Property Investment
6 min read
Author: Ben King
Ben has 14 years of experience as a mortgage advisor and background as an investment adviser.
Reviewed by: Grace Gibson
Financial adviser at Opes. Over 10 years experience in financial services.
Most people don’t need a financial adviser all the time.
But there are certain moments in life when getting professional advice can make a massive difference. Not just to your money today, but to where you end up 10, 20, or 30 years from now.
These moments usually pop up when life changes, responsibilities grow, or a large amount of money suddenly lands in your lap.
In this article, you’ll learn the top 6 times when you really do need to talk to a financial adviser. You’ll also learn what’s actually going on financially at those points, and who you should talk to. Because the truth is, not all advisers do the same thing.
You don’t need a financial adviser all the time, but during major life or money changes, getting the right advice can dramatically improve your long-term outcome.
Divorce is one of the biggest financial shocks most people will ever experience.
Overnight, your assets get split. Your household income changes. You may need to find a new place to live. And the future you thought you were building suddenly looks very different. So your money goals change.
At this point, most people are juggling two big questions at the same time:
Often, couples find themselves in one of two scenarios:
Both people need to reset their finances separately, often from scratch
And all of this happens while emotions are running high.
This is where it’s important to get good financial advice. Because, talking through the options with someone who’s seen it before can help you avoid rash decisions. Like sinking everything you own into the wrong property.
A good financial adviser might not tell you the ‘right’ answer. But they can help you calmly weigh your options when emotions are loud and decisions are expensive.
Marriage and children don’t just change your life, they change who relies on you financially.
Once someone else depends on your income, you’re no longer just living (and working) for yourself.
Suddenly:
I felt this shift myself when I got married.
If I were single and something happened to me (e.g. death or serious illness), it honestly wouldn’t matter much what happened to the money.
Once you’re married, it really matters. I felt myself wanting to make sure my partner is protected, and that they can keep the home and maintain their life even if I died or got sick.
Once you have children, that responsibility grows again.
Think about it, if you got so sick you couldn’t work… would your partner be able to afford the mortgage on their own salary?
This is why it’s important to talk to an insurance adviser. Not because something will happen, but because if it does, your entire financial life can fall apart.
Buying property is usually the largest purchase you’re ever going to make.
If you’re about to spend $600,000 to $1 million on a property, you might need to take on a huge amount of debt. That decision can shape your finances for decades.
So it makes sense to get advice before you commit.
This isn’t just about whether you can buy a property.
It’s about whether you’re buying the right property for your goals and whether the way you structure the debt helps or hurts you long-term.
OK so this one isn’t a single life event but it’s just as important.
At some point, most people stop and ask themselves: “Am I actually going to be okay financially long-term?”
You start thinking about all the things you want to achieve in life. And whether it’ll ever happen.
That could be planning to go on your dream holidays, buying the dream home, or having the dream retirement.
That point might hit you in your 30s, 40s, or 50s (or even later).
This is when you’re no longer just thinking about next year. You’re thinking about the longer term and what that might look like.
At this stage, you want to get financial advice about:
Selling a business or property often flips your financial world upside down.
You move from growth mode – wanting to make money in the future – to wanting to preserve what you have.
One day you’re earning income. Next, you’re sitting on a large lump sum of cash that may need to last for decades.
This is a critical moment. You may never receive another payout this large. So you want to be intelligent about how much you spend, how you invest in, and how to make it last.
This is where diversification, income planning, and managing your risk start to matter.
Sometimes people find themselves with ‘Sudden Money’. They might have received an inheritance, a payout from their business … or yes, even winning the lottery. It does happen.
Sudden money feels great. You’ve all of a sudden got money in your bank account. But unless you have a plan, that money can disappear faster than you expect.
If you find yourself hundreds of thousands of dollars richer overnight, it’s very important to press pause on any big emotional decisions. That dream boat or house upgrade can feel very justified.
But is it the best decision for the future-you?
This is where most people want to create a plan to make sure that their new-found security last throughout their lifetime.
Remember, these aren’t the only times to get advice, just some of the most important ones.
You don’t need to wait for a crisis or major milestone to talk to a financial adviser. But these moments are when a financial adviser can be worth their weight in gold.
If your life, responsibilities, or balance sheet change dramatically, that’s usually your cue.
Good advice doesn’t just help you make decisions.
It helps you make better decisions with more confidence, and with fewer regrets later on.
Ben has 14 years of experience as a mortgage advisor and background as an investment adviser.
Ben brings a wealth of experience to the table with his 14 years as a mortgage advisor and background as an investment adviser. His dedication to helping clients reach their financial goals is central to his work.
This article is for your general information. It’s not financial advice. See here for details about our Financial Advice Provider Disclosure. So Opes isn’t telling you what to do with your own money.
We’ve made every effort to make sure the information is accurate. But we occasionally get the odd fact wrong. Make sure you do your own research or talk to a financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
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