Treat investment properties as businesses
Investors must ensure that they regularly check their investments are working as hard as possible for them, according to a property group.
To achieve the maximum return from an investment portfolio, each dwelling must be treated as its own business, said Aviate Group managing director Neil Smoli.
“Actively managing an investment property or portfolio is vital to the performance and success of an investment strategy. Property management selection, research on market rentals and a proactive maintenance system are all essential elements to ensuring an investment is working as hard as possible,” Mr Smoli said.
Ensuring that a minimum of three property managers are contacted, as well as checking their track record, is crucial when choosing who should take care of that aspect of the investment, he said.
“You wouldn’t hand your car keys to an unknown learner driver, so why entrust an investment property to an inexperienced or non-committed property manager? Investors need to choose their team carefully and research is the key.
“It is also important to review the rent regularly, say every six or 12 months and with every change in tenancy, to ensure it remains competitive in a market sense,” he said.
Investors must ensure that their properties keep working for them to their maximum potential, rather than forgetting about them.
“The initial reason most investors have for investing in the first place is to achieve financial independence in the future; to be financially free,” Mr Smoli said.
“Yet a common mistake investors make is to secure their first property, rest on their laurels.
“It is those investors that control their lifestyle spending and implement their original strategy - their business plan – that are best placed to achieve their goal of financial independence.”