How financial teams can give property investors more options in life

According to Troy: "You want to have the most property, and that drives people, but sometimes it's a strength and sometimes it [could] be a weakness as well. So sometimes you got to step back, because there's a whole lot of other things you want to do in life that aren't 150 investment properties."

"The reason why I use a lot of advisers is that I don't want to be walking around doing, looking at properties on the weekend. I don't want to be dealing with banks on finance, I don't want to be worrying about compliance around my taxation. I want someone else to sort that out for me, so I can spend time with my family right. That's a choice that I get to make. It's [a] balance," he added. 

Troy said there are more to life than property investment, no matter how much financial freedom and stability you want for yourself and your family. At the end of the day, it is important to strike a balance between enjoying the present and preparing for the future.

"You're gonna wake up one day and you're gonna be old. You can't go on that gold trip, you can't go overseas with your mates, you can't go on that surfing trip," Troy warned.

"Sometimes, on the way through, you have a stop and listen to the music.

"I view property investment as a business, and in business, I like to be the best I possibly can be. I try and drive it pretty hard, but it's not all consuming."

Moreover, giving too much focus on your property investment journey tends to backfire after a while according to Tony. Many property investors often find themselves lost and overwhelmed not only when something does not go their way, but also ironically, even when they achieve their short-term goals.

His advice to investors: Invest for a living, not just for retirement.

"Talking to hundreds and hundreds of clients about, 'I want to invest, I need eight properties so I can retire in eleven years and five months and two days'," Tony shared.

"Then they get there, and then they're a bit lost and sort of empty. I used to talk to the clients about this all the time—invest so you can do what you want to do for a living. Not so much just for retirement.

"My property investment strategy is to create wealth. So then I can go and start businesses, do things, and take opportunities that I'd like to take, as opposed to just working towards a flat dead retirement date, which doesn't get me too excited."

Choosing the right financial team

While it is important that the members of an investor's financial team is an expert in property investment, Troy, Tony, and Phil believes that one must also find like-minded people who they enjoy spending time with to take with them on their property investment journey.

"If you wouldn't have them around to meet your wife and kids and have them to your house for a BBQ because they just don't cut that mustard, then you shouldn't do business, you shouldn't take [their] advice," according to Troy.

Find people who know what they are doing, and who, at the same time, gives you confidence as an investor and a good time as a friend. After all, a property investment journey is not a one year thing. Many go on for decades, and having people you like around you to help and guide you is one sure way to enjoy the ride and ultimately achieve your goals.

"You got to work with people that enjoy you, you want to invest with people who enjoy your time. [Find people] you enjoy conversing about your loves with—whether it be property, whether it be music or anything else, or business. [It makes] the whole thing a lot easier," Troy concluded.

Tune in to Troy Phillips and Tony Caine's episode in The Smart Property Investment Show to know more the ways in which investors can channel their sales profits and leverage their debt, and why they believe that having an entrepreneurial edge and investing in one’s self is the key to investment success.