Regardless of what property investment stage you’re in, starting out, reviewing or expanding your property portfolio, establishing clear and achievable goals is the key to success. Setting goals will give you direction and motivation, and the inspiration to keep working towards them. The shrewd property investor sets realistic goals, and then develops a clear plan to reach them.

Setting your goals

Do you want to retire early with overseas trips, or are you looking to save for children’s education? Setting goals requires careful thought, so take the time to properly think about what your short and long-term financial goals are. You’ve probably got lots of dreams and ideas; using a SMART format will help you focus your thoughts so you can set real and achievable goals:

• Specific – goals should be clear and specific
• Measurable – establish ways for measuring progress toward your goal
• Actionable – you need to be able to take practical actions to achieve a goal
• Realistic – while it’s good to set your sights high, make sure they are realistic sights
• Timely – if you set timeframes to each goal so you can not only track progress, but also get a sense of achievement which will keep you on track

Planning to reach them

Benjamin Franklin supposedly once said ‘If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!’, and never a truer word was said. Once you’ve established your goals, you need to develop a good property investment plan to help you achieve them. Write down your plan and track its progress – There are actually some good finance apps out there which can help. You can then establish what is bringing the best returns, what needs to be managed or changed and what time frames are involved.

By developing a detailed investment plan can see your property portfolio move from strength to strength, and who knows, you may reach your goals sooner than you think.