Rich Harvey

You can't always get both capital growth and cash flow in the same property, in the same location, depending on where it's located.

So I believe that smart property investors can get both if they know where to choose the right location and match the right property type in that location.

The key, Craig, is choosing the right asset and choosing the right location.

A lot of people cannot afford to negative gear.

They can't afford to make a slight rental loss every week or every month because they need that cash flow to service the loan.

Whereas people on higher incomes can afford to negative gear and potentially go through that particular strategy.

My position is that you should be seeking a balance in the market.

It's no good overextending yourself to try and buy really expensive blue-chip property in a really top suburb if you can't afford to hang on to it.

So I think it's really important for investors to consider what sort of strategy is going to work for them.

You need a good mortgage broker, you need a top buyer's agent, and you should also have a financial planner in your corner giving you an overall financial plan to create that wealth that you're looking for.

So you're asking me, Craig, for the magic pudding sauce, right?

Okay, okay, let's try and unpack this a bit.

Well, firstly, it's paying the right price.

The first thing is that you make your money when you buy, not necessarily when you sell.

So if you pay the right price in the first place, the return it delivers will fall into place for you.

But if you overpay, you're going to lose on both fronts.

You're always trying to play catch up for that property.

I look for areas where there's a really strong yield.

In terms of cash flow, I want to know that there's a really good pool of renters out there, that it's an area that's got strong amenity, close to shops, schools, transport, and there's not going to be a high vacancy rate.

You know, Brisbane's got a vacancy rate of 0.7.