Property investors should ‘design their decade’
Property investors who are looking to build wealth through the asset class are being urged to plan their property journey or risk failing, industry experts have warned.
In this episode of Investing Insights, Victor Kumar and the late Steve Waters explained to investors how they should “design their decade” to achieve their investing goals through property. He noted that most investors fall victim to the fallacy that properties double in value every seven to ten years.
“For someone to be really successful in property investing and not end up among the 1.8 million property investors who only own one property, they need to be able to own multiple properties and not just own property,” Kumar said. He believes that “life happens,” often causing property investors to let opportunities pass by instead of challenging themselves to be successful.
“To be really successful in property investment and reap the rewards of their labor, there needs to be a planned progression in the journey,” Kumar asserted. With the wealth of education available about the property market, he believes it is now “unforgivable” for investors to start their property journey without a property plan.
“Most investors start without a plan, but they’re not aiming towards anything. That’s the main message we want to convey: if you haven’t started with the end in mind—whatever that looks like for you—then you’re really heading towards disaster,” Kumar warned.
Investors’ plans should be straightforward and easily digestible, as overly complex plans often fail. “This is where I am, this is what needs to happen, this is where we’re heading, this is the end result, and then you flesh it out per quarter regarding what’s happening with that,” he continued.
Finally, property investors should ensure their plans are flexible, as rigid plans are likely to fail. Using host Phil Tarrant’s property plan as an example, Kumar noted: “What we’ve achieved now is probably nowhere near what the initial plan was because it’s changed; we’ve adjusted and pivoted for any market changes, changes in the business, changes in circumstances, and, of course, as the portfolio grows, the dynamics of it change.”
