Property developer and home stager Dianna Wolfe provides PropertyInvesting.com members with her tips for not just getting through 2013, but also winning the property investing game this year.
Take control
The times when property values just keep going up are over. This year you’ll need to take control to generate profits.
Property development and renovation are both ways to create a brand-new product out of an old property and generate great profits. Maybe in your area, there are opportunities where you can try your hand at vendor financing or create multiple income streams from the one property, perhaps by adding and renting out a granny flat.
Don’t wait and hope, take control.
Be a realist
Get real about how much a property is worth. Check and double-check your figures and if the deal doesn’t work, don’t do it. Create a valuable, rare product and create profit.
Do your existing investments make a profit? Property investment is a business – is your business going to make you a profit or lose you money in 2013?
It may be time to make changes to your underperforming assets. Assess the current returns against what you could be achieving elsewhere. Can you do better?
Ignore the insta-media-hyper-mega-sale-athon
There is such a thing as information and opinion overload and, frankly, I wouldn’t bother listening to any of it this year.
The mainstream media are experts in making generalisations about the property market. But give it some thought: does any of it really relate to you, your investing strategy or your area(s) of expertise?
Those people broadcasting rubbish on Facebook, the internet, in papers, on TV – what exactly are their credentials? Are they multi-millionaires? Are they in the business of property investment?
My advice? Listen to the numbers … numbers never lie.
Change
Don’t be surprised if, this year, there are again major changes in banking. Banks are there to make a profit. If they are not making a profit, they will change the rules to do so.
Think about whether you need a change of area or strategy, or even a change of career, to achieve your goals. Be aware of change … don’t be frightened of it. Instead, work with it.
Go get it
The year ahead is going to be a great one. We’ll have an election and sentiment in the mining states will pick up. Trade with China isn’t going away, the USA didn’t fall off the fiscal cliff and we live in a free country.
So what are you doing? What will you achieve this year?
Write down your goals now and then start planning how to reach them. You are the only person who can live your life, so forget about what others are saying, ask as many questions as you can, and, finally, make sure you go and DO.
Dianna Wolfe is a passionate property developer and renovator. She and her husband, Lee, run their property development and home staging company, Red Door Residential, in the metro area of Melbourne. To find out more about Dianna Wolfe or the home staging services Red Door Residential provide you can check out their website reddoor.com.au.
