Focus on ‘Good’, Not ‘Perfect’

Property investing can be daunting. We are often bombarded with information on what makes a great investment. We are told to look for vacancy rates, growth potential, rental yield, strong local economy, good sentiment, dwelling size, house style, price, positive market forces, and ease of finance. All these factors plus more are the foundations of a good investment purchase. Very rarely however do we see all of these factors line up with our requirements. Odds are they never will. Many investors fall into the trap of searching for that perfect property.Unfortunately many do not realise that there can only be one ‘purchase of the year’ in Australia each year. The rest are below this. The result of this is a term phrased “analysis paralysis” and these investors fail to act. The investor who becomes so caught up in finding that ‘perfect’ location and asset often misses the boat on many other opportunities or worse yet, never invests at all.

The most successful investors focus on the deal as a whole. They may find that ‘perfect’ location, property size, capital growth prospects however to secure the deal must fork out $5k more than first planned; or purchase one street back from the beach; or one suburb over; or need to install new carpet. Whatever it may be the important thing is that they acted rather than get caught up by ‘analysis paralysis’.

Property needs to be viewed as a long-term investment. It is often very forgiving if chosen well. I clearly remember nearly pulling out of our first purchase due to costs associated with building in a bushfire prone area that may have totalled somewhere in the vicinity of $10-15k. That same property saw a bank valuation increase of $175k over 4 years. By all means be thorough but don’t sweat the small stuff. Focus on ‘Good’, not ‘Perfect’ and it will serve your investment needs well.

- The Tattooed Investor