Book Review: How to Maximise your Property Portfolio
By Margaret Lomas - RRP$27.95
Cash flow is King
Reviewed by Richard Gruiters, Good Returns
This whole book is based on the premise that the reader is a current or potential cash flow investor. From the start it
is evident that the author is passionate about positive cash flow property and puts forward a convincing argument as to
why cash flow property is the way to go, if you want to achieve financial freedom. So if you are a capital growth
investor then this is probably not the book for you.
Being a supporter and practitioner of the philosophy of cash flow properties, I was keen to read this book to glean a
few inspirational ideas on how I could improve the performance of my humble property portfolio.
Having not read the author’s previous books, it was difficult to know what had already been covered in her previous
publications (therefore not written about in the book) and what had just been omitted altogether. Because of this, it
might not be considered a book which covers everything, due to her previous books having covered various other subjects
in more detail and which she did not want to repeat in this publication. Topics covered in previous books include such
subjects as financing properties, questions to ask when buying property, the buying process and depreciation recovered
upon sale of a property.
This book is along the same lines as the majority of other property investment books in that it covers the same general
topics, but from the stance of a positive cash flow investor.
Topics covered include:
The pro’s and con’s of cash flow and capital growth properties,
Shopping for Property,
Managing your individual properties and your portfolio as a whole,
Maximising your cash flow through tax claims,
Property Structures,
Questions from readers
The down side to this book for a New Zealand reader is that because the author is Australian, the chapters and worked
examples on property structures, depreciation and tax, are written with references to the Australian laws only. On a
more positive note, the biggest points I got from this book include:
The importance of projecting future cash flows on investment property purchases prior to buying, to ensure that the property will not only be cash flow positive from day one, but that it will in fact stay
a positive cash flow property after year one, year five and even year ten.
The need to be pro-active in the monitoring of your portfolio – not to just purchase and then “set and forget”. To
continually monitor the performance of each property within your portfolio and the portfolio as a whole, to ensure it is
still producing a positive cash flow.
To adjust the portfolio accordingly to ensure it performs to its maximum potential and also performs to the level you
require in order to achieve your financial goals.
To not be afraid to cut your losses on a property if it is a “lemon” and to immediately get straight back into the
“game” instead of being put off by one unsuccessful investment.
When considering your property structure, to do your calculations and choose the structure which will have the greatest
benefits over the longest possible time, rather than one that just looks right today.
The book finishes with some valuable and informative topics, including:
A chapter on reader questions and answers
Capitalising investment loans
Deposit bonds
A summary of what I consider the most valuable bullet points from throughout the book
For the new property investor, this book gives a clear explanation of what needs to be considered and what is required
to acquire positive cash flow property. It also gives an insight into the issues that need to be addressed to ensure
that positive cash flow is maintained for each property and the portfolio as a whole.
To buy ‘ How To Maximise Your Property Portfolio’ priced at $27.95 GST incl from Good Returns click here.