It’s property investment 101. If you are renting out a property, particularly a residential rental property, then you have to increase rent. This may be annually, but most likely every 18 months to two years. Why? Well, there are a number of reasons this is considered to be a standard operating procedure in property investment. Firstly, small rent increases regularly are more likely to be absorbed by your tenants than a large increase when it is possibly too late. Secondly, you need to be keeping up with inflation and with the rental market. Your personal property investment rules probably involve getting the most out of your investment to support your overall investment plan. Why subsidise your tenants’ rent at the expense of your investment goals?

But is it always so black and white? Sometimes we get so caught up with the investment rules and numbers we forget the big picture. For example, what if a 5% rent increase takes a property’s rent over a key …

So you’re looking to purchase investment property for the first time? And why wouldn’t you, it is a tried and tested way to build wealth as well as a relatively easy investment option that you can manage yourself. Naturally there is a range of things to consider and decide before you should delve into your first investment property. The purpose of this article is to give property investment tips on one of most critical areas to determine first: the budget!

I will be using the purchase of a Residential Rental Property as the example in this case

Before you can start looking at possible rental properties to purchase you need to consider just how much you are prepared to spend. How much you spend will depend on your situation in life. Some may be able to pay cash up front, whilst others may have borrowed as much as they can from the bank to finance the venture.

Firstly, you’ll have a very strong indication of your …