Member case study | What investment advice would you give your younger self?

“I'm 52 years of age, I've been married for 27 years, and I've got three kids who are now 18 through to 21. I've got a good job, but I'm coming to that stage in life where I have to be pre-emptive and start looking at our retirement, in 15 plus years.”

“Something would come up in life, one of life's events, and that would postpone it again, and again, and again.

It was a case of reading all these text books, and wanting to make that decision, or take action. But my inner demons started talking away with their ‘what ifs’, and ‘maybe this should wait till the economic situation is better.’ So it was a form of procrastination, and hesitancy."

“I had all the natural and inherent fears that you have, as far as failing goes. I guess it was a lot easier when I wasn't married, and didn't have kids. But I've been married and had kids for longer than I haven't, now. And I have a responsibility to them, I didn’t want to stuff up their future, as well as mine. So all of that ate away at me and made making the decision to take action even harder.”

“I got to a point in time where I was turning 50, and I'm thinking, ‘I've got 15 odd years left of work. I've got to show a bit of maturity and take this action, which I’ve always put off till later, because I've run out of time.’”

“I wanted to speak to someone who's actually been there and done that, and knows what they're talking about. And up popped The Property Mentors. I got in touch, and we established trust and rapport. That was very important, otherwise, we wouldn't have got out the door.

I was shown the process, and what's expected; what they've done, and what they do. And I gained an understanding of how the business model worked. I had reservations, being the sceptic I am, but I paid the initial startup costs – a small, small amount of money – to test the water. I thought I'd allow myself that much flexibility.”

“In the past, seeking advice just provided another opportunity for me to procrastinate. I knew I had to speak to a financial advisor, but then I’d go into reading about it, who's the best financial advisor to get, canvassing the industry to try and locate that person. It got to be bloody hard, and once again, it didn’t get done. But it was vital to the process to have a clear understanding of where I wanted to be, and what I wanted to achieve.

And so an important factor – and part of the process – was being referred to a financial advisor, and going through the process of setting up a ten year plan. The Property Mentors were adamant that had to happen before they would proceed further with my investments.”

“We sat down with my wife, to understand what we wanted to achieve over the 15 year period, until our retirement. Defining what sort of retirement we were going to be satisfied with, and then determining what needed to be done in order to achieve that objective. By having my wife involved in the process, we were unified, and had that understanding of what our objectives were. We hadn't done that previously.”

“As far as learning new things and methodologies, I've always had the theoretical understanding, but never reached the stage where I actioned my plans and my knowledge base. To think that you know everything, after reading a couple of books, is quite naive and foolish.”

“So I think having that security in a mentor is important, to be able to bounce off questions and ideas, and sharing information. And that's been a big plus, of being associated with The Property Mentors.”

“I've been with The Property Mentors since early 2021, and I've got a couple of investments now – two properties in 18 months.

But without a doubt, my advice now would be to start earlier. And I will certainly be directing my sons and my daughter to The Property Mentors, so they can start that conversation and get that understanding, because I can see it being a huge benefit. A massive benefit.”

MEMBER CASE STUDY | THREE PROPERTIES BY THE AGE OF 30!

Click here to learn how Joshua Scott, member of The Property Mentors, built his property portfolio. As you will learn, Joshua has achieved quite a lot, quite quickly, for someone who has only just turned 30!

WHAT INVESTMENT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR YOUNGER SELF?

In this episode Peter Ward shares his journey, including the investment advice he'd give to his younger self and anyone else starting out in the property market.

Click here to listen now.