We are time poor. In fact with 2 kids we are very time poor. We felt whilst we'd read all there was to read about how to pick an ideal property, we didn't have the time to do it.

So we looked at some Property Advisers/Buyers Advocates.

We wanted something that matched the following criteria,

* located within 12kms of Melbourne CBD
* 2 bedroom unit
* located in a block of less than 12 units
* close to public transport

Some Buyer's Advocates wanted 4% of the property value, some wanted a fixed fee. We felt the fixed fee approach was a much fairer option - that way they'd be unlikely to sway us into the more expensive ones.

We found a property advisory firm who were very good. They took us out to the property which was currently being rennovated. We plugged the numbers into the PIA Software and we were happy with the results. We ended up purchasing that unit.

Mistake #1 - we bought a renovated property and paid the premium - where we should have bought one that needed renovating and manufactured the capital growth!

We've since learnt from another advisory firm that they charge a fee for finding existing properties that are on the open market, and charge nothing when it's an off the plan property.

These people make their cut from the developers so it's in their interest to on sell to any unsuspecting property investor! Therefore it's wise to select a Buyers Advocate or Property Advisor that has a fixed fee and only recommends properties that are on the open market.

So we began our investing after our first child was born. We thought the best thing to do would be consult a Financial Adviser.

It so happened our Mortgage Broker had recently become a Financial Advising company too, so we got them to prepare a plan for $500.

After reviewing the plan, we discovered he was 'advising' us to switch Superannuation providers as well as swicth Income Protection providers. He stood to make over $6k of commissions based upon these recommendations, not to mention the ongoing commissions.

Worst of all, there was no basis for the recommendations, no reasons as to why we should switch. So I made a couple of phone calls and ended up reporting the adviser to the relevant people.

Onto Adviser #2. A recommendation from a friend put us intouch with an adviser that offered fee for service. Infact, any rebates he received over his fee would be rebated to us. We thought that you couldn't be fairer than that.

Everything was going well, we got advice on setting up a small investment for our daughter - a managed fund. We got our Super contributions on track, and reassesed our insurances.

When I got a pay rise at work, we approached the FA and asked what to do with this spare cash. He told us to wait 6 months until our appointment! He said we'd used up our quota of time and would have to wait.

We were appalled.

But we learnt the most valuable lesson - my wife and I are the only people that are and will be responsible for the success of our financial future.

Consequently, we and our Financial Adviser went our separate ways.