In this article:
An excerpt from Andrew Morello's eBook The Morello Matrix: your guide to property investment. Andrew, the winner of the first series of Celebrity Apprentice Australia, provides his comprehensive personal approach to buying real estate and building a property portfolio.

To get your free copy of the full Morello Matrix eBook visit www.ybr.com.au/morellomatrix
Start with a Plan
- Save for a deposit: The first step is to get a deposit, usually 5-10 percent of the purchase price plus costs.
- Map it out: Establish what you want to buy, the likely cost of it, and how much your lender will require as a deposit.
- Do your homework: find out the actual amount you will need for stamp duty and conveyancing fees.
- Set a deadline on your goal of saving this money.
- Accept it will take some sacrifice.
Ways to Save
- Live with mum and dad while you save the deposit.
- Make a budget and stick to it.
- Use a high-interest savings account or managed fund that is separated from your daily account.
- Cut out luxuries and bank the savings, such as coffees, eating out and exotic beers or wines.
- Get a second job, and save all the income from that job.
- The golden rule is to pay yourself first, direct from employer into an account that doesn’t have a plastic card attached.
- Look for overtime, do the worst shifts, then bank the extra pay.
- Pay a regular amount into your savings, which you don’t have easy access to.