Nine pearls of ancient wisdom for property investment success

Confucius say: “Property investor looking to create wealth from real estate can learn much from ancient Chinese proverbs.”

Okay, so I’m not quoting Confucius verbatim, however the teachings of the ancient Chinese philosophers still ring true in today’s very different, modern world and have clear application when it comes to the business of real estate investment.

Those property investors who understand the importance that mindset plays in their wealth creation journey should gain some insights from the following Chinese proverbs – a handful of my favourites:

“Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”

I have found that your level of wealth will seldom exceed your own personal development. That’s because your way of thinking regarding money, wealth and prosperity will determine the financial heights you reach.

You see, your thoughts lead to your feelings; your feelings lead to your actions and your actions lead to your results. Your inner world (your thoughts and feelings) will determine your outer world (your results and destiny).

So first work on yourself, because your wealth won’t grow unless you do. And if per chance you do happen to stumble upon a financial windfall and your wealth takes a lucky jump, unless you grow out to where it is, it will go back to where you are because it is very likely you’ll lose your money through mistakes or mismanagement.

“He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.”

One of the big mistakes beginning investors make is to think they can do everything themselves. They do a bit of research, crunch some numbers and suddenly they’re industry experts.

And of course you can’t tell them anything because they know it all.

As I frequently say: If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room, so recognise the areas where you need help and don’t be afraid to seek out expert advice. There are no foolish questions, just foolish people who were reluctant to ask.

One more thing: don’t be put off because a learning opportunity costs money. We all pay learning fees – either to someone who helps us or to the market because of our mistakes (which are usually very expensive.)

“A single conversation with a wise man is better than 10 years of study.”

Finding a mentor is the fast track to acquiring the type of property investment insights that can never be found in a book.

Seek out mentors who have already achieved the goals that you aspire to by successfully investing through a number of property cycles and, just as importantly, who’ve managed to retain their wealth.

“One mouse dropping ruins the whole pot of porridge.”

One bad asset can be the proverbial fly in the ointment that hold back your portfolios overall growth. So review your property portfolio regularly.

If you find a property that, knowing what you know now, you would not buy again today consider selling the, err, ‘mouse dropping’ in order to make room for a better addition to your ‘pot of [property] porridge’.

“A single spark can start a fire that burns your entire house down.”

Every year unforeseen factors come out of the blue to test us, so look forward to the best of times, but prepare yourself for the worst.

Protect yourself and your portfolio against unforeseen crises, be it a personal one – like losing income due to ailing health – or something on a larger scale. Insure yourself as well as your assets and maintain a financial buffer you can dip into, should the need arise.  

“Don’t be afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.”

Sustainable wealth creation through property investment is not a process you can rush. It takes time for compounding and leverage to work it’s magic.

Warren Buffet put it a different way: “Wealth is the transfer of money from the impatient to the patient.”

“The best time To plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

It’s never too late to get into the property game. Sure it would have been nice to do it when the median price of a house was $100,000, but interestingly that seemed expensive to most investors 20 years ago.

There are always opportunities in the property market. The sooner you start, the sooner you are on track to reaping long-term riches.

“Man who stand on hill with mouth open will wait long time for roast duck to drop in.” 

Some people think that announcing their plans to become a rich real estate tycoon to friends and family over the dinner table will somehow make the magic just happen. In property, opportunities rarely come knocking. You have to seek them out and be prepared to create your own.

The big difference between successful investors and the average Australian is that they set themselves goals and then take decisive action to achieve them.

“A fall into a ditch makes you wiser.”

Fact is: you’re going to make mistakes when you invest. We all do. However it’s not how often you fall in the ditch that matters, it’s how often you get up, dust yourself off and try again that matters.

Hopefully you will minimise your mistakes by learning from these wise Chinese sayings.