Attitude and vision may help make you millions in property

Tuesday, 12 March, 2002 - 21:00
MAKING money from property investments is easy, you just have to adjust your mental attitude. At least that’s what local author Craig Turnbull believes.

It’s Easy To Be A Property Millionaire is the title of Mr Turnbull’s first book, a how-to guide to investing in property.

Mr Turnbull’s knowledge of the property market is gleaned from personal experience, with perhaps the most important lessons taken from his mistakes.

“In 1983 the first rich list came out and I looked at those people and they all had property,” Mr Turnbull said.

After completing a certificate in real estate management Mr Turnbull started investing his own money in property.

“By the time I was 28 I had $3 million worth of property and $2 million worth of debt, but by the time I was 30 I was basically broke,” Mr Turnbull said.

“I just didn’t know how to protect myself against interest rate changes and I didn’t understand that property can go down in value.

“My personal income halved because no one was buying property, but it was poor decisions and greed that basically undid me.”

The experience of losing everything also affected the way Mr Turnbull felt about himself, and this in turn changed his attitude to investment.

After years of blaming other factors for his failure as a businessman, Mr Turnbull now uses the important lessons he learned to help other people successfully invest in the property market.

“I don’t do sales anymore, I just advise people how to build their own portfolio. The book really stemmed from there,” Mr Turnbull said.

“I was doing two-hour seminars and I realised there’s a niche in the market for weekend seminars.”

Mr Turnbull claims many property seminars available in the market are affiliated with certain agents, which means the ultimate goal for them is to sell their own projects.

He said that, because he was independent, he could offer advice for any sector of the market, from residential to commercial and industrial.

“There are very few people who have overall market knowledge,” Mr Turnbull said.

“The Perth market is patchy at the moment. There are parts that are booming but the market is holding its breath.

“Rents are very soft. What’s kicking it along are the low interest rates and the first homebuyers’ grant.

“The commercial and industrial markets are very different animals and performing at a very different place in the economic cycle.”

Mr Turnbull said the interest in property market investment was driven by the growth in self-funded retirees.

“The population is slowly realising that a pension is simply not going to provide them with a decent standard of living,” he said.

“They are beginning to educate themselves on investment and wealth creation, particularly in the field of real estate.”

The book covers some important issues, including motivation, goal setting and success psychology.

“Your frame of mind will determine your success,” Mr Turnbull said.

“And success is defined by three words – vision, decision and action.”

The book also looks at techniques such as buy and hold, nothing-down deals and flips, and stresses the importance of understanding these industry terms.

And, finally, Mr Turnbull outlines how to build a real estate investment portfolio that can create a tax-free income of $100,000 per annum.

“The intention of the book is to enable the reader to confidently go out and make their own investment decisions without necessarily having to deal with a financial adviser, who in most cases will not recommend direct investment into property,” Mr Turnbull said.