Why this property investor believes in ‘continuous education’
MJ Anthony has built an impressive 12-property portfolio, and like many people who have found success in the business of creating wealth through property, he knows that the simple formula one needs to achieve his goals is the perfect balance between good education and the right mentorship.
At the beginning of his journey 13 years ago, MJ admits that he tried hard to learn as much as he could about property investment before purchasing his first real estate asset.
“I've been doing this since 2004, so I had information overload at the very start, and then [it] kind of petered off because you get to the stage where [you’re] like, ‘Yeah, I kind of know property. I know this.’ ” he shared.
However, even though he made sure to seek education in the very beginning, his experiences proved that a good property investor never actually stops learning.
MJ said: “You get schooled into bad decisions... Basically, it's just a continual learning process. If you think that you've finished learning about property, you're wrong, because you've got to continuously learn over time.”
According to the property investor, everyone who wants to invest in properties must be careful not to suffer from “analysis paralysis” and not take any action at all—instead, take the leap and be open to learning from his decisions.
Right now, he spends time listening to podcasts, taking bits of wisdom from the experiences of his fellow property investors as well as from the insights of property professionals.
One of the best pieces of information he got recently is about the different ways to deal with the changes set by Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
“There was a lot of discussion on some different forums about interest-only [loans]... because of APRA changes and how it's getting squeezed… If you have interest-only loans that are expiring soon, the tip was six months ago, extend it now because it's going to get harder. It's not going to get easier,” he advised his fellow investors.
These APRA changes are only some of the most recent modifications in the field of property investment, and more movements and cycles could happen regularly.
Smart Property Investment’s Phil Tarrant agrees that property investors must never stop learning—after all, markets and regulations change, and it always good to have the benefit of information to be able to navigate one’s way through their journey in the best and most efficient way possible.
“We're in a market right now where banks are looking to tighten up investment lending… In five years’ time, it might be completely the other way… You don't know what you don't know, but you're doing the right thing in terms of planning for the future,” he concluded.
Tune in to MJ Anthony’s episode on The Smart Property Investment Show to know more about the investment strategy he hopes will grow his portfolio from 12 to 100 properties and secure him half a million in income each year.
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