Summary: More rules, more cost, less support. Plenty of owners are selling out of sheer frustration, and many will regret it. Here is how to think it through.
If owning an investment property feels harder than it used to, you are not imagining it. The legislation keeps growing. Costs keep rising. The bodies meant to keep things fair can feel stacked against owners. Insurers seem ever quicker to find a reason not to pay. And owners corporation fees, in many buildings, are climbing faster than the rent ever could.
Put all that together and a lot of owners land on the same thought: this is too hard, I will just sell. It is an understandable reaction. It is also, very often, the expensive one.
The hidden cost of selling out of frustration
Selling a long-held investment can trigger agent’s fees, marketing, possible capital gains tax, and the loss of an asset that may have taken years to grow. Worse, you give up your position in a market that is genuinely hard to re-enter. A decision made in a moment of frustration can undo a decade of patient investing.
None of this means holding is always right. Sometimes selling is the smart move. The point is to make that call with clear eyes, not because the paperwork wore you down.
What actually makes owning hard, and what helps
In our experience, most of the strain comes from a handful of things: not knowing what the law now requires, being stuck with a property manager who is not up to it, fighting an insurer alone, or feeling that no one is on your side. Each of those is fixable. Standards can be met. Managers can be replaced. Claims can be challenged. And having an experienced advocate in your corner changes how the whole thing feels.
Get a second opinion before you decide
Before you list the property out of exhaustion, it is worth one honest conversation with someone who knows the industry from the inside and has nothing to sell you. Sometimes the answer is still to sell, and we will help you do it well. More often, there is a better path, and you just needed someone to help you see it.
This article is general information, not financial or legal advice. For advice on your situation, talk to us, or to your accountant.
Thinking of selling?
Have one honest conversation first