I’m going to let you in on a secret – not everyone is on your side so you must make sure you do your own research when it comes to your precious finances and investments.

For instance, there’s a little thing called “holding costs” that are often the undoing of property investors. So, what is a holding cost?

Holding cost is all the associated expense when you own a property from the date of a new settlement until the date of selling.

And you should never underestimate it.

Not many properties investment books in Australia will actually talk about the additional expenses from holding costs when investing in a property, nor the risk of investing in it. Whether the agents know or don’t know about it, it must be a definite consideration when investing in property.

So as a property portfolio owner, you need to go into the investment with your eyes open, to see if buying ‘this’ investment property will still be as profitable as you think.

‘Do your research!’ is a must but be careful where you get your information. Once again, not all is as it seems. Take the issue of the Google search engine; nowadays it is all about the Google Ads fees and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation); whoever pays for the ads and SEO fees will show up on the first page. This is why people see marketing gurus rather than subject matter online. Think of it this way; do you go to a doctor when you are sick or Google how to fix it yourself?

As for literature on the subject, unfortunately most books and promoted investment articles are trying to sell you a particular type of investment property; how to hold it, why you should buy it, and not many outline the details of the cost items and potential risks. So, I will use two chapters to illustrate these two important elements in property investment – costs and risks.