3 top lessons from a property educator and investor

Over time, these lessons have distilled into three lessons that has helped her and others invest into property.

1. Stay calm through market cycles 

When a market you are investing into starts to decline, Ms Shabanz recommended investors should not be worrying, as they need to keep in mind the basic fact that markets move in cycles.

“You’re not dictated by the market, so when the market’s down, you understand it’s always a cycle, so you can hold on when the cycle's on a downturn depending on where you live and you're in control of when you sell,” Ms Shabanz said to Smart Property Investment.

“The reason people usually sell is because they can’t afford it or they’re looking at changing their circumstances, so … you’re always factoring that in.”

2. Be flexible with where you invest

Investing with a narrow mind can have an opportunity and financial cost. That’s why Ms Shabanz keeps her investment opportunities open by just looking at what’s popular across a variety of markets.

“I’m not opposed to purchasing inner-city apartments, I’m not opposed to houses, I’m not opposed to renovating; I think you just need to understand that what you’re doing, you can afford it, and that its cash flow really works out for you.

“So, I’ve made good money buying apartments just as much as I’ve made form building, renovating a whole property, which is [on] land in a really good suburb.”

3. Just keep it simple

Although property investment can be a complicated process, Ms Shabanz said it was important investors did not fall to information overload and become stuck in the decision-making process, a topic she had discussed previously.

“I’ve just found that there’s a lot of people that, like with the information overload, no one’s really breaking it down, and I think, for me I’ve been able to do it successfully … and what I’ve found is, it’s just making it simple,” Ms Shabanz said.