Why ignoring ‘doom and gloom’ headlines is good for your property portfolio
Guy Williams have spent over 20 years in a remarkable investment journey and has since maintained a 37-strong property portfolio. Aside from good education and correct strategy, he attributes his success to his ability to “ignore the noise”.
He told Smart Property Investment: “I just kept doing it and ignored the noise. I ignored the noise. I had a buy and hold strategy, but while I was doing that last year, people were saying, ‘Are they going to remove negative gearing?’ That’s a little bit of noise. But over a 20, 30, 40-year time frame, it doesn’t really matter. I’ve seen huge interest rates, I’ve seen low interest rates. You see all these things happen, but over that length of time it doesn’t really matter. I think the noise gets in the way of people doing things.”
While it is important to keep yourself up-to-date regarding movements in the property markets, it is equally vital to know which headlines are not worth mulling over, according to Guy.
“You read a newspaper, they’re looking for headlines, they’re looking for stories so they want something like, ‘Interest rates are about to shoot up!’ or ‘They’re going to go ballistic in 2017’. So you’re going to think, ‘I’d better not invest. I’ve missed the boat’. Or maybe there’s a price bubble and so property prices are going to crash, so you say, ‘Oh, thankfully I’m not in it’. There’s all this noise and it comes out on a daily, weekly, monthly ... It’s mainly just ignoring that,” he said.
Instead of worrying himself over “doom and gloom” headlines, Guy spends his time continuously educating himself about property investment.
He believes that, as in most things, you get in trouble once you stop being curious.
Guy said, “I think the moment in any field that you lose that sense of curiosity, or lose the sense, or you think you know it all, you’re in trouble. I have a general sense of curiosity around property and so I listen to podcasts, I read magazines, I read books. I’ve just given my 18-year-old daughter, the Rich Dad, Poor Dad book. Things like that.
“It's all about constant education. I may listen to one of your podcasts and go, ‘Well, I didn’t get a huge amount out of that one’, but I’ve never come out having learnt less, so there’s always something. There’s always a comment or a phrase.”
Lastly, take notes from financial professionals and fellow investors who have found success in the field. Experience is the best teacher, and ultimately a more reliable source than “doom and gloom” headlines.
Guy believes that property investment is not only about equipping yourself with a good amount of knowledge, but also knowing when to ask for help and guidance to make the most out of your assets.
“I enjoy buying property. I know which parts of the process I’m not good at and for those parts I get help, so I have a very good broker, I have a very good accountant, I have very good managers of my properties. I flip that round by saying that if I was good at broking, I’d probably do it myself, or if I was good at managing, I’d probably do it myself, or if my properties were all local and I fancied myself as a plumber or an electrician or a DIY person, I’d go round fixing them, but I don’t. I know which parts of the process that I enjoy and I’m quite good at,” he said.
For over 20 years, Guy has found success amid the ever-changing landscape of property investment simply by educating himself, getting some good advice and knowing whose advice to take and whose words to ignore so he can keep moving forward.
Tune in to The Smart Property Investment Show to know more about the perils of procrastination and the importance of getting good advice.
More from this writer:
-
Why it’s still worth selling – even in lockdown
-
Over 200 Perth suburbs see winter price growth
-
Auction volumes on their way back up
-
Low interest rates drive record refinancing
-
Tassie’s own $20k HomeBuilder grant finds early success
-
Capital cities see stronger auction success
-
2020 vs 2021: How lockdowns have impacted the market