Helen Collier-Kogtevs - How To Start Creating Real Wealth Through Real Estate

HELEN COLLIER-KOGTEVS

First published in 2010 by Major Street Publishing

Helen Collier-Kogtevs 2010

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

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Author: Collier-Kogtevs, Helen.

Title: How to start creating real wealth through

real estate

ISBN: 978-0-9807564-4-9 (pbk.)

Subjects: Real estate investment/Finance.

Dewey Number: 332.6324

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Digital editions published by:

Port Campbell Press

www.portcampbellpress.com.au

ISBN: 9781877006210

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All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher.

Disclaimer: The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based upon the information in this publication.

Internal design by Vanessa Battersby

Cover design by Devision Pty Ltd

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Helen Collier-Kogtevs is an author, educator and property investor. Her passion for wanting to make a positive difference to people's lives has inspired her to create mentoring programmes that teach people how to build their own property portfolios.

Helen writes for international and Australian newspapers and magazines. She has appeared on Foxtel and is a regular guest on radio stations around the country.

She is a presenter and speaker who enjoys sharing her knowledge and helping others travel their journey to financial abundance.

Helen's goal is to have financial literacy become part of the education system to ensure our kids have a better understanding of managing their personal finances before joining the work force.

Visit Helen's website: www.realwealthaustralia.com.au

To my loving husband Ed Kogtevs

The best thing that has ever happened to me is YOU.

The second best thing is our girl -- Alexandria.

Thank you for an amazing life.

Without you it would be meaningless.

Contents

Introduction - Helen's story

1. Your credit profile

2. Setting goals

3. The power of budgeting

4. Creating your dream team

5. Financial health check

6. Financing the deal

7. Buying structures and asset protection

8. Creating your investment strategy

9. Buying rules

10. DIY hotspotting

11. Pinpointing your investment property

12. Due diligence

13. Negotiating strategies

14. Property management

15. Risk management

16. Your budget and tax

Final word

Helens story*

* Readers who know me, or who have read my first book, "47 Biggest Mistakes Made by Property Investors and How to Avoid Them", may like to skip this introduction and go straight to Chapter 1.

If you want to make money, create wealth and be financially free right now, then don't read this book!

I'm not about get-rich-quick schemes. Rather, my goal is to show you how you can build a quality property portfolio and increase your wealth (without living off baked beans, as that's no fun at all).

If you're seeking quick money-making solutions then I want to apologise upfront, because I'll be offering nothing of the sort. I'm here to show you how to grow your asset base and improve your wealth for the long term. I'm giving you a methodical, logical process to help you secure your financial future in a systemised way, so that you can avoid making huge financial mistakes.

Throughout this book, you will learn the secret to achieving real wealth. I will show you how a personalised investment strategy - with an exit plan to cover you for life's little hurdles - is the key to financial abundance.

I can say this with confidence because I have applied what I am about to teach you in this book myself, and I'm at the stage where I am financially independent. I now do what I want, when I want, and how I want.

My favourite phrase at the moment is, 'I want what I want and I want it when I want it, and it's because I can.'

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of how you can create financial freedom through property, let me start at the beginning by sharing my story with you.

Once upon a time... just kidding!

Seriously, over the last few years, my husband Ed and I have built up a real estate portfolio worth millions. We have purchased properties all over Australia, in large capital cities and small regional towns, and we have purchased a variety of properties including houses, townhouses, units and apartments.

What do all these properties have in common?

Our property acquisitions haven't simply helped us to get ahead - they've completely transformed our lives.

Let me start at the beginning'

When I first met Ed around a decade ago, he had more hair and I was a couple of kilos lighter. Ed worked as a corporate executive and I was employed in a high profile corporate job, working outrageous hours and getting paid quite handsomely for doing so.

Although we earned good incomes, we lived the way that most couples do, and spent all that we earned. I had a truckload of bad debt as well as sizeable car repayments. But as I worked hard and earned good money, I felt like I deserved to 'reward' myself - so I did. I treated myself to new clothes, shoes and handbags every other week. We ate out frequently, had an active social life, and generally enjoyed our lifestyle.

The only problem we had was that we couldn't really afford the lifestyle we were keeping. We were both earning decent incomes, but neither of us had drawn up a budget or kept track of what we were earning and spending. We didn't own our own home, or in fact own any assets of any major value, other than a second-hand car. I used credit cards like they were going out of fashion, and I'd racked up thousands of dollars worth of 'bad debts' as a result. And to top things off, Ed was going through an expensive divorce.

We realised that things had to change.

One weekend we decided we wanted to get out of the city and take a break, so we loaded our dogs, Molly and Jasmine, into the car and set off for a camping getaway. At that time camping was about the extent of our holidays, as we couldn't really afford much more.

That Saturday evening we sat around the campfire, sipping a glass of red wine (or maybe two - it was cold), and we talked about our future. We discussed our plans, which included starting a family, and we talked about our eventual retirement.