I work rotating shifts. When do we actually talk?

Evenings, mostly. The booking calendar runs later slots specifically so you're not using a break to have this conversation. Pick whatever suits - if nothing fits your roster, message me and we'll find a time that does.

$15,000 plus GST, in two parts: a $4,000 + GST retainer to begin the search, and an $11,000 + GST success fee payable when your purchase is secured. It's a fixed fee, not a percentage of the purchase price - so there is no incentive for me to push you into a more expensive property. You know the full cost before we start.

Do I need finance approved before we start?

Not approved, but you do need a clear picture - and for healthcare income that conversation is worth having properly. Before the strategy call, speak to a broker who understands salary packaging, penalty rates and shift allowances. If you don't have one, I'll introduce you at no cost and no obligation. This single step is the difference between a search that ends in a settlement and one that stalls after the contract.

Do I have to attend inspections?

No. I inspect on your behalf and send video walkthroughs with a written assessment, so you can make the call from home after a shift rather than spending a rostered day off driving to opens. If you want to see a property before contract, we'll arrange it around your roster.

How long until I've bought something?

Most engagements run from strategy call to signed contract in weeks rather than months, but it depends on your brief and on stock. A tightly defined search in an active market moves fast; a narrow brief in a thin market takes longer. I'd rather wait for the right asset than fill a deadline with the wrong one.

I'm on a public health salary. Is $15,000 worth it?

That's the right question to ask. Overpaying by 3% on a $700,000 purchase is $21,000 - more than the fee, on one transaction. Buying in the wrong location costs considerably more over a decade. If after the strategy call you'd rather run the search yourself, the buying brief is yours to keep and I'll tell you honestly whether you need me.

Am I dealing with you, or with staff?

Me. Haus Haven is deliberately small - I take on a limited number of clients at a time so every search, inspection and negotiation is run by the person who built the framework. When that capacity is full, I say so rather than stretching thin.

Should a healthcare worker buy for cash flow or growth?

3 Oct

Written By Luke Murphy

Short answer: It depends on what you want the property to do. If you want extra income now, you target positively geared properties. If you want to build wealth to pay off your own home or retire earlier, you target properties in growth locations.

Cash flow

A positively geared property earns more rent than it costs to hold. It can top up your income or take pressure off if you want to drop shifts. The trade off is that these properties usually grow more slowly.

Growth

A growth property usually costs you something each week to hold, but builds more value over time. That value has a job to do later, like paying down your home loan or funding the next purchase.

What we chose

For my wife and me, the goal was to create capital to pay off our home. We bought for growth, then sold two properties for around $370,000 in gross profit in two years. We still hold six investment properties plus our home.

Questions people ask

Can I have both?
Some properties sit in the middle, but you usually give up some of one to get the other.

Which is safer on a shift wage?
Whichever you can hold if your hours change. A growth property you're forced to sell early does you no good.

How do I pick the suburb?
I check supply first. Too many new homes being built can stall growth for years.

Luke Murphy is a buyers agent for healthcare workers, working Australia wide. General information only, not financial advice.

Luke Murphy

Should a healthcare worker buy for cash flow or growth?

Cash flow

Growth

What we chose

Questions people ask

Is a buyers agent worth it for healthcare workers?

How do healthcare workers use the equity in their home to buy an investment property?