Follow these 6 tips and your dinner party conversation won't be the same again.

• Tip 1 What is Negative Gearing?

Negative gearing is a term you will hear often in property conversations, you need to understand what it is.  When an investment property has more costs going out than rent coming in the property is negatively geared.  You as the owner make up the additional costs from your own wallet, that's the negative part.

• Tip 2 Be a Specialist.

Become a specialist in one particular area that you like.  Drive around this area and take note of the style of houses and find out what era they were built in if they are older homes.  Learn the good streets to live in and which streets you wouldn't live in as they are too close to the train line etc.  Know what schools, restaurants and shops are in your area and find out if they have good reputations.

• Tip 3 Learn Property Values.

Learn values of the houses in your specialist area.  Read the property section of the local paper to find out what prices are being asked of the different styles of homes you identified in Tip 2.  Visit a couple of open homes to find out the condition of properties in each price bracket to give you a better understanding of values.

• Tip 4 Increase your knowledge.

Improve your knowledge by looking up a few specialist property tools to give you extra confidence.  Property magazines often have tables in the back which tell you how much each suburb has grown in value for all states of Australia.  Is your specialist area growing faster than neighbouring suburbs?  If you find a property you really like, you can always check out how much it was last sold for FREE here.

• Tip 5 Know what you like.

Do you prefer apartments over houses?  Do you like particular styles of houses in your area?  Do you prefer older houses or newer ones?  Do you want a big backyard for the future kids to play in?  Everyone has personal preferences and you need to understand what your preferences are.

• Tip 6 Know why you like what you do.

Now that you know what you like, make a list of why you like these types of properties.  Do you prefer apartments and townhouses because you hate gardening?  Do you like older houses so that you can do up the bathrooms and kitchens to your own taste.  All properties have advantages and disadvantages and as long as you know why you like the styles of properties that you do, you can confidently discuss them with anyone.

Want to learn more about investing?

If you want to learn more about property investing, grab some friends and host a personalised workshop.  Our workshops can be tailored to suit you and your interests, whether that is property, shares and managed funds or How to make money work in a relationship.