From family and friend armchair investors to online forums, everyone seems to be an expert when it comes to property investment.

Like any business, when you’re thinking about investing in property, you should take the advice from qualified and licensed professionals and specialists. And you do need a team of different specialists around you. But who are these professionals, and why do you need them?

Accountants

These specialists advise on tax matters. They know what are tax deductible expenses and how a property investment will affect your finances.

Good accountants must be registered with the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB). If you are doing due diligence on an accountant, the TPB Register contains registration details of registered, suspended and deregistered tax and BAS agents and tax (financial) advisers.

Mortgage/finance brokers

As a specialist in their field, a mortgage broker will negotiate with lenders on your behalf, and many of the non-standard as well as traditional routes to finance. Furthermore, because of their relationship with finance providers, they may be able to get you a better deal with your own bank than if you approached them directly.

If a finance broker is arranging a loan covered by the credit law the finance broker must have a license. You can check to see if the finance broker is registered by searching Australian financial services (AFS) licensees website for the company/person, of by phone 1300 300 630.

Legally a mortgage broker must declare what commission they will receive from the lender you chose to borrow the money off.

Conveyancers

Conveyancers manage and process paperwork involved with transferring ownership of a legal title of land into your name. They ensure all the legalities behind a sale are correct and done in a timely way.

Real estate agents

Yes, we do come into it! A good agent will give an honest estimation on what your property could sell for, and what you need to do to market your property to reach the target audience.

We’re local and have been in the business for over 40 years, so we have the local background knowledge and have constantly been achieving great results for all our clients. Furthermore, we let you know what cost-effective improvements you can make to your property to add value.

How do I know a good specialist?

A good adviser will only advise in their field of expertise. They will tell you is what the risks are and what you need to consider to mitigate them so you can make a decision for your personal situation.

They cannot predict the future, tell you how the market will perform, what will happen to interest rates, or what capital growth rate a particular property will achieve.

They also shouldn’t tell you where to buy, where they think the next property hot spot is and when’s the best time to buy. But they can tell you market trends and where to look to get the background information so you can make an informed decision.

Always try to seek out an independent specialist who has no vested interest in your purchase. Advice should not be biased by any property, products or services being sold. While property marketers and investment seminar and workshops may give good background knowledge, you should ask yourself how they are being paid.

It is also important to only deal with qualified and licensed people and businesses as you are better protected if things go wrong and will have access to free dispute resolution services. You can find out whether a company is registered or not through government’s Moneysmart website.

Whether it is pointing you in the direction of where to find information to help you make informed decisions, giving you tips about how to get the best from your property investment, to managing your investment property, find out more about how our property management service can help you. Our experienced team loves to talk and share its knowledge. Give us a ring on 02 4954 8833, send us an email to mail@apnewcastle.com.au or pop into our Cardiff office for a chat.