Good research is essential when purchasing a property. Adequate research can be the difference between property investment success or failure. However, when doing your research here are the mistakes you need to avoid at all costs!
1. Cutting Corners and Taking Shortcuts
There is no such thing as a shortcut when it comes to research. If you are wanting to cut corners just to trump other buyers, you are probably going to find yourself in trouble. It can be especially tempting when purchasing property in a hot market as often there are irrational buyers competing of property.
The property may look good on paper, but only adequate research will give you the tools to know for sure. If you can’t establish if the property is a good deal or not, you could end up competing to purchase an underperforming investment or even worse a money-losing property.
The only way to confidently know if you are purchasing a good investment property is to do comprehensive research and analysis. Investigate behind the statistics and apply some common sense, the outcome will be worth it.
2. Doing Too Much Research
Surprisingly, you can overdue it when it comes to property research. Not only can it hinder you from actually taking the next step and purchasing a property, but it can also overload you with so much information that it becomes confusing. Getting overwhelmed by too much information can be just as bad as not enough.
If you are new to property investment or you are risk-averse, over-analysis can be the doom of success. Focus instead on ticking off a setlist of comprehensive buying criteria. If the property meets your buying brief, then you can confidently move forward.
3. Trusting Statistics Too Much
Independent verification of source information is essential. Just thinking that a source is reputable isn’t enough. You need to verify for yourself that it is trustworthy. Misreporting or under-reporting can skew property data and information. If your research is based on a bad source, you are going to find yourself in trouble. You must examine as many sources as possible analysing multiple data to establish a trend. Only then can you purchase property with confidence.
Property investment is purchasing something that costs a lot of money in the hopes that it will somehow grow in value. To be a successful investor there is no substitute for research. Quite simply, if you want to succeed you must first learn.