Investopoly

Most investors and some homeowners have interest only loans. However, the option to repay interest only doesn’t last forever. Most mortgages have a term of 30 years. Typically, the first 5 years is interest only. After that term has expired, repayments automatically convert to principal plus interest. If you have an interest only loan that is approaching the maturity of its term, what are your opt...

It feels like there is more global uncertainty at the moment. Things such as a global or domestic economic recession, US/China trade war tensions, Brexit, Trump’s rhetoric, the prospect of zero (or negative) interest rates, what property prices might do here, all seem to dominate the news. You may find these matters confusing and they can create inertia. So, how do you navigate these seemingly tur...

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, first homeowner activity has increased by 51% since March 2016. First home buyers now account for just short of 20% of all new home loans. Whilst housing affordability has improved slightly recently, it is still tough for first home buyers to get onto the property ladder. However, the current low interest rate environment and the recent dip in pric...

In my experience, it is common for one spouse to have a greater interest in the family’s finances. In fact, the spouse that is ‘most interested’ typically takes fully responsibility for making the family’s financial decisions. However, there are some fundamental and important flaws with this approach which I’d like to share with you. What happens if one spouse unexpectantly passes away? If the spo...

The media loves to talk about the property market; will prices rise or fall over the next year? It’s really not that important. “Timing” the market is virtually valueless, as I concluded in this analysis last year . That said, I understand the psychology behind it. People want to buy at the bottom of the market, just before it takes off and only experience the upside. There has been a lot of comme...

Many people feel investing in the share market is a complex and scary concept. This is often due to a lack of understanding. I have written a number of blogs about the advantages of index investing. However, I thought it might be useful to take a step back and take a look at the basics of share market investing. How does the stock market work? The share market is merely a place where people come t...

Australian’s have a well-documented love affair with property. Many people pursue the “great Australian dream” of owning their own home and over 2.1 million taxpayers invest in property. Most Australian’s also invest in the share market too, via their superannuation. However, one of the decisions that many people struggle with is whether to invest in property, shares or both. And if the answer is...

You would be excused for thinking that developed economies all over the world are gradually making their way to a zero interest rate environment. Long term fixed mortgage rates in the United States are less than 3% p.a. In the UK, rates are under 2% and even lower in Europe (circa 0.50% p.a. in France for example). In Australian this week, 5-year fixed home loan rate fell below 3% p.a. And in Dema...

We all want to stay on the ATO’s good side. No one wants to invite a tax audit. But, at the same time, it is prudent to investigate all opportunities to minimise the amount of tax we pay. This often requires a balance between minimising taxes wherever possible, but not being too aggressive that you risk getting into trouble with the ATO. My view is that you always stick within the black letter of...

A buyers’ agent is a real estate professional that will help you identify and negotiate the purchase of a property according to your specifications. They typically work for property investors but can also be engaged to purchase owner-occupier homes. This blog discussed whether you should use a buyers’ agent and if they are worth the money? Don’t forget, I’m independent! I have no vested interest i...

Borrowing to invest (in property or shares) is typically a good wealth accumulation strategy as long as you do it prudently and adopt a proven methodology to select quality investments. If used wisely, debt can be a very effective tool. However, whilst your investment strategy might require you to get into debt, the strategy must also articulate how you will get out of debt (i.e. repay it). This b...

I have written about cash flow management a couple of times previously ( here and here ) because it is the most important thing to master in order to build wealth. It is also the reason that most people fail to build wealth. In fact, I have never met a wealthy person that doesn’t have good cash flow management. That is not to say they don’t spend money on luxury items. They only spend on luxury it...

To watch the full presentation, go to https://www.prosolution.com.au/recovering-property-market/ My new book is available for pre-order now: Pre-ordering the book will help me get it into bookstores. So please do me a favour - please consider pre-ordering now - links and pre-order bonus are available here: https://prosolution.com.au/book-preorder-bonus Do you have a question for the podcast? Email...

Two weeks ago, APRA told the banks that it no longer expects them to use a benchmark interest rate of 7.25% when testing an applicant’s borrowing capacity. Instead, they must add a buffer of at least 2.50% onto the loan’s interest rate. Given most home loan interest rates are in the 3’s, that could substantially improve your borrowing capacity. The banks are starting to push back on regulators Unt...

The Australian and US share markets reached all-time highs at the end of last week. This is great news for superannuation returns and existing share investors. However, where will the markets go from here? When valuations are high, future returns will be low There is a strong negative correlation between the starting valuation multiple (e.g. price-earnings ratio) and an investor’s subsequent 10-ye...

I say “no” more often than I say “yes”. That is, I decline or defer the opportunity to work with more people than I agree to work with because, ultimately, I think it’s in their best interest. Not everyone is ready for tailored financial advice for lots of reasons as I discuss below. Products are easy to sell, tailored advice is not It’s very easy to buy a financial advice ‘product’ such as a prop...

Every few years The Economist magazine writes a story about how property in Australia is overvalued compared to other countries – or something to that effect. Comparing Australia with other countries is like comparing apples and oranges. Australia is just so different. But this difference creates opportunities for investors that play the long game. Let me explain. Big country and not enough taxpay...

Over the past two years, I have highlighted how tight the credit (mortgage) market has become a couple of times. In the past, borrowing was simple. The bank would always offer you more than you wanted to borrow. You only had to provide a few documents and the money was yours! Things have changed dramatically . These days, banks spend most of their time trying to look for reasons to decline a loan...

Last week Jarrod McCabe and I recorded a presentation about the ALP's proposed changes to tax laws that impact investors. You can watch it here: https://www.prosolution.com.au/webinar-negative-gearing-replay/ In this week's podcast, I summaries answers to 5 questions we addresses: What is the impact on investors (in dollar terms)? What impact will these changes have on the property marke...

The ALP’s proposed ban on negative gearing has been well publicised and debated. However, its proposed changes to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) have received far less attention. I suspect that this is because investors tend to overestimate short-term consequences and underestimate more significant long-term outcomes. But, since most of us are long-term investors, I’d suggest that we should adopt a more...

Different professionals are able to give advice about a specific field – but who’s taking responsibility for looking at the big picture? How do you know if opportunities are slipping between the gaps? What if you have an issue/problem/question that bleeds over a few different fields? Firstly, it is important to understand the what different professionals can and cannot talk about (by law). Mortgag...

An investment property should be selected based on the likelihood of it generating strong capital growth rather than secondary benefits such as rental yield or negative gearing. However, saying that, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t maximise the gearing benefits of your current or future investment property to save on tax! So, if you’re looking to purchase an investment property or currently have on...

Understanding how property growth behaves is critical when making buy, hold or sell investment decisions. Unfortunately, I have seen lots of people make terrible decisions based on misinformation or misunderstanding. Therefore, if you are a property investor, you must understand this concept. And if you are an investor with a low asset base, you can use this knowledge to your advantage. History al...

“First rule of business is never get emotional about stock, clouds the judgment.” Gordon Gekko, from the movie Wall Street The quote above is from the fictional character, Gordon Gekko from the legendary 1987 movie, Wall Street . The challenge he was alluding to is the fact that it’s impossible to have a completely impartial lens when making financial decisions. There are many reasons for this. Fi...

The ALP announced on Friday (29/3/19) that it will ban negative gearing from 1 January 2020 if it wins the election next month. I wrote an article for The Australian newspaper over the weekend which addresses the steps property investors can take to fortify their investments (which I list below). A number of people have asked me whether they should invest in property prior to 1 January 2020. I dis...