How to start...

Hi mate

If you're keen on a property, is there anyone you could share a purchase with or would parents etc. lend you some additional deposit ? The $4K will cover some fees, and the FHOG is a decent leg-up. If you own a place you could rent out a room or 2 to help with repayments, and given you can fix for 5 years at pretty low rates now, that would cover some risk. Maybe talk to a broker who is a bit 'strategic' (like Rolf Latham at ASAP Financial) because he might be able to at least assess what you could borrow and when. I hate the idea of paying rent which is dead money, unless you have rent coming in from someone else in an IP elsewhere Not sure what the market is like in Fremantle, but it's definitely a good time to be buying over here.

Good luck
Carl

Hi Carl,

Thanks for the help. I guess I have resorted to the fact that I am going to sit for a bit whilst I do a bit of reading. Yes the realestate market is interesting but given that it would take 40+k to jump in I think I best to sit and wait a bit. I too hate the idea of paying rent but would rather do that for a bit longer than comitt to something that Iprobably shouldnt have.

Thor

I think a good start is to sign up with Commsec (or other online brokers) and just buy $4000 worth of shares.

You could try one of the geared products around - I've just gone into the Westpac Bluechip20 which matches your investment with a margin loan up to an equal amount.

When set up you've got options to reduce your loan or increase your securities held (which reduces your exposure to a margin call) depending on which account you deposit your money.... am new to the market myself and it seemed like a pretty easy way to begin building a blue chip portfolio as it invests in the top 20 ASX shares (weighted by capitalisation).

Be careful though, as there are plenty of warnings about for those who use gearing to excess and get into trouble.

Good luck!