Since I’ve been harping on and on about investing, and Kim Kiyosaki advises in Rich Woman that the first step to getting started is gaining an understanding about what’s happening in the area of investment that you’re looking at. For instance if it’s real estate, then start checking out properties; if it’s the stock market, get familiar with the stock market.

Frankly, I think I’m more comfortable about the idea of investing in real estate. That’s not to say I’ll never look at the stock market, but I’ve got to begin somewhere. Even when I was still a teenager growing up, I remember scouring the classifieds with my parents looking at houses in Melbourne. I felt I learned quite a lot in that period just by bumbling around, attending open houses and auctions.

So I finally took the first step with the hubby when we went to check out the plans for the release of the next phase of Northbank apartments in Melbourne. The preview was being hosted on the third floor of Eastin hotel both yesterday and today. There was an advert in The Star advertising 1 bedroom apartments going from AUD 265k onwards.

Location wise, it looked good. Located opposite the river from The Crown Entertainment complex and a stone’s throw from Colin’s Street (where all the yuppies are working if we’re looking to rent out the property). The downside was that the railway tracks passed fairly close to it. Though we were informed that the developers had taken all the necessary precautions in the building materials to ensure that sound levels were well below the maximum acceptable limits. The railway tracks pass at about level 2, so the upper levels should be well out of the “noise” zone.

The two bedroom apartments were selling out fast so we took a look at the one bedders on the 7th and 8th floor. These were going at about AUD 345-350k. Each level up is roughly about another 5k extra. The down payment was 10%, without progressive payments. The balance would be paid upon completion of the apartments in 2009. Loans were available at 75% of the selling price.

According to the agent, these apartments could fetch a weekly rental somewhere in the region of about AUD 300+ to 400+ per week, depending on whether you owned a 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom apartment. The current trends in Australia have shown that the demand for single room apartments are on the increase and the way to go for the future as more and more people are remaining unmarried.

Now according to Robert Kiyosaki in Cashflow Quadrant, a good investment puts money in your pocket the moment you put any money on it. Simply put, to assess this rental property, it’s important to know how much it’s going to cost us per month (all expenses included) and that amount should be less than the rental we can get for it. If we have to top up any money to pay back the loan, it’s not a good investment. Given that the property won’t be ready until 2009 and we’re required to put down a 10% payment, I guess we could say that this won’t be a good investment.