There are five common strategic mistakes that people make when buying an investment property. Avoiding these pitfalls will help you build your wealth through property.

Property held in the names of two or more persons, in which each has a separate and distinct share. The shares may be equal or unequal. When one person dies their share is not passed to the survivor(s) but can be left to beneficiaries other than their co-owners.

Leverage – you use your cash to invest a percentage of the purchase price of the investment property. It’s possible to borrow 95% of the value of a property to purchase it – so together with the 5% needed for government and lender costs; you need only commit 10% of the purchase price from your own cash.

You’ve found a property that ticks most of the boxes in your “what I want” list…now what else do you need to find out before taking a step towards making an offer or bidding at auction?

It is possible to arrange with your lender to only pay the calculated interest on your loan each month, without any requirement to pay down the principle amount owing on your loan.

Should you pay your loan repayments fortnightly rather than monthly?

Interest on home loans is calculated daily on the outstanding balance and charged to the loan account monthly.

Finding a property can be a challenge, especially when you have so many different considerations to take into account. Give yourself a head start through determining your ‘must have’ features compared to those you could possibly live without.

There are so many things in life to think about these days! Insurance is so important for peace of mind, however it is not always top of mind.

Off the Plan property is a property that has not yet been fully constructed. Some developers offer the chance for buyers / property investors to purchase a property before work has started.

If you are considering buying a smaller apartment, lenders and mortgage insurance companies have restrictions on what sort of apartments and developments they will accept as security for loans.