We all share the same goals we want to achieve through investment: increased financial freedom, stability and comfort for our future and secure retirement, to name just a few.
But we also want to know that the process of achieving these goals can be achieved in a safe but cost-effective manner.
These four everyday couples, who are on the verge of building a large portfolio of real estate, started with nothing more than the vague idea that they wanted to invest in real estate. So how did they go from "potential investors" to real, successful owners?
To achieve this, it was necessary to find a mentor with five fundamentals, according to this group of OpenCorp clients, who are novice investors in the market in the process of building a large real estate portfolio.
The four investors, whom we interviewed to understand their background, identified education, mentoring, hand-holding, support and targeting results as the key principles that any real estate investment mentor must have.
All of the investors we interviewed were new to the world of real estate investing because we wanted to see how a budding investor trusted a mentor with a multi-million dollar portfolio of dollars. Here are their stories.
Anthony Joyce
Anthony Joyce did not start investing until a few years ago, but having already benefited from a capital growth of more than $ 350,000, he is about to take a financially free retirement.
Anthony and his partner found themselves in a familiar position: they knew that they had to do something to improve their financial situation, but they did not know what would be the safest and safest way of doing business. ;invest.
This is a problem for many investors for the first time, especially when, as new investors, you do not know what is realistic about a real estate portfolio.
"We were building a deposit to start investing and we were doing research. We went to a few seminars and looked for different companies that help investors, but none of them really ticked all the boxes for us. When we read Cam's book, it's the catalyst that has allowed us to slowly but surely come out of our fear of investing and making it a reality. and once we started, we went from investors opposed to risk aversion to excited investors, "said Anthony.
"We went to a few seminars and looked for different companies that help investors, but none of them really ticked all the boxes for us"
It's not knowing where to start, what to buy or who to trust, who initially threw it for a loop.
"Although we have an important deposit, we have never learned nor learned to invest. It was for us a huge stumbling block and a great step towards a world we knew nothing about. It was very discouraging and it was completely outside our experience or our comfort zone, "he said.
"Now the proof is profit, in that the first property we bought has increased considerably in value. We did reevaluate it and we were able to tap into some of that equity to help us move forward with the third property, so the system itself is working well. And that's exactly what we've been hoping for since the beginning. "
Anthony had a strategy that he wanted to achieve and, even though he was not sure how to achieve it, he knew that it was necessary to surround good people.
He offers this advice to other new investors wishing to follow his example: "I would begin by asking myself the following questions: what do you want to do in the long term and where do you want to end up? From there, find the right people to help you implement it and make sure your strategy is aligned with their vision and expertise. "
Rod and Rachel Wilson
Since their investment five years ago, this couple's portfolio has grown to more than $ 337,000, generating a positive cash flow of $ 6,500 a year.
As new investors, Rod and Rachel's goal was simple in the beginning: to position oneself in a better financial position in the future and "try to do it in the best possible way, with the least amount of stress possible. ".
They knew that investing in cash was not a good idea. But they also did not know how to speed up the process of creating wealth and developing a clear strategy.
"By working with Michael, we have become much wiser as investors. We have somehow gathered information elsewhere as well, but we are checking what we have learned to make sure we are on the right track, "they said.
The hardships of life often force some uninspired investors to make decisions that are not necessarily the most beneficial for their financial goals. For Rod and Rachel, the biggest benefit of using a mentor is having a trusted ear during these times.
"We have become much wiser as investors … we are checking what we have learned to make sure we are on the right track"
"Some people might think that when they start to start a family or when the cost of having kids in the university becomes more expensive, they look to find out if they can still keep their properties and just let their team suggest, "maybe you should try this, maybe you have to adjust this," worked well for us to find alternatives to further develop our portfolio ", explains the couple.
And develop their wallet as they did from 2014 with a brand new construction in the suburb of Greenvale. Located in Providence – a planned development project about 15 miles north of Melbourne's CBD, now home to more than 600 families – the home has grown by more than 25%.
Next came a house at the Freshwater Residential Development Project in Griffn, Moreton Bay, southeastern Queensland. The value of this property has increased by more than $ 50,000 during a booming period in Melbourne and Brisbane.
The couple's most recent investment took place three years ago in the suburbs of Brisbane at Thornlands. Together, these three properties generate strong returns and Rod and Rachel earn $ 125 per week in positive cash flow.
Martin Krajnc
If Martin Krajnc never came across Cam McLellan's book, he would have a good chance he did not become a homeowner and would not have close to $ 380,000 in equity.
Today, Martin owns three investment properties generating a combined positive cash flow of $ 47 per week. But when he started investing half a dozen years ago, he admitted that the process was "very intimidating".
After reading my book, however, Martin realized that there was a real strategy and process for success in investing, and that the concept was simplified.
"This book was the reason I approached OpenCorp. When I started talking to Michael and the team, I realized that they all knew the process from top to bottom and that they were mentors. they were not sellers. I needed an investment mentor who had done it intensively and who could handle it for me. it was the key, "said Martin.
"Do not wait to invest. Time is counted. You need time on the market and the more time you have, the easier it will be "
"It would have taken me a long time to educate myself while going through the stages of obtaining funding and construction – all things that were alien to me at first."
After diving into his first property in 2013, Martin was led to improve his financial situation and his understanding of the broader process of wealth creation. He has bought three investment properties, diversifying his assets across Victoria and Queensland, and declares to have only one regret: he would like to have started earlier.
"My advice to others? Do not wait to invest. Time is counted. You need time on the market, and the longer you are, the easier it will be for you to do it, "he said.
"I am frustrated that I started investing in real estate when I did not do it 10 years ago. I did not have education at the time, but yes, time is running out. "
Howard Wright and Natasha Weir
Howard and Natasha currently have three investment properties in their portfolio, which cost less than $ 100 a week.
As with many other first-time investors, fear kept Howard and Natasha in the beginning.
"I think our biggest fear at first was the whole concept of being wrong," they explain. "There are so many things in which people invest money and then they disappear. Establishing a relationship of trust with people was very important to us, so we knew we should not go wrong. "
"What is remarkable for us is that [OpenCorp] was patient with us. They were always ready to talk about the same things again because it was important that we had "understood" it. It was about building this relationship of trust; they would explain the same thing again and again, just to make us feel comfortable. "
Trust and "skin in the game" is one of the fundamental principles that our team tries to instill in our culture. At OpenCorp, all of our directors have been investing in real estate for over 20 years. Our CEO, Al Lewison, is born of nothing and is now on the BRW Young Rich List with a net worth of more than $ 74 million.
I am also the author of the bestselling book My Four-Year Investor in Property, which shows all stages of the process to potential investors. I wanted there to be no secret in the process – to give couples like Howard and Natasha the opportunity to know the process, both inside and out.
So, despite the fact that Natasha and Howard were worried at first, we were able to help them overcome this barrier of fear. They had added three properties to their portfolio, the first a house in Victoria and two other properties in Queensland.
All properties are brand new and enjoy tax benefits and healthy depreciation, which has reduced their direct expenses to just $ 100 a week. As a result, they can not imagine life now without a growing portfolio of investments.
"Years ago, if someone told us," You will have several properties in more than one state, "we simply did not think it would be something that people like us would have. But now we are at a point where it is nice and fun! "
Cam McLellan
is General Manager of
investment consulting firm
OpenCorp
