Beginner's guide: How to take bolder steps in property investment

However, like almost every new investor, he was reluctant to take bolder steps after his initial purchase.

He shared: “Once you get into that spot where the rent starts taking over and it kind of covers itself, I just thought, ‘Oh, this is pretty good.’ And then I thought, one property's not gonna do it, but that was all I thought about.”

“I didn't know how to refinance or pull equity out of properties and all that stuff,” the budding investor added.

Looking back into his impressive career as a professional swimmer, Mr Abood thought it might be beneficial if he took this sporting principle and applied it to property investment—the importance of education and mentorship.

While he dedicated his time to improve his knowledge about the venture, he also took it upon himself to seek the guidance of experts and professionals. In the same way that his coach, training partners and sports specialists have helped him succeed as an athlete, he believed that surrounding himself with reliable property experts and professionals will help him succeed in his wealth-creation journey.

Working with professionals

One of the main catalysts of his decision to involve experts and professionals in his wealth-creation journey is the overwhelming supply of investment properties that he could choose from.

He, of course, educated himself about the fundamentals that he needed to look for and spent the time to personally look for investments to purchase. However, for some reason, the closer he gets to a final decision-making, the more he second-guesses himself.

Mr Abood explained: “I would spend a lot of time looking around different parts of Australia and reading different pieces in the media on the Domain and realestate.com.au and blogs and podcasts, and I would get pretty close to finding a place that I thought was good to buy but I didn't have the conviction to act on it.”

Going through this mean cycle convinced him that he needed advanced skills to help him determine the best properties to put in his portfolio.

“That's when I went out and started really seeking some professional input around that asset selection piece. I was close in what I was doing and where I was looking but I wasn't sort of where these guys are at,” he said.

Having his own opinions proved to be fruitful as he did not only make the right decisions but also became an overall better investor.

However, despite the guidance he gets from professionals, Mr Abood knows that his investment strategy will work best only if he continues to educate himself and actively participates in making his portfolio grow. In other words, he strongly encouraged working with them as opposed to simply having them work for you.

According to him: “It's not as simple as going and handing over all responsibility to someone. It's about nearly making the decision yourself but having those people come in and complement what you're doing.”

Picking your teammates

As easy as it may sound to seek professional guidance, there are a lot of experts in the field with a lot of varying opinions.

Mr Abood believed that there’s no harm in taking your time to shop around in order to find your perfect match—so much so that he went through four buyer’s agents before he finally settled with one.

While all of the four agents were, by all means, great at what they do, the investor chose the one based on two simple criteria: (1) the one who understands his goals, capabilities and limitations as an investor, and (2) the one he was most comfortable working with.

According to him, it’s important that he is still capable of making the final decision at the end of the day, without any pressure whatsoever.

He said: “I really wanted to make sure that I was making a decision that I was comfortable with. I met with Steve, my buyer’s agent, and we got along well and I really liked the way they set things out and plan things and, obviously, we have a no-pressure environment.”

Going back to the basics

Working with professionals throughout his journey has helped Mr Abood be in touch with the fundamentals of property investment. Like a lot of investors before him, he believes that these fundamentals are the foundation of a strong portfolio.

His final advice for his fellow budding investors: “If you're starting out on something, it's important to get those foundational aspects correct so you can have a good platform to leverage off.”

“It's the same in sport. You can get lucky sometimes but if you're not doing the basic things, like your basic fitness, basic skills improvement, basic strength stuff, or eating the right food and getting enough sleep, at some point in time, that will come back to bite you,” he concluded.

Tune in to Matt Abood’s episode on The Smart Property Investment Show to know more about his transition from an elite athlete to a dedicated property investor.