Ingredients Of A Good Personal Financial Plan – Part 2 Property

Posted on: 10/11/2020

Raffi Pailagian
MBA, BSc, DipFP
Financial Planner / Managing Partner

Categories: Financial Planning & Advice Holistic Planning & Advice Investing

Ingredients of a Good Personal Financial Plan – Property

Property is an integral part of any good personal financial plan. Property can mean a range of different investments – commercial, retail, industrial, residential and even property trusts. So what are your options, and their implications?

Why You Should Include Property in your Financial Plan

There are a number of reasons why including property in your personal financial plan is worthwhile:

It is less volatile than other investments, whilst at the same time providing solid gains
It provides both growth and income
It is more set-and-forget than other investments if you have an experienced property manager in charge
It can provide tax benefits if it is managed correctly

The Property Market Right Now

Like everything else, Covid has certainly had an effect on the property market. Wherever you look there are stories about the declining demand for commercial properties[i], or the falling rental returns on residential property[ii].

One thing is certain, we are living in uncertain times. This makes it all the more important to do your due diligence and get the right advice when you it comes to including Property in your Financial Plan.

Your Family Home

While it is true that your family home does not make up part of your taxable or assessable assets, it generally constitutes a large portion of your overall net wealth – particularly when you live in Sydney, where property prices are amongst the highest in the world. Depending on the researcher, Sydney property is ranked anywhere from 16^th most expensive in the world[iii] to 3^rd most expensive[iv].

As your single most valuable asset, your home can make a huge difference to your position, particularly when you are nearing retirement. And, because it is not assessable, it can provide you with a tax efficient place to invest.

If you are thinking that in retirement you might like a sea or tree change, your family home could end up providing you with a significant windfall, so always consider this investment when assessing your net worth.

Investment Properties

There are a number of different types of property you can invest in and each has it’s pros and cons:

Commercial – office buildings and hotels
Retail – shops and restaurants
Industrial – warehouses and factory units
Residential – domestic rental properties

The one thing they all have in common is that if you are considering investing you should look at:

Location, Location, Location – If it’s in the right location you are much less likely to go wrong, or to have an untenanted property
Tenants – what is the tenanting history of the property, and how long have the current tenants been there
Flexibility – What are the other potential uses for the space should the tenants leave – is it a space that will appeal to a range of tenants?

Investing in Property without Buying Property

Something to think about when considering direct investment in property is the high entry and exit costs. This makes direct investment ideally suited to long-term rather than short-term goals.

If you are still keen to invest in property, but have short-term goals, like impending retirement, property trusts provide an alternative to high-cost direct investment. There are a wide range of both listed and unlisted property trusts that can give you the benefit of property investment without some of the downsides.

One last thing…

Consider all your options carefully before investing in property. And don’t get too hung up on waiting for the market to ‘bottom out’. Even the experts get this wrong. By all means, consider the movement of prices, but it is more important that the timing is right for you, than for the market.

Within our next article in the Ingredients of a Financial Plan series, we will look at mortgages and how you might fund your Property investments.

When you want to chat about getting started on a Financial Plan, or looking at the effectiveness of the one you already have, please contact us on 02 9976 3388 or click below and we’ll be in touch.

Interested in knowing more?

[i] https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/office-property-now-in-covid-19-firing-line-20200714-p55bum
[ii] https://www.afr.com/property/residential/the-property-investment-party-is-over-20200611-p551q4
[iii] https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/
[iv] https://www.canstar.com.au/home-loans/expensive-cities-buy-property/

03/03/2021 | Raffi Pailagian

Investing In A Low Interest Rate Environment

Almost unbelievably, the last time there was a rate rise in Australia was November 2010, when the rate went from 4.5% to 4.75%. It’s been…

17/12/2024 | Raffi Pailagian

Australian Gift Tax

Gifting can be a powerful way to share your wealth, but it’s essential to understand the tax implications

29/11/2024 | Raffi Pailagian

Is Your Retirement Plan on Track?

Retirement is a significant milestone in life, so how do you ensure your retirement plan is on track to provide the lifestyle you desire?

29/10/2024 | Raffi Pailagian

How To Create Generational Wealth

If you’re interested in understanding effective strategies to create generational wealth with property, then this article is for you!

23/10/2024 | Raffi Pailagian

Downsizing

Downsizing is a significant life decision that can have far-reaching impacts on both your financial health and overall well-being

21/10/2024 | Raffi Pailagian

Intergenerational Wealth Transfer

In this episode we discuss intergenerational wealth transfer & optimal strategies you may want to consider

29/08/2024 | Raffi Pailagian

Tax Effective Investing In Australia

Is your investment strategy optimised for tax efficiency & what should tax effective investing in Australia ideally include?

16/07/2024 | Raffi Pailagian

Investment Opportunities

With so many investment opportunities being created by the current global market environment, where should you focus?

02/07/2024 | Raffi Pailagian

Building Generational Wealth

Understanding the principles behind building generational wealth is becoming of increasing interest, driven by amongst other things the current cost of living increases

24/05/2024 | Raffi Pailagian

Tax Tips

Tax Tips to help you maximise the upside & minimise the downside before June 30th

24/05/2024 | MFS Authors

Mortgage Rate Update

We are celebrating our 11th Year Helping clients reduce their interest rates and realise their dream of buying a home or investment property

30/04/2024 | Raffi Pailagian

De-Risking Business Growth

Although de-risking business growth stands as a fundamental goal for every ambitious venture, these 6 strategies are often overlooked

27/03/2024 | MFS Authors

Super Death Benefit Tax

In Australia, superannuation is a nest egg many rely on for a comfortable retirement, but what happens to your super savings if you pass away?

12/03/2024 | MFS Authors

The Concessional Contributions Cap

Understanding the concessional contributions cap can be a powerful tool for building retirement savings & maximising your super

30/01/2024 | MFS Authors

Downsizer Contributions

What Is the downsizer contribution concession and why could this be relevant to you if you’re nearing retirement?

15/12/2023 | MFS Authors

Risk Profiling

Risk Profiling is possibly the most important but often the most misunderstood and overlooked element when investing

30/11/2023 | MFS Authors

How To Use Debt To Create Wealth

Not all debt is created equal. In fact, if you’re careful and think about it strategically, you can actually use debt to create wealth

27/10/2023 | MFS Authors

Looking for a Home Mortgage?

Developing a good understanding of the key concepts, before looking at specific mortgage products, can help with fast tracking the selection process.

29/09/2023 | MFS Authors

What Is Refinancing?

What is refinancing, when should you do it, does refinancing impact your credit rating, & is there anything else you need to know?

25/08/2023 | MFS Authors

Financial Wellbeing

It’s easy to assume higher income means more financial wellbeing, and there is a strong correlation, but it is not the only factor at play.

19/07/2023 | MFS Authors

Why Use A Mortgage Broker

With a wealth of information at all our fingertips thanks to the internet, you might wonder why use a mortgage broker?

27/06/2023 | MFS Authors

Reasons To Refinance

With interest rates rising, it’s worth understanding how you can benefit by going to the trouble of refinancing.

25/05/2023 | MFS Authors

Tax Deductions On Investment Property

Property is a popular investment asset, particularly in Australia, due to whole host of attractive benefits which include the allowable tax deductions on investment property

27/04/2023 | MFS Authors

Tax Bracket Creep

We thought this might be a good time to take a look at the current income tax system and how you might be able to mitigate its effect on your take home income.

23/03/2023 | MFS Authors

Home Mortgage Rates

With the significant increase in Home Mortgage Rates over the last 10 months, what options are there to minimise their impact?

17/03/2023 | MFS Authors

How Much Do You Need to Retire?

If you feel like the answer to this question is a constantly moving target, you’re right. Working out how much you need to retire can be a complicated task.

23/02/2023 | MFS Authors

Sustainable Investing

So what is sustainable investing, how can it help your bottom line & does it makes sense for more people to be considering?

16/02/2023 | MFS Authors

Estate Planning

You probably have at least a vague idea about how you would like your assets, or your ‘estate’, to be divided amongst your family, loved ones and other potential beneficiaries, but you won’t be there to oversee what happens.

27/01/2023 | MFS Authors

5 Small Business Strategies

There is a temptation in business to review small business strategies at the beginning of the new financial year, but sometimes a better choice can be the new calendar year.

18/01/2023 | MFS Authors

Financial Planning For A Great Year

With the current high inflation, high interest rate environment, it has never been more important to take a serious look at your financial position

10/01/2023 | MFS Authors

Retirement Planning For Small Business Owners

Retirement planning for small business owners can be much more complex than for employed people, due to a selection of factors.

21/12/2022 | MFS Authors

Applying for a Mortgage

Applying for a mortgage is both exciting and scary, but there are a few things you should know, that can move the needle away from scary, towards exciting

13/12/2022 | MFS Authors

Downsizing Before Retirement

This is a tricky question to answer because it impacts your lifestyle and your family as well as your finances. So there are a number of things to consider when weighing this decision.

23/11/2022 | MFS Authors

Home Loan Mortgage Rates

Buying a home is usually the single most significant financial decision a person makes. With no end in sight for the predicted home loan mortgage rates rises, reviewing your home loan strategy makes a great deal of sense.

27/10/2022 | MFS Authors

Small Business Insurance

There’s no doubt about it, running a small business is tough. Not only do you need to manage the business, but you need to think about the inherent risks and how you might manage those should the worst happen.

14/10/2022 | MFS Authors

Estate Planning For Business Owners

Whether it is a family run business, partnership, or a company structure, you need to determine how ownership and running of the business will work should you not be available.

29/09/2022 | MFS Authors

Why Start A Business?

One of the key things to remember when you delve into the waters of setting up your own business, is that you are working towards future goals.

20/09/2022 | Raffi Pailagian

Cashflow Tips

So what can we do to manage our finances as effectively as possible in this current environment?

08/09/2022 | MFS Authors

Family Business Succession Planning

One of the most important things you can do as a family business owner is succession planning. You haven’t spent years of your life building a successful business only to have it fall over when you want to retire, or are no longer able to run it.

25/08/2022 | MFS Authors

Investing in Property

Owning your own home has long been known as the Great Australian Dream, but these days, investing in property seems to come a pretty close second.

18/08/2022 | MFS Authors

Keeping Up With The Joneses

The Keeping Up With The Joneses Mindset Can Have A Devastating Effect On Your Finances & Result In Insufficient Funds To Support You In Retirement

11/08/2022 | MFS Authors

Get Rich Quick Schemes

High returns usually come with high risk, so when a scheme sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

21/07/2022 | MFS Authors

Insurance Cover

Australia has certainly been through the wringer over the past three years. As confronting as it may be, it is essential to be prepared for the unexpected & understanding what insurance cover you need is a good start point

20/07/2022 | MFS Authors

Quarterly Economic Update

As bad as this might seem, Australia still has one of the lowest inflation rates among OECD nations, beaten only by Japan and Switzerland, at the bottom of the inflation table

13/07/2022 | MFS Authors

Saving for Retirement?

Saving for Retirement or Supporting Your Children? There are ways to do both & still ensure you have enough to retire comfortably, but it requires a little bit of planning

07/07/2022 | MFS Authors

What is Inflation?

So what is inflation? It’s a complex beast & understanding the impact it can have will help you make wiser financial decisions.

12/05/2022 | MFS Authors

Financial Fraud

Personal and financial fraud is on the rise. 11% of Australians experienced some form of fraud in 2021 & losses due to investment fraud were up 119.6% compared to the same period in 2020.

11/05/2022 | MFS Authors

Saving For A House Deposit?

Should you invest your house deposit savings? This article investigates the pros & cons through a mini case study.

09/05/2022 | MFS Authors

Inheritance & Movement Of Wealth

Australians pass on average $561,000 to their heirs, almost four times the global average of $148,000, with two in every three Australians planning to leave an inheritance.

03/05/2022 | MFS Authors

Inflation & The Cash Rate

What is the Cash Rate & how will the changes applied today impact inflation and your financial situation?

06/04/2022 | MFS Authors

2022-23 Federal Budget Highlights

The Federal Government has delivered a big-spending 2022 budget, taking immediate steps to reduce cost of living pressures for working Australians while implementing a range of massive infrastructure and defense spending measures.

06/04/2022 | MFS Authors

Working from Home – Tax Optimisation Opportunities

Working from home and not sure what tax optomisation opportunities may be available to you, well this short article would be worth reading

04/04/2022 | MFS Authors

Digital Assets – Pros & Cons For Investors

What are the advantages & disadvantages of digital assets compared with physical assets from an investors point of view?

02/04/2022 | MFS Authors

BNPL vs Credit Cards – Which is Best?

BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) or Credit Cards, what do they have to offer and which is the most financially efficient approach for consumers?

11/03/2022 | MFS Authors

Portfolio Management During Turbulent Times

There’s no doubt we continue to live in turbulent times. Between the challenges and uncertainty of the pandemic, the instability in eastern Europe & ongoing supply chain issues, effective portfolio management is a prominent topic amongst investors.

11/03/2022 | MFS Authors

Super Success For Women

While women earn less and spend less time in the workforce than men, sharply eroding their super contributions throughout their working lives, there are some simple steps women can take to boost their retirement savings.

10/03/2022 | MFS Authors

Retirement Cashflow

Low-interest environments are great for borrowers but can be a disaster for retirees reliant on interest to provide retirement cashflow.

04/03/2022 | MFS Authors

Stock Market Corrections

Stock Market Corrections can be an opportunity or a curse, depending on how you have set up your investments, are you taking full advantage of the opportunities?

31/01/2022 | Raffi Pailagian

Ethical Investing

Ethical Investing – what does this mean for you as an individual investor, what should you look for & why does it even matter?

19/01/2022 | Raffi Pailagian

The Great Resignation

What is the Great Resignation, is this a trend you should be part of & how is it impacting business owners as well as investors?

05/01/2022 | Raffi Pailagian

Transitioning To Retirement?

Transitioning to retirement & not sure of the most tax-efficient method or whether a TRIS is needed?

14/12/2021 | Raffi Pailagian

Investing In Real Estate

If you are going to or are investing in Real Estate, there are a few key things to consider…

22/11/2021 | Raffi Pailagian

Financial Freedom

What is Financial Freedom, how is it different from Financial Independence and how do you achieve it?

08/11/2021 | Raffi Pailagian

Financial Literacy

One thing it’s important to understand, is being highly educated does not necessarily mean you have good financial literacy. The two do not always go hand in hand

19/10/2021 | Raffi Pailagian

Bull vs Bear Market

Understanding the difference between a Bull & Bear Market, combined with the opportunities they present, can help greatly when formulating an investment strategy.

11/10/2021 | Raffi Pailagian

Stocks And Shares – What You Need To Know

So, when it comes to stocks and shares, what do you need to know before investing? Understanding the language can be a great first step.

20/09/2021 | Raffi Pailagian

What To Do With An Inheritance

Sometimes in life a small or not so small windfall comes our way. It can be tempting to rush out and spend it, but it is worthwhile taking the time to think about how best you can make this money work for you.

13/09/2021 | Raffi Pailagian

Financial Planning For Women

While preparing a financial plan is much the same for men and women, there are a few key things we need to factor in when developing financial plans for women.

24/08/2021 | Raffi Pailagian

Retirement Planning Strategies

It may seem obvious, but lack of planning is what can lead to disappointment come your retirement party.

11/08/2021 | Raffi Pailagian

Independent Financial Advice

How do you make sure the advice you are getting is independent and perhaps more importantly transparent?

19/07/2021 | Raffi Pailagian

Are Gifts Tax Deductible?

According to the Tax Office, not all gifts are created equal. Depending on the type of gift, and more specifically, to whom the gift is made, the tax implications of gift giving differ.

05/07/2021 | Raffi Pailagian

What Are Family Trusts?

These days setting up a Family Trust Fund is not just for the wealthy. Many small business owners are using the vehicle of a Family or Discretionary Trust to protect their family from potential loss, whilst at the same time taking advantage of tax benefits.

21/06/2021 | Raffi Pailagian

Portfolio Reviews & Effective Approaches

So, you have a financial plan in place. You’re set. Right? Well, for a while at least. While financial experts sometimes disagree on methods or theories, there is one thing they all agree on, this is not a set-and-forget activity.

07/06/2021 | Raffi Pailagian

June Tax Preparation Tips

Tax time is one of those chores of life that nobody enjoys. It can be a real pain. Not only do you have to scramble to find all the receipts and statements you have misplaced over the course of the year, but there is often a fear that you will end up with a great big, unexpected tax bill. Or even worse – get an audit notice.