Mark Armstrong & David Johnston 
Property for Life 
Using Property to Plan Your Financial Future

Property for Life is an essential guide to the property and
finance decisions that Australian homebuyers and investors face
throughout the various ages and stages of their lives. Property
for Life is the story of Jim and Jane and their property
decisions. The book follows them as they buy their first property,
have a family, upgrade to a new home, buy an investment property,
downsize to a lower maintenance home when their children leave the
nest and finally use property as a source of income in their
retirement years.

As Jim and Jane reach the various property milestones in their
lives, the investing principles and general property and financial
options available and the pros and cons of these are covered.

Issues covered include:

* saving for a deposit

* securing a mortgage

* mortgage insurance

* researching the market

* scouting the market

* negotiating the purchase

* preparing your home for sale

* developing an investment strategy

* reducing debt

* tax effective investment

* asset protection

* maximising cashflow

* planning for retirement

* dealing with life changes eg having children, working for
yourself

Through Jim and Jane’s story, Property for Life brings a
human dimension to property investing that other books lack.
Regardless of whether you are part of a couple, or what age and
stage you are at in your life, all readers will be able to identify
with Jim and Jane’s situation and draw knowledge for their own
property investing journey.

Table of Content

About the authors vii

Introduction ix

1 Getting a foot in the door 1

2 Hitting the market 21

3 Taking the next step 43

4 Moving on up 59

5 Managing your fi nances through life’s changes 79

6 Time to invest 93

7 Selecting a high-growth asset 115

8 Consolidation and review 137

9 Selecting an income-driven asset 155

10 Fulfi lling the dream 173

Index 183

About the author

Mark Armstrong and David Johnston are Directors of
Property Planning Australia, a company that develops property,
finance and financial planning strategies for local, interstate and
overseas clients. They are prominent and respected commentators on
property and finance issues, with regular appearances in The
Age, Sunday Age, Australian Property Investor
magazine and Your Mortgage magazine. Mark and David also
work in partnership with Victoria University, lecturing on the
principles of property investment.

Mark holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) from RMIT
University, is a Certifi ed Practising Accountant and member of the
Real Estate Institute of Victoria. He lives in Melbourne with his
wife Libby and three children Jack, Ben and Emily.

David holds a Bachelor of Applied Science from Deakin University,
is an accredited member of the Mortgage and Finance Association of
Australia and also sits on the Association’s Victorian State
Brokers Committee. He grew up in country Victoria and came to
Melbourne 15 years ago to pursue education, sporting and business
endeavours.

Fiona Marsden is a professional writer with extensive
experience in property and fi nancial services. She has contributed
to several books and written articles for The Age, Sunday
Age and Australian Property Investor magazine.