Is it too late for recent empty nesters to invest?

According to Smart Property Investment’s Phil Tarrant, as in most cases one must get into property investment as soon as he feels the urge to actively engage in the market and create wealth.

“I reckon irrelevant of whether or not it’s time to start investing in property because your children have left home or you still have children sitting at home, if you are not yet in property investment and you want to get into property investment, get into property investment as quickly as you possibly can. As soon as you can feasibly afford to invest in property, start doing,” he said.

Similar to his advice for other investors, young and old, Phil said that parents with an empty nest must avoid procrastinating and just start getting themselves ready for the journey through good education and proper goal setting.

If it’s “never too early” to invest, the journalist and property investor believes that it can also never be too late to get into property investment.

He said: “My advice, get going as quickly as you can. Don’t procrastinate too much, get educated, understand what your goals are. There are a number different advisers that are out there that can give you a roadmap or a blueprint to invest in property. But as you start doing it, start doing it.”

Rich Harvey of propertybuyer.com.au added that empty nesters are actually at an advantage as they have more “disposable income.”

However, like all investors, they must be careful and discerning when making decisions. Many people who get into property investment at an older age may feel that they haven’t got much time left and may, therefore, be tempted to take shortcuts towards their goals.

According to Rich: “I do see a lot of clients come to us and they might be in their 50s. They’ve just got their own home and they haven’t started anything, and they think, ‘Have I left it too late?’ No, you haven’t left it too late, but they’re just going to have to calibrate their expectations as to what they can achieve in the next 10 to 15 years before retirement.”

“As you get closer to retirement, you do get more motivated with those decisions, and it’s really important – whatever stage but particularly as you’re heading toward retirement – not to make mistakes in the decisions you’re making. Don’t take shortcuts. You know, a lot of people think, ‘Oh gosh, I’ve already got, you know, a 100 grand in my Super fund. I’ve got to really ramp it up so I’ll go and do, you know, really fancy CFDs or options or some other fancy kind, of course, to get rich quick.’ Don’t do that. You know, just get solid investment properties behind you, get the right advice, and you’ll do well,” he concluded.

Tune in to The Smart Property Investment Show’s Q&A session to know more about finding the best professionals to take with you on your investment journey, as well as creating the right investment strategy and ramping up your wealth creation efforts.