A finance specialist has urged aspiring property investors to spend less time theorising whether or not now is the right time to buy and instead direct their energy into making sure they’ll be ready to act when the opportunity does present itself.
According to Linton Advisory Group managing director Caxton Pang, it’s not only property investors but also business clients seeking financing who must be prepared to provide far more detailed access to their finances than before given the current COVID-19 lending landscape.
“A lot of my investing clients have queried whether now is a good time to get into the property market and my main advice to them is to ‘be better prepared’, rather than give them my prediction,” said Pang.
“If people intend to purchase, refinance or cash-out, they must have their financial accounts updated and organised now.
“The major banks are facing massive delays in turnaround times and, as a result of strict compliance procedures, they require full financials to be disclosed.”
While Pang acknowledged smaller lenders may not require as much detail, as well as boast faster turnaround times, he emphasised that their interest rates would likely be slightly higher.
“[However,] given interest rates are so low at the moment and likely to stay that way, the SME clients or investors should probably focus on maximising the loan sizes rather than the interest rates,” he added.
“Regardless of whether you apply to one of the big four or smaller lenders, you need to get your business in order and organise your financial details and deposits much earlier... so there is cash flow available in the event that opportunities may arise in the market.”
Pang is passionate about prepping property hopefuls to take the necessary action now, as he believes said opportunity may be closer than it seems despite the market's obvious challenges.
“While we don’t have a crystal ball to foresee the future impacts of COVID-19, there are still some encouraging signs for the economy,” he said.
“We haven’t seen a significant drop in the property market within the good areas. While there has been a lot of pain for many SMEs, there are still businesses performing strongly and hiring staff and merger and acquisition activity is continuing.”
