Where is the best place to start a property journey?

“A lot of people just think about identifying the property first. That is where a lot of people go wrong because when you start looking at the property, all of a sudden you take on all the white noise that goes on to try and guide you to that property. There’s a number of steps prior to that,” Mr McLellan said.

Guest of the program and Digital Citizen Group’s founder Trevor Young explained this lack of understanding causes property investors to make simple mistakes, such as buying in the local area. 

“When I was looking for an investment property in the early days, I was looking at the flat next door and I didn’t even know why I was doing that.”

“That’s what you do, you just get lost and end up just doing stuff,” Mr Young said.

Mr Young noted that having a process and aligning yourself to the right team makes it easier for investors to make the right choices.

In addition, Mr Beresford explained that property investors also need to be conscious of breaking up the traditional, emotional way of investing in property. 

“Everything we have been taught about property is for us and what we like.” 

“The way we have been brought up is you leave school, you get a good job, you work hard, you save your deposit, you buy a home and because debt is the devil, you want to pay it off as quickly as possible.

“That is what we have been brought up for decades. The way that real estate agents market property, the way they hold open inspection, the auction process, it’s all about what you love and being able to emotionally affiliate with something.”

“How often have you walked down the street on holiday, thinking I love this place, I could live here and buy a holiday home? It happens every summer. Then they get two years down the track and think, ‘We aren’t using it’.”

Instead, investors are urged to think about a process to not only get high-performing properties but avoid expensive mistakes, Mr Beresford concluded.