future direction should be.

Even when like me you do this full time you do not know everything. It is about also surrounding yourself with the right people. As an example I note that there are a number of courses that teach you how to be a property developer. However I have yet to meet anyone without experience who has done this successfully. Although I develop and teach throughout Australia I work with a team of very experienced people who have been doing what they specialize in for years. Between us we have the knowledge and experience to not only put the projects together but also mentor those people that wish to be involved.

So when you next consider should I join a mentoring program or use the services of a mentor consider what you are trying to achieve. How much spare time do you have? How much knowledge do you have? That is different to how many properties do you have. I have met many people with large portfolios however it does not mean that they have brought successfully. A good mentor will review what you have done and then assist you to draw up a life and business plan to maximize your future investing goals. So if you want to go to the next level seriously consider obtaining a mentor. This type of service will help fast track your plans and help you achieve your goals and dreams at a much quicker pace.

If you feel that this could make a difference to your life contact me today no a no obligation chat to see how I can assist you with your future plans. I can be contacted at nigel@propertyknowhow.com.au or on 0412 345735.

When you are contemplating investing in either shares or property you need to plan carefully and treat it as a business. Business owners know that they can have the best ideas in the world, however without the right staff it may fail. Likewise, if you are going to be a successful investor or trader it is also critical to have your own experts to advise you. The great benefit is that you do not need to hire full time staff, allowing you to select the best people with the greatest expertise in their field to assist you.

The first professional to appoint who will be at the forefront of any investment strategy it is important to appoint a mortgage broker with a strong knowledge of investing. Although there are a lot of mortgage brokers only a handful specialize and understands investing and fewer still when it comes to commercial and construction finance. At Perry Finance both Alistair and Cameron Perry are both investors and fully understand what is required to meet investor’s requirements. Often the overall success of an investor will be maximized by the way the strategy is financed. For a good broker will look at your income and work out what you can afford to borrow. They will work hand in hand with both you and your investment strategy experts to work out your before and after tax position.  In many cases they may well recommend less than what the bank is prepared to lend you. Your team members should always be on your side and look after your interests.

The next professional to appoint to your team is a first class property accountant. A quality accountant will assist you establish the correct structure and help manage your business effectively for you. A top tier accounting firm should have an understanding of how to maximize your deduction. They will formalize all the claims that you will need to make to the tax department. Along with the depreciation schedule there are a number of other expenses that you can claim such as advertising for tenants, body corporate, land tax, gardening, and Real Estate agents fees and of course interest, just to name a few. An accountant without suitable property knowledge could well be costing you thousands of dollars. So the accountant that you choose is critical to your overall success. If your account does not invest, or does not understand structures, it may be time to change.

You will also require a solicitor, someone with the experience to fully understand not only the most detailed contracts but also be able to handle the most difficult of problems, should they arise. Many people today choose to use conveyance companies. They normally have the skills to deal with a straight forward transaction however if a problem arises you will need to involve a solicitor. If you are purchasing an off the plan property the contracts can be extremely detailed and require far more scrutiny than a vendors statement for an established property.

Plus if you are involved in a development project it will be the solicitor working hand in hand with your accountant who will establish the trust structure for you to acquire a development site.

If you are investing in property then the next person on your team is a quantity surveyor. Their role is to provide the depreciation schedule that will allow you to make claims against your tax. A good quantity surveyor will know how to claim the maximum possible depreciation for both the replacement cost of the building and fixture and fittings. They are the only profession recognized by the tax department to write a depreciation schedule. Without a depreciation schedule you may be missing out on a large amount of tax deductions.  In partnership with your accountant they should when processing your tax return, pick up if you have not been maximizing your claims. Providing you order a depreciation schedule you can make back claims for up to the last four years.

As an investor, it is important to manage your risk. Many people in Australia are under insured. We know that around 1 million dollars invested will produce an income of around $50,000 per annum. What that means is that if you have less than that in life cover and acquired assets, you may well leave your loved ones with a major short fall in the event of your early death. Income protection is another important product, for it is well and good to invest, however if you became ill and could not work, how would you pay for your investments? Income protection will in most case cover around 70% of your income until you are 65.  These are just a few of the ways a good insurance specialist will assist you with a first class risk management strategy.

Finally there is myself, Nigel Kibel. I have brought and traded properties for a number of years both in Australia, New Zealand and also in the United States. I am passionate about property investment and education. During 2012, Property Know How will be offering a full mentoring program to teach people how not only to invest but really buy property at wholesale prices and help take the guest work out of investing.

Often people ask my advice about how to be successful so I ask them what are their goals?

In many cases I get answers such as “I want a lot of money”.” I want enough money in retirement”, “I want to do the things that I enjoy” so on and so forth. Most people know that they want more but have no understanding as to what that really is.

Often when I speak at seminars, I ask if anyone in the room will not be able to buy food that night. So far no one has. In Australia most of us can feed and clothe ourselves. So in most cases the question is what do we really want from our lives rather than how much money can I make.

Most people in life do not feel successful because they really do not know what they want. This often leads to low self-esteem and sense of  failure.  Why is that do you think? Well most people who are self-employed need to work out a careful business plan. Many do not and in my opinion, this is the reason that many small businesses go broke.

So when looking at your own lives the question should be, what is our most important business?

The answer of course is our lives.

Therefore why do we not spend more time planning our lives? Perhaps it’s because most people do not know how and many people get caught up in life and forget to look at what is really important. When was the last time you said to yourself “What happened to 2011”

When you plan it gives you more control and it helps you to focus.

Before you do anything you need to sit down and construct a life plan. The plan should include your financial goals and your personal objectives. Before you can sort out a financial plan you need to work out what your overall direction is to be.

So sit down and start writing down some goals, it could be planning your next holiday, your first investment, your 20^th investment, a new partner. It does not matter what it is. It is important that you start to establish a direction.  Only by having a solid direction can you hope to plan your future?

Through the Property Know How Mentoring program the first thing we assist you to do is to draw up a life plan and help you work out each stage of the plan. Once you have done this you can go into more detail on your various points and topics including who you need on your team.

Most of the indicators would suggest that in 2011 the property markets had bottomed and we should see steady growth throughout most of Australia for the remainder of the year.

So as an investor what does that mean for you? 

Firstly if you are buying into the bottom of the market there is a lot of potential upside. In other words if you buy well there will be a great opportunity for you to increase your equity as the market improves.

Secondly as the market has remained tight for the last 12 months with limited construction taking place across Australia, we have again seen a shortage of rental properties. So that means that properties are achieving record rents in many of our capital cities across Australia.

Where are the opportunities?

It is true that there are opportunities throughout Australia. However one of my picks for 2012 is Brisbane. The reason for this is because of the floods that occurred around 12 months ago, along with a lack of confidence in the Queensland  government, have led to a serious lack of confidence in the local economy and that has fed into the Property Market. Because of this, it is my view that the Brisbane market is undervalued compared to most other cities in Australia. For instance you will pay a lot less for property compared to Melbourne or Sydney and yet rents are about the same with an inner city 1 bedroom apartment commanding more than $400 per week.

I think that with a change of government in NSW, the property market appears to be improving. However it is still an expensive market. In Melbourne the property market has been steady for most of 2011 and there are signs that there will be improvement in 2012. Most other property markets we currently have under review.

I think we will need to watch Europe carefully in the first quarter. I think that it is highly likely that a number of countries will default on their debt. Although I think it is unlikely to have a major effect on the Australian economy, there is a strong chance that it could lead to a liquidity problem in our finance markets making construction finance tight in 2012.

So how can you take advantage of this market?

At Property Know How we work closely with property investors and assist them to take advantage of current market conditions and allow them to buy property at genuine wholesale prices.

We do this by helping our clients acquire quality inner city development sites by target projects that are out of reach for small developers and investors. We place our investors into these projects where they are receiving the development margins. So remember when the market is down it creates great opportunities. So always remember to be informed, think outside the square and ignore negativity.

In New Zealand where there is no compulsory superannuation and coupled with lower incomes the situation is even more bleak. Nearly all Western countries are facing similar problems. In the United States people have fewer savings than Australians and their debt ratios are far higher. The Baby Boomers may well cripple some countries.

If the current predictions are true, then what effect will this have on Australia and New Zealand? Here we come to the second problem; thirty years ago the average family was having three children. Today only two out of four couples marry and only two out of four have children. We are also having children at a much later age today where the average first time mums are 30 compared to 21 thirty years ago. With many professional women starting families in their late thirties. What this means, is that we are not replacing our current population.

If we follow the facts through, it will indicate that we will not have enough people in the workforce to fill all the jobs. This means that there will be less tax payers than there are today. So with the number of people aged over 65 doubling in the next twenty years, where are the funds coming from to support them?

Although a GST will help, if people are spending less then there is less money in circulation and less being collected in taxes.

Rather than retire, many Australians and New Zealanders will have to work far longer than they do at present. That is, if people wish to maintain something close to the lifestyle they have today.

So what can we do about these issues? Firstly and most importantly we must save more. We cannot keep spending more than we earn. That is the quickest way to go broke. The 9 percent superannuation is not enough. If you are hoping to live at least 20 years in retirement on an income of around $50,000 per year you will need around one million dollars in either invested funds or property. That’s cleared funds without debt. There is no other option. The government in Australia could do far more to encourage long term savings. In New Zealand when it comes to property investment they have no capital gains tax, no stamp duty, and the rate of depreciation is double compared to Australia. This encourages New Zealanders to save. In the United States all mortgages are tax deductible, in other words you can negatively gear your own home. The taxes in Australia are simply too high. The Australian government must make significant changes to our tax system to encourage us to save. If they fail to do this most of us will face a bleak future.

So what can you do?

Well you can buy a house and land package or an off the plan property and pray that the markets goes up and hope that you have not paid too much for it. Or you can buy wholesale. The only way to do that is to develop property. At Property Know How we put you in the box seat by making you the developer and thereby collect the development margin and by wholesale from day one.