There is a time to buy and hold property for long-term results and there’s a time when it’s smart to fast track your investment plans. Knowing what to do at the right time is well covered in a book by Peter Mastroianni called “The Property Investor’s Buyers Guide”. We talk to Peter and focus on the accumulation phase of an investment strategy.

Transcript:

Kevin:  I want to tell you about a book that I picked up the other day called The Property Investor’s Buyer’s Guide written by my next guest, Peter Mastroianni.
Good day, Peter. Thank you very much for your time.
Peter:  Thank you very much. Thanks for having me on the show, Kevin.
Kevin:  Great book, too, and I know that you’re a fellow podcaster, as well. You do podcasts, too. Just skimming through your book, Peter, it’s well put together, but why did you do it? What was the reason behind writing the book?
Peter:  This is my second book. The first book that I actually wrote was The First-Home Buyer’s Guide. I guess it’s a bit of a play on a bit of a series.
I was fortunate enough to purchase property at a fairly young age. I guess that youthful inexperience at the time required me to become a lot smarter in my actual approach to take advantage of, perhaps, some hard lessons that were learnt at that point in time.
I guess through my own business and meeting with a number of clients who come through the door, I do see a number of common problems or obstacles that people face through their property journey and trying to accumulate wealth, as well.
Kevin:  Do you think we look at property investing as the be all and end all – in other words, if I’m going to be an investor, I have to invest in property? There are other forms of investment, aren’t there?
Peter:  Absolutely. I’m a strong believer that you actually should be a balanced investor. I think that you do need to have property as an asset class, but depending on your risk profile, you should certainly also incorporate other investment streams or multiple investment income streams into your portfolio, as well.
Kevin:  What type of investor do you have to be to be a property investor?
Peter:  I don’t know if it’s the type of property investor; I think everyone has the capacity to invest in property. I think it probably more so relates to their mindset and what they’re hoping to actually achieve in terms of the end result of the outcome that they’re actually looking for.
I couldn’t say hand on heart that that property is going to be the right strategy for everyone, depending on your risk appetite and depending on your actual capacity and willingness to leverage into higher debt positions.
Kevin:  Thinking of young people for a start, looking at property, I guess the typical first property purchaser is going to be someone who needs to fulfill their own need. In other words, there are not a lot of young people who say, “I am going to build myself a property portfolio.” Their first purchase is likely to be one that they want to live in themselves. Would that be correct?
Peter:  I don’t necessarily agree with that, purely on the basis that new social tribes are emerging within the marketplace. I personally believe that property needs a re-think or the traditional home ownership model needs to, perhaps, be redefined in order to allow a younger generation to actually get a foothold on the property ladder, which is seeing the rise of rentvesting, for example. It’s been around for a number of years, but now it has a bit of a buzzword attached to it.
But I think that the traditional form of, perhaps, getting married, having kids, and settling into a home behind a white picket fence is probably behind us now. People want more flexibility in their living arrangements. The way in which property is designed by how it’s bought and sold and actually built is changing quite significantly, as well. I think those new forms are steering a new direction for a rising generation into the property market.
Kevin:  Interesting to hear you use that term “rentvesting” there. I know that that’s something that you’ve written about, you’ve spoken a lot about it. It’s portraying the fact that young people nowadays are becoming a lot more astute about their investments. You alluded to that when you said that our reasons for buying property are probably changing. Is that what’s behind that, Peter?
Peter:  Yes, I think so. There’s a lot more information around than what there was 10 or 15 years ago on how to approach getting into the property industry or getting a foothold onto the ladder. People are becoming more educated and more wise about what that process could look like, and I think people want more flexibility in their living arrangements.
Having a big debt at an early age could be devastating or it could be very motivational, as well, in order to get out there, do some more, and continue to build upon an asset base. I think it’s a combination of, perhaps, our culture being very lifestyle-driven and us wanting to have our cake and, perhaps, eat it, too.
Kevin:  Peter, great talking to you. There’s great insight in Peter’s book, The Property Investor’s Buyer’s Guide. It is out. Where can we get the book? Is it available at most bookshops?
Peter:  It’s available at all good bookstores, Kevin.
Kevin:  Well said.
Peter:  If they don’t have a copy, be sure to ask for one. It should be released at the end of this month or early November.
Kevin:  Do you have a website available, as well?
Peter:  I certainly do. It’s www.TheBuyersGuide.com.au.
Kevin:  You’ll find all of the information there.
Peter:  Absolutely.
Kevin:  My guest has been Peter Mastroianni. Peter, thank you so much for your time. Congratulations on a great read, too, and I look forward to talking to you. There are so many other things I want to talk to you about, but we’ll get you back on a later show. Thank you, Peter.
Peter:  Thanks, Kevin.