Property investors need an investment team. Regardless if you are a first time property investor or a seasonal experienced one, good investment decisions are made when you have the support of an investment team. A team that you can outsource trusted responsibilities making the process seamless and more efficient. An investment team doesn’t have to cost you more, but it will enhance your investment returns, so it should make you more money.
When investing in property, here is a listed of trusted partners that can/will contribute to your helping achieve the best outcome.
Buyer’s advocate:
A buyer’s advocate is a critical member of your team. You’ll find a real estate agent often services and works for the vendor with the intent of selling their property. While a buyers advocate services and works for the buyer. It is the buyer’s advocate’s best interest to source a property to match your budget. They remove a significant amount of time, help remove some emotional attachment by keeping within the budget and also do their due diligence on the property. The buyer’s advocate will complete a due diligence in advance to presenting a recommendation.
They can also negotiate on price, assist in the paperwork and connect you with many of the below trusted partners that can make up your investment team.
Property manager:
A property manager can highly contribute to enhancing your investment returns. A trusted partner that is highly underrated. A property manager’s role is to not just source a tenant, they manage the property, ensuring its taken care of, collect the rental income and also take care of unforeseen problems. Managing tenant disputes, property repairs/maintenance, loss of rent, VCAT hearings and insurance claims is no easy task. An excellent property manager has a clear understanding on the landlords and tenant responsibilities. The rules and regulations constantly change.
If you select the right property manager, they will just about do everything for you. As an investor, you can then direct your attention on your employment and personal life.
Accountant (not tax agent):
An accountant can set the entire landscape of your investment journey. One of the greatest incentives and reasons why investors turn to buying real estate is the tax benefits. Property investment can be very rewarding and tax effective. A qualified accountant can provide advice around property ownerships (individuals, trusts, companies etc), while help you manage your record keeping.
An accountant is responsible for managing your property assets by recording/tracking all of the income and expenses associated to the property. They will also assist in managing capital gains tax or losses and help maximise your tax benefits which help increase your overall investment returns.
Conveyancer/solicitor:
The conveyancer plays an important aspect to completing the property transaction (either from buying or selling). Conveyancing is a legal process used to execute these transfers. Both buyers and sellers require a conveyancer or solicitor to guide them through the process. They do a lot of work behind the scenes, but they ultimately help with a smooth settlement.
Mortgage/finance broker:
A mortgage/finance broker is your official gate-keeper. Before sourcing an investment property, than can identify your borrowing capacity and loan repayments. One of the great benefits of buying a property is that you can borrow large sums of money to purchase your first/next property. However, obtaining finance can be quite difficult. The best way to apply for finance is through a mortgage broker.
Quantity surveyor:
As mentioned earlier, an investment property is not only a rewarding asset as it earns a regular rental income and long term capital growth, it also offers some very nice tax deductions. Most notably tax depreciation. This is a really nice way to increasing your overall return, but to maximise the tax depreciation entitlement, you’ll need a quantity surveyor. A specialist in establishing a depreciation schedule. A company like BMT Tax Depreciation (BMT), can give an estimate of the likely tax depreciation deductions before a property is even purchased.
A tax depreciation schedule should then be ordered as soon as a property is purchased to start claiming depreciation deductions for capital works deductions (Division 43) and plant and equipment deductions (Division 40). Only a tax depreciation specialist like BMT can be relied upon to maximise claims while maintaining detailed knowledge of all current ATO Tax Rulings relating to depreciation.
Financial adviser/planner:
A financial planner can help investors establish a cash flow budget so they can meet the regular loan repayments and/or outgoing expenses. They can also help with estate planning, insurance (such as house insurance, landlord cover, life insurance and income protection) to ensure you have a contingency plan. A great financial planner can also help plan your future and create a variety of strategies to increase your financial worth. If you are a passionate property investor, a financial planner can fast track your success so that you can buy your next investment property sooner.
They can also do some financial modelling or forecasting to determine how many properties you’ll need to own to support your income needs in retirement.
Do you want help buying an investment property?
There are many benefits of owning an investment property. At Crest Property Investments, we help source properties for buyers. If you’d like to learn more about buying a property, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We would welcome the opportunity to help with your property purchase.
Our YouTube channel and Market Insights also provide a wealth of information to assist you with many areas relating to property.
While we have taken care to ensure the information above is true and correct at the time of publication, changes in circumstances and legislation after the displayed date may impact the accuracy of this article. If you want to learn more please contact us. We welcome the opportunity to assist you.
March 2023
