Empower Blog Property & Financial Investment

The Buyers’ Decision Quadrant

I'm always finding when people are buying real estate whether they are buying it for themselves to live in or they are buying it for an investment property, they are faced with some form of compromise. We've thought about this a lot and usually it is one of four things. So we've come up with what's called the Buyers' Decision Quadrant. It's really ...

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What is Rentvesting?

So what is Rentvesting? Rentvesting has come about through the fact that housing is getting more and more difficult to buy closer into the city. So we are actually seeing values in those city areas starting to increase beyond what say the average household can buy. Yet that average household still wants to have all the conveniences and lifestyle d...

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Are you Paying Too Much for your Property?

Today I want to talk to you about the three biggest reasons why you might be paying too much when buying property. Number 1, the justify that they can afford it. Let me tell you a little story. Husband and wife couple, do their budget at home and then they head off to speak to their mortgage broker. Their mortgage broker has a suite of lenders a...

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Cash Flow Management | The Essential Element in Property Investment

When asked about their budgeting habits, most Australians would say that they manage their money excellently. Judging by today’s high debt rates and stress patterns, it would appear that some of those who think they are managing their money well are actually doing the opposite. Whether you’re in charge of your budget at home or are taking care...

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Why you should be Nervous when Investing in Apartments

I always find it a really interesting topic when someone says do apartments make for a good investment or not? My dad is born in 1939 so he's a pre-Baby Boomer, my mom is born in 1948 so she's a Baby Boomer, I'm 1975 so Generation X and my wife is 1980 so she's typically on the cusp of Generation Y. So over the dinner table, we actually have a real...

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What’s FOMO and why should you avoid it?

FOMO is very much the story of a significant portion of the Australian property investment market right now - especially in Sydney - but unfortunately for those investors who fall victim to it, it could all end in tears…. So what is FOMO then? Wikipedia defines the Fear Of Missing Out as “a pervasive apprehension that others might be having rew...

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Dear Landlords, Don’t Let Maintenance Be Your Achilles Heel

Although investment property maintenance might not be the most exciting part of being a landlord, it is certainly important. Whether you had a tenant that didn’t take care of the house during their stay or the weather conditions in Australia have been hectic, it is your responsibility as a property investor to preserve the value and good conditio...

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Property Zoning 101 – Things You Need to Know About Your Investment Property

If you find yourself scratching your head and looking confused when people talk about property zoning, rest assured that you are not alone. Many financially-savvy people have a very limited understanding of this potentially useful tool that can be utilized to help them make smart property investment decisions and avoid bad property deals. Whether y...

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Why Decision Fatigue could make you a Poor Investor

One of my favorite author is Tim Ferriss, the author of Four Hours Workweek and he talks about this concept called "Decision Fatigue". I was thinking about that recently and how that applies to my life but also how that applies to everyone else's life as I'm in the business of helping people invest in property. The concept is really simple. He said...

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The Thought Process when Buying A Home

Hello, in this How To session, I want to tell a story. I want to tell a story that goes through everyone's decision making process when they are looking to buy a home. Now, there's a few things that goes on in your head. You've grown up in area and you know the area well. You know its attractions, its benefits, you know the great coffee shop and yo...

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RBA Rate Decision – July 2015

Today the Governor and the Board met and kept the cash rate at 2%. We saw changes in February and also in May of this year and now again, the Governor and the Board is basically just waiting to see what happens. The biggest news story at the moment is obviously the Greece story and they have default on their loan. In last weekend they have...

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How to find properties before they hit the market?

In this episode of Real Estate Talk, Kevin Turner interviews Ben Kingsley and ask him about the signs he looks for to detect a turning market. Here's the transcript: Kevin: Ben Kingsley joins me once again. Ben, of course, is the CEO and founder of Empower Wealth. They specialize in finding the best buys for their clients no matter where they are...

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SMSF Lending 101: Unlocking the Additional Equity

One of the most powerful options you can utilize if you have a Self Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) is to leverage and borrow into property. Unfortunately, many individuals either do not know about self-managed super funds or they simply do not understand the concept because it can seem at first to be quite complicated. However, those who take...

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