Hi, I’m a working 9-5 millennial. No, I couldn’t possibly be a land-owner
Every time the talk of profitable land investment comes up, do you 9-5ers (income, salary earners) look away? Does it often seem to you that as an earning, working millennial in a 9-5 set up, that owning a piece of earth right now or in the next few years is way too far-fetched, or the case of an impossible dream?
Turns out, you’re wrong. Absolutely. This is where a paradigm shift in mental thought is absolutely necessary. There’s flexible, affordable real estate and land investment platforms all around you, that’s within your reach as a working millennial. However, smarts are required.
Regardless of what your earning or take-home pay is:
Bring yourself up to speed, information wise: The first thing you should do is to educate yourself on the property market as much as possible. Find out everything you can about buying property, what key words mean and look at past property cycles to get an idea of how prices go up and go down in a market. There is plenty of good information online as well as in property investing books to take advantage of. Amass information on areas concerning: capital growth, supply and demand, the difference between assets and liabilities, as well as property investment strategies.
Whilst you’re doing this, you can get an idea of the type of property you want to buy, and also consider where to invest in property.
Splurge? Error! Save! Yes, purchasing land is capital intensive, in some way. As a working employee on a short leash of funds, you’re most likely working on a tight budget. Realism is the name of the game here. Don’t kid or play yourself. It’s time to get real, both in your expectations, decisions and actions. Look for land offerings within a frame that fits your income, and savings, while not compromising on authenticity of the entire package being offered to you, else you run the risk of being caught in a financial quagmire. You need to start off small, and then rise in ranks. Remember, a property could well be a vehicle to get you from A to B and to start building you wealth.
A great deal of discipline is imperative at this point. The more nairas you are able to save, the quicker you can make an initial deposit. But don’t get caught up in the rot of complacency, post-initial deposit payment, else you’d might lose out big time. Making sustainable payments sequel to your initial deposit is key, and this can greatly be enhanced, by working with real estate investment companies who offer really flexible payments packages geared towards folks in your income bracket.
So, the alternative foregone might be those yearly abroad trips for holiday, trading in your currently serving car for a newer model, embarking on luxury wristwatch purchase sprees, picking up designer clothing labels and accessories, just really looking to scale down when it comes to expenses, even at great cost to yourself.
Hopefully, you might also be due a pay rise, or perhaps there’s some part time work you can do for the short term to get you to that deposit faster, or even some safe, yielding, short term, interim investment you can do with a little bit of research that’ll increase your savings in months-2,3 years. Remember it’s not forever, and a short-term sacrifice is for the long-term gain.
Time the market right, it’s everything: To take advantage of capital growth and property prices you may want to time your property purchase to the market conditions. Ideally you want to be buying property at the bottom of the market or within a rising market. The good thing is, property prices tend to double every decade. Ideally though, as a low-income earner and for any buyer for that matter, it’s easier and more affordable to buy in a market that has yet to boom as you won’t face price surges and a more competitive market.
Speak to a real estate investment company: Now, I know you feel all set having done your research, and homework. However, you’re far from becoming a real estate connoisseur…yet…Rather than buy a property on your own, it’s far easier to speak to a real estate consultant or investment company as they can give you expert insights and advice you’d never have on your own.
They have access to the latest data and market research, allowing them to pinpoint exactly the best areas where you can buy a property and what properties suit your budget.
Showtime is Go-Time: Finally, it’s time to take the hit the real estate investment market and make that purchase. There’s no better time than any point in time. Now that you are educated in the property market, have saved up for more than an initial deposit and have an idea of what you can buy, it’s time to take the plunge and actually buy in. The longer you leave it, the more arduous the process becomes, things scale up and become more expensive on the property ladder, and it might become a case of something you eventually never got around to doing. In land investment, every second counts. However, this is not an ad to encourage rashness. As long as you buy in a good location, from reputable real estate investment companies, within your budget, then it’s likely your property investment will do well, and allow you to buy property number two much sooner.
Young millennial, secure the bag…Erm…the land