An accountant shares his top education resources for property investment
It’s no secret that good education and the best mentors are some of the reasons behind the success of every seasoned property investor.
For Smart Property Investment's Phil Tarrant and the show’s resident accountant Munzurul Khan, no property investment journey can start well without a prior journey of education, and as such learning must not stop the moment you step into the complex landscape of investing.
“It’s a continuous journey. I think it’s been continuous learning as well. I enjoy that bit of the journey, and I enjoy a little bit of (knowing) what you’ve done, how you’ve done it,” Munzurul said.
He added: “I’ve got this doctor client as an example. The doctor client came in and in day one, I still remember that I sat down with a gentleman and I said, ‘I love getting challenges, so ask me any difficult question and I may not know the answer.’ Very often, I would not know the answer. The more I don’t know the answer, the better it is. I’ll go back and do the research, and come back with the answer.”
Aside from learning from his experiences, Munzurul also takes time to digest different education resources to broaden his knowledge on property investment and be a more reliable adviser for his clients.
One of his most favourite material, The Richest Man in Babylon by George Samuel Clason, a finance classic that offers advice in the form of parables set in ancient Babylon.
According to the resident accountant: “If there is one book that I read, I suppose it is The Richest Man in Babylon. It’s a book where there is knowledge within the knowledge. You read it for the first time and you sort of understand. You read it for the first time and you sort of say, ‘Well, it’s all common sense.’ It is all common sense, and that’s the beauty of that knowledge. The more you read - if you read second time, and third time, and fourth time - that’s where the knowledge expands.”
Munzurul also enjoys reading works from authors like Michael Yardney, Steve McKnight and Margaret Lomas.
He advises investors to avoid being too comfortable with their knowledge and always make time to read and understand other investors’ journey and learning. After all, as in most cases, there is always something new to learn about the vast and complex field of property investment.
For him, there is always a new strategy, a new perspective and a new insight that could possibly help an investor achieve his goals.
Munzurul said: “When I started reading all these property books, I read the first two or three and I thought, ‘You know what? I’ve read the first couple. I’ve read a couple of Jan Somers book, and I read The Richest Man in Babylon, and a couple of books.’ I was like I knew everything. I was pretty comfortable. Then I was like, ‘All right, I’ll read a few more books.’ Then I read another four or five books and I was like, ‘Hang on, I’m confused. Everyone does it in a little bit different way.’ You’ve got someone else who’s just building and constructing. You’ve got someone else who are buy and hold. You’ve got someone else who are all about repairs and maintenance. Everyone is a little bit different.”
“It’s the continuous learning. It’s about listening to everything in the modern world. It’s about keeping your mind open. It’s about different perspectives. Life is your continuous learning and continuous journey. Go and read the book,” he concluded.
Tune in to Munzurul Khan’s episode in The Smart Property Investment Show to know more about building your financial team, and the importance of setting S.M.A.R.T. goals.