About Property Investment
The Importance of Getting Professional Advice
Investing in property has been a method of wealth creation for Australians over many years. The process of assisting an investor to acquire property as an investment can be seen as Property Investment Advising. While the Property Investment Advice Industry is not regulated, there exists an accepted framework within which advisers and property professionals should operate to ensure the property investor’s experience is a positive one.
QPIA® QUALIFIED PROPERTY INVESTMENT ADVISER/PROPERTY INVESTMENT ADVISER
A Qualified Property Investment Adviser (QPIA®) is an essential partner for property investors, helping you to make well-considered, strategic property investment decisions.
A QPIA® can work with you to build a personalised, long-term property investment plan, that not only meets your needs and goals today, but builds the right foundation to ensure you meet your future goals and aspirations too.
Furthermore, a property investment adviser can explain the risks associated with investing and ensure your investment plan matches your risk profile.
A qualified property investment plan will usually offer recommendations for investment supported by clear evidence and reasoning as well as guidance around anticipated performance, in terms of capital growth and rental income projections.
Many people might claim to be property investment advisers, but actually are not, so be sure to look for a QPIA®.
QPIA®’s adhere to a strict Code of Conduct and only a QPIA® has the appropriate formal qualifications to provide genuine property investment advice.
Remember, good advice can make all the difference between an average property investment and a thriving one.
There are many professionals who can hold this qualification. Here we outline the services you can expect from personal advisers and property advisers.
Positives of Property Investing
- Provides a potential return in the form of income via rents and growth via increases in market value
- Tax benefits can be obtained through depreciation, negative gearing and other deductions such as maintenance and insurance costs
- As a long term investment the asset can be passed through an estate to form an inheritance for children, although there are considerable CGT considerations
- Income from rents in the long term may assist with other form of retirement planning
- There exists an established and regulated market place for its resale
- Historical performance of capital growth has been documented
- It is available for gearing, and is well accepted as security for borrowing from most lenders, at higher loan to value ratios than other investment vehicles
- It has shown much lower volatility than other vehicles with a relatively stable value
- More than twenty-five per cent of home accommodation in Australia is rented, with 23 per cent being provided by private landlords, suggesting a demand for this type of investment
Negatives of Property Investing
- Long term investment – the investment needs to be held for a long period of time
- No trial period – Once an agreement is entered into and contracts are signed, any change of heart will involve the whole sale process including disposal costs and legal fees
- Illiquidity – property is relatively illiquid and can take time to sell
- Direct responsibilities – property managers are essential unless you can manage your own investments, in which case you will need to understand your commitments in this regard
- Costs – such as land tax and capital gains tax upon sale can impact greatly on the actual returns
