Or for those of us with less experience in the investment game… spending too much money for what you are going to get back.

This can be a serious threat to securing positive financial returns on your investments and is often something that can be avoided as long as you follow some simple guidelines.

Be wary of renovating

It can seem like such a fantastic idea to purchase an old home with grand plans to save money by renovating- either rolling up your sleeves and doing it yourself if you have a bit of a handyman streak or finding low-cost contractors to do it for you.

The danger is that with older homes you never quite know what is under the surface. Plumbing, electrical, structural damage, non-compliance with council regulations… these can all hit you with a huge bill and you will wonder why you spent so much time and effort on this property in the first place.

Pixel price home and land packages tailored for investment may be a more strategic and keep costs within budget, and you can generally know exactly what you are going to get at the end of the day for your money.

Keep your emotions in check

Remember that the aim of the game is to keep things simple, presentable, functional while being visually appealing to attract renters. It can be easy to get caught up- designing can be addictive, and you may be tempted to just spend a little bit more to get the nicer feature, but enough of these little upgrades and soon your budget will be blown.

Instead, come up with a price you are happy to pay in total at the end, and plan things out so that you know what everything is going to cost so you know how much wiggle room you have to invest in luxuries.

Forget being trendy

Popular suburbs might seem like a great place to invest, but instead, you may find yourself spending way more for a smaller or older property that doesn’t generate the rental returns you would like. Instead, get smart- choosing up and coming suburbs close to public transport and future infrastructure may just work out to offer better returns in the long run.

Big cities like Sydney or Melbourne may be much less affordable than suburbs in South East Queensland for example but yield similar rental returns.