Peter Cerexhe

The property market can seem like a maze, especially if you're thinking of buying a home for the first time. Investing in property is not the sure route to success and profit it once was - you now have to be smarter to make your investment in residential property perform well and not drag you down.

Now extensively revised throughout, this bestselling book tells you how to invest smarter by:

* selecting the best possible property in terms of purchase price, ongoing costs and potential for capital gain;

* understanding when and how to negotiate with financial institutions to get the most advantageous loan;

* recognising your own attitudes to risk and reward;

* understanding how the government uses the tax system to encourage wealth creation within specific guidelines, and how it penalises attempts at wealth creation that move outside those guidelines;

* building a team of experts around you, each of whom is indebted to you;

* being aware of the most common mistakes people can make when they buy a home;

* analysing the advantages and disadvantages of investing in different types of property;

* finding the 'hot' suburbs;

* understanding the impact of the GST and whether you should register.