Hi. I have been reading, reading, reading so much about property investing, and getting so muddled. I thought I might post my thoughts here in the hope that I can get some direction.
So, this will probably be a little rambling because i don't know what information you need to give me a gentle shove in the right direction
Typical start to the story: worked hard, saved hard. In 2005 bought $350k property (small acreage, good land old house), again worked like a dog to put just that little bit extra in it each week and so current mortgage is just under $300k. Haven't had it revalued as property has been flat as a tack around here so don't expect it to have moved much.
The conventional advice I read says sell, buy smaller, build up etc. This is not the path I want to take. I could go into reasons etc but there's not really much point because such things are different for everyone. I'm firm on this.
I work in a nearby country town. The second piece of advice I read a lot of is 'get a better job'. Mmmm. Ok. Doesn't work like that in a country town. Because I got myself an education I do already have one of the top paying jobs in town ($50k pa before tax).
Now at the moment I can pay all my bills and put food on the table. There are no luxuries. I started below the poverty line, so I know what 'no luxuries' means.
Just this last year since my performance review at work I've been managing to start saving again. It's not much and it's tight, but it's been 10% of my gross wage for 12 months now. I direct debit it, and despite all the quips I DO miss it lol. But I still don't touch it.
My goal is to buy a second, larger farm which would cost significantly more and wouldn't necessarily pay for the mortgage repayments in entirety (but hopeful would to a certain percentage).
How should I prioritise my goals to get there? To get my ppor I just scrimped and saved, but to do that again will take me a lifetime to get where I want to be.
I feel strongly my first goal should be a cash/highly liquid emergency fund. Have read recommendations of minimum 3 months wages for this.
Ok, what next? I prefer to grow what money I have than get into (more) significant debt. But then, I don't have enough money to grow, do I? Then again, surely if I'm that uncomfortable with a strategy involving high debt I'll not manage it as well as some other strategy I'm more enthusiastic about...??? Do you see how I run myself in circles on this with all the 'advice' that's out there?
Where do I start? How do I get from A to B?
So, this will probably be a little rambling because i don't know what information you need to give me a gentle shove in the right direction
Typical start to the story: worked hard, saved hard. In 2005 bought $350k property (small acreage, good land old house), again worked like a dog to put just that little bit extra in it each week and so current mortgage is just under $300k. Haven't had it revalued as property has been flat as a tack around here so don't expect it to have moved much.
The conventional advice I read says sell, buy smaller, build up etc. This is not the path I want to take. I could go into reasons etc but there's not really much point because such things are different for everyone. I'm firm on this.
I work in a nearby country town. The second piece of advice I read a lot of is 'get a better job'. Mmmm. Ok. Doesn't work like that in a country town. Because I got myself an education I do already have one of the top paying jobs in town ($50k pa before tax).
Now at the moment I can pay all my bills and put food on the table. There are no luxuries. I started below the poverty line, so I know what 'no luxuries' means.
Just this last year since my performance review at work I've been managing to start saving again. It's not much and it's tight, but it's been 10% of my gross wage for 12 months now. I direct debit it, and despite all the quips I DO miss it lol. But I still don't touch it.
My goal is to buy a second, larger farm which would cost significantly more and wouldn't necessarily pay for the mortgage repayments in entirety (but hopeful would to a certain percentage).
How should I prioritise my goals to get there? To get my ppor I just scrimped and saved, but to do that again will take me a lifetime to get where I want to be.
I feel strongly my first goal should be a cash/highly liquid emergency fund. Have read recommendations of minimum 3 months wages for this.
Ok, what next? I prefer to grow what money I have than get into (more) significant debt. But then, I don't have enough money to grow, do I? Then again, surely if I'm that uncomfortable with a strategy involving high debt I'll not manage it as well as some other strategy I'm more enthusiastic about...??? Do you see how I run myself in circles on this with all the 'advice' that's out there?
Where do I start? How do I get from A to B?