Common Objections to invest in Property

Common Objections to Investing in Property


Everyone I know claims to be busy. But what are they busy with? Many people I know are either too busy meeting their daily work commitments or are just simply content to work and wait for the paycheck that comes to them each month.

For myself, I started my real estate career not with the aim to simply work hard to earn a monthly salary. I wanted to build my income and translate the earned income into investments, namely property investments. I wanted to put my hard-earned money into property investment so that my hard-earned money would 'work for me', just as I worked hard to earn it.

MY QUESTION TO YOU IS THIS:

Do you want to work hard for your company to let it earn all the profits and are you content to watch the bosses search for good properties to invest and make all the money while you are left out of it all? Shouldn't you too, like the bosses, gain knowledge and invest in education to help you to increase your wealth?
You do not need to be rich to start investing. That is a common and wrong perception! Below are some of the common reasons often given by those who do not invest in real estate and my response to them.

1) I am too busy with work. I have no time.
MY RESPONSE:
One of my investors is a high-flyer in his field of work. Although he is busy, he has set aside time to source for the right property without fail. It all boils down to effort.

2) I have no money.

MY RESPONSE:
I have a friend who managed to invest without money. Do you have any such friends? Can you co-share with your relatives or investor friends?

3) I am trying to 'time the market'.

MY RESPONSE:
People always claim that they will buy when the market 'comes down' but when it happens, these same people still do not buy because they say, "The market will drop further. Let's wait till it drops another $100 psf before I buy." However when the price does drop eventually, they still do not invest.

When the market picks up slightly, they will then say, "Let's wait awhile more to see whether this is real or just a temporary increase." And when the property market goes up further, they say that prices are too high now and it will come down again.

This whole cycle repeats itself and now after many years of 'observing the market', these people remain exactly where they were a few years ago.

4) I bought my first private property cheaply in the past. I will just hold on to this property as I cannot buy again at such a good price.

MY RESPONSE:
One of my clients bought a cheap unit in Costa Rhu at $600psf in 2005 for yield. In 2007, I asked her how many properties she had at that time. She replied, "Only 1". I advised her to increase her wealth by selling it in end 2007 and switching to a property that could increase even more in value. If she sold it at the end of 2008 and bought another property, say, at Cosmopolitan, the capital appreciation would have doubled.

If she had continued to hold on to her existing first piece of property, would she still have made money now? The answer is Yes! But what she would have made would have been a paper gain, not 'real' cash. She would have failed to double her wealth or assets during that period of time. That would have been a serious mistake.

5) I have very high monthly commitments. I am afraid that I cannot afford it.

MY RESPONSE:
Many people are quick to give the excuse of "I can't afford to pay the instalment." But they have failed to do their sums before making this statement. Do you know that it is possible to own a property in the Somerset or CBD area and pay a monthly instalment of only $900 per month? Many people have misconceptions that that they cannot afford to pay for a property instalment; yet they can afford to pay for a car instalment of $1500 per month. One of my agents on the other hand, who began investing during his mid 20s, chose to invest in property instead of a car. To me, he did his sums right.

Many think that it is very difficult to invest in property such as New Launches as it requires a lot of knowledge, and they are not sure how to choose the right property as they do not believe in agents. Instead they have been held back by the fear of making the wrong property decisions and consequently losing their hard-earned money. I agree that these are true concerns. However, these can be resolved by taking time to gain knowledge. With some 'home work', we can all learn to be savvy investors and make our money truly 'work hard for us'.