Capital Property Newcastle

Blocking out noise, pursuing your beliefs and drawing inspiration from Teddy Bear

Capital Property Newcastle — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 00:23:51 +0000

In a world where criticism seems to flow far too easily, I’ve noticed one incredibly consistent attribute in people who achieve whatever it is they set out to achieve in life: an ability to block out all of the noise and put the ‘blinders’ on to the distractions of the world, allowing them to solely focus on moving towards their goals.

It’s a learned skill and a mindset which is central to the inspiring speech delivered by Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne in Paris, France on 23^rd April 1910. Also referred to as ‘Teddy Bear’, Roosevelt was the youngest person to ever become President of the United States, a campaigner for the conservation of natural resources, and the recipient of the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize. Most of all he was someone who didn’t let anyone, or anything stand in the way of the pursuit of what he believed in, a key message he delivered in the speech below.

Excerpt from ‘Man in the Arena speech’ – Theodore Roosevelt

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

If you want more out of life but find yourself sitting on the sidelines, frozen by the noise and distractions of the modern world, ask yourself if it’s time to put the blinders on to the things blocking your way.

Capital Property Newcastle are a team of experienced buyer’s agents who are focused on helping people to achieve big life goals through property investment. If you’re ready to take the first steps on the path to achieving your goals in life:

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Call our team or click here to secure your complimentary consultation and start your property journey.

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Property investment in Newcastle – The threat that lies beneath

Capital Property Newcastle — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 05:32:22 +0000

The property investment journey can produce a roller coaster ride of emotions, especially for those who find themselves in uncharted waters. For first-time investors the initial thrill that comes when they burst out of the gates and begin searching for potential opportunities, is often replaced by fear and frustration as they begin to encounter the many unforeseen bumps, blind corners, and sheer cliffs that exist as risks on the path to success.

In Newcastle not only do we need to be aware of, and manage all of the typical risks that come with investing in property, we have something else altogether frightening. A threat from deep below, that just about everyone purchasing property in Newcastle must contend with – mine subsidence . Whilst fairly well understood by most Novocastrians, mine subsidence is a risk that looms large for anyone who doesn’t know where to look, or who to go to for help.

A quick insight into mine subsidence:

The city of Newcastle was subject to enormously extensive coal mining efforts that spanned from the 1830s through to the 1960s. Prior to the growth of the city and the establishment of many of the homes, major buildings, key local infrastructure and community assets, coal mining activities were widespread. The result?

Major economic benefits to the town in years past; and
Land below ground that now looks like swiss cheese due to the deep and unstable mine shafts left behind. This is a situation that can present significant problems for anyone wanting to build, renovate or extend properties in the present day.

Just ask Syrian billionaire and hotelier Ghassan Aboud who recently purchased the former Newcastle City Council building with plans to turn it into Newcastle’s first 5-star hotel. What Aboud didn’t see coming was the multi-million dollar price tag associated with structural rectification of the centuries old mine shafts that lay under the future hotel site – a requirement imposed by the mine subsidence authority of NSW as part of town planning approval Aboud is seeking.

The good news? Remnant mine shafts need not cost you in the same way they have cost Aboud. Particularly if your focus is on investing in low-rise (below 2-3 storeys) residential and commercial buildings. There are also some steps you can take to avoid the literal pitfalls associated with the unstable ground conditions created by mine-subsidence:

Review online mapping to see if the property you are purchasing is within an area known to be undermined – Newcastle city centre maps
Make contact with the nearest Mine Subsidence Board to obtain further information about risks toy our property.
Discuss your plans for the property with local council and geotechnical consultants who specialise in mine subsidence research and engineering.

With the support of a great team and a deep understanding of the steps you can take to eliminate or manage risks such as mine subsidence, your next property investment can be the first of many. Just don’t risk it being your last.

Want to connect with buyers’ agents who know Newcastle like the back of their hand? Contact the team at Capital Property Newcastle on 1300 320 153 and book a complimentary property investment planning session today. Leverage our expertise and extensive network to mitigate your risks and maximise your results in property investment.

The publications by Capital Property Investment Advisers are for general information only and are intended to assist you in understanding the nature of the property market. The information contained in this editorial is for Australian residents only. This editorial does not consider your personal circumstances and has been prepared without taking into account any of your individual objectives, financial solutions or needs. Before acting on this information you should consider its appropriateness, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs. This editorial does not constitute, and should not be relied on as financial or investment advice or as recommendations (expressed or implied) and it should not be used as an invitation to pursue any investments or investment services. No investment decision or activity should be undertaken on the basis of this information without first seeking qualified and professional advice. Capital Property Investment Advisers disclaims any and all duty of care in relation to the information and liability for any reliance on investment decisions, claiming the use or guidance of this publication or information contained within it.

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The secret script behind all great movies

Capital Property Newcastle — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 04:23:15 +0000

“And how you can use it to get what you want out of life”

Author: Tom Haigh

Think back to a time in your life when you’ve really wanted to achieve something, a burning desire or ambition, something special and important to you.

With an objective clear in your mind you set off in pursuit of your objective, only to be met by challenges that stood between you and your objective. Reaching the all-important point, the fork in the road, you have a choice to make: Do you give up, or do you find someone or something that can help you to overcome whatever is standing in your way?

If you’ve experienced this at some time in your life, then you may have unknowingly stumbled across the secret script behind many of the great movies and stories of all time, something that author Donald Miller refers to as ‘the hero’s journey’ in his must-read book and New York Times best seller ‘Story Brand’.

Not only is this ‘the hero’s journey’ a great template for writing a movie, it’s also a bloody good way to achieve pretty much anything you want to achieve in your life.

Broken down into 5 simple steps it looks something like this:

The hero (you, Luke Skywalker, The Karate Kid, etc) wants to achieve something;
The hero encounters challenges or obstacles standing in their way;
At the height of their despair, the hero finds a guide (coach, mentor, friend – someone experienced they can trust);
Utilising their experience and wisdom, the guide provides the hero with a plan;
The hero puts the plan into action and reaches their goal

Ever noticed in movies how the hero rarely reaches their goal (the end of the story) on their own? They might think they can in the beginning, but as they set off down the path towards their goal they are confronted with obstacles they never knew existed, they soon realise they don’t yet know the way. This is as true in life as it is on the big screen.

Think about the guides in your life, the people who have helped you get to where you want to go. For me personally, my guides have been people who knew a hell of a lot more about things like building, renovating, negotiating, and investing in property than I did at those times in my life.

The script to success can be far simpler than we make it out to be. And if you ever find yourself if doubt remember this quote –

“You want to know the difference between a master and a beginner? The master has failed more times than a beginner has ever tried”. (Source: unknown)

If you have a burning desire to reach a property related goal, and are in any way uncertain about how to get there, our experienced team of buyers agents are here to help. Get in touch today and we’ll arm you with a plan and provide you will all the necessary guidance to ensure you reach your goal, no matter the obstacles you may see standing in your way.

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The 3 essential ingredients you need to profit from property

Capital Property Newcastle — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 04:33:15 +0000

For anyone out there with cooking skills like my own, you will vividly recall the first and possibly even the last meal you cooked without following a recipe. For your information, mine was boiled steak with red wine sauce. I can confirm that when you mix ‘winging it’ with getting distracted watching 20-20 cricket on the TV, it’s possible to turn the best cut of meat into something that closely resembles a burnt prawn cracker. Author’s note: I’ve since found out you’re not actually supposed to cook (boil) the steak in the red wine.

Needless to say my ‘off-the-cuff’ cooking licence was revoked by my wife Nikki that fateful day! Luckily for me, there was an easy fix to this Sunday evening dilemma – Thai takeaway, a shoulder rub, and a promise to never again cook without following a recipe got me back in the good books.

One of the things I love most of all about cooking is that unlike many things in life, it’s a skill you can learn relatively quickly. And when you do fail, the results are rarely catastrophic. Throw in a couple of cooking lessons from a chef with years of experience, or a tried and tested recipe with very specific instructions to follow, and our success rate goes through the roof.

In my work in property, I’ve seen countless examples of boiled steak in red wine sauce. A result of well-intentioned people embarking on a quest to create their life’s fortune through property; without stopping to seek guidance from experienced others, or researching the recipe for successful financial outcomes, they risk significant amounts of their own wealth on a ‘hot tip’ from a mate at work, or they rush in to snap up a property the agent confirmed was a ‘renovators delight’.

The good news is that property is no different to cooking – once we put in the time, learn the techniques and follow the recipe – success will follow.

When helping our clients to identify great property investment opportunities the recipes we follow are not dissimilar to the butter stained family cooking recipes that are handed down from generation to generation. These are recipes we have been able to create through investment in an enormous amount of education, personal and professional experience, asking lots of questions, and most of all by spending time with successful property people from all around the country.

Distilling all of these learning, there are certainly 3 ingredients that matter more than any others when it comes to creating wealth when investing in property, i.e. the essential ingredients:

Scarcity
Affordability
Change

To better explain how these 3 ingredients work together to produce the outcome we are seeking, I’ve provided some further context below.

The 3 essential ingredients explained:

Scarcity: In the same way that the abundant supply of sugar and flour make them some of the cheapest cooking ingredients in the supermarket, price growth in all goods and services relies on an imbalance between supply and demand. In our investment research we are always looking for opportunities to invest in locations in which future supply of housing is limited (either through lack of available land or planning policy) and underlying demand will remain strong.
Affordability: No matter the quality or ‘value’ of what we have to offer, growth in the value of property is only possible if the market, our future buyers, have the financial capacity to pay for what we’ve got to sell. As such we are always looking to invest in locations with historically low, and projected low levels of unemployment, easy access to high-paying employment, and diversified industry – i.e. locations that do not have a reliance on any one industry to support the working population.
Change: From personal experience (you can read a story about this here) this can be one of the greatest ways to accelerate wealth creation through property. What we are looking for here are signs of, or opportunities for change. Things to consider are:
- Gentrification of the suburb or area;
- Scope to add value to a particular property through renovation, addition, or re-development; and
- Population growth: The belief that ‘if you’re not growing, you’re dying’ is a harsh but true reality here. Population growth will drive ongoing government investment in infrastructure, which leads to job creation, spurs private investment and ultimately makes a particular area a desirable place to live.

Getting the mix of these 3 ingredients right will ultimately ensure your investment ends up delivering the financial and lifestyle benefits you have been craving. Get it wrong however, and the fix will be a little more costly and time consuming than a trip to the local Thai takeaway and a shoulder rub.

Looking to invest in property but don’t know where to start? Join our community of investors and our team of experienced buyers agents will guide you on your quest to create real wealth. Please book a complimentary appointment here or call our office to make an enquiry.

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The richest hipster in Coburg (what a savvy barista taught me about finding the next hot suburb)

Capital Property Newcastle — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 05:33:51 +0000

Author: Tom Haigh

10 years’ ago, my wife Nikki and I purchased our first property – a largely untouched post WW2 clinker brick home in the culturally diverse Victorian suburb of Coburg, situated roughly 9km North of the Melbourne CBD. Better known for its kerbside kebab stands, hotted up Nissan Skylines, and Turkish coffee than for its natural beauty, at the time Coburg felt like Mars – especially for someone who had spent most of their life living close to the beach.

Whether I truly believed it or not, I convinced myself that we had made the right decision; that Coburg was a foothold in the market and a stepping stone on the path to where we truly wanted to end up. It didn’t help that despite their support and well-wishes, you could tell that our family and friends thought we were crazy! (well most of them anyhow…)

There was something that I would discover however that most others looked past – change was-a-happening.

Before taking the leap of faith, we’d been able to get to know Coburg during regular visits to see Nikki’s brother and sister-in-law who had purchased their own slice of ‘the burg’ some 12 months prior. As we came to be more familiar with the local streets, I started to notice some of the things I’d learnt about when educating myself on how to successfully invest in property.

Having spent countless hours distilling the advice contained within the many books, CD’s and newspaper articles I’d consumed on the subject, it was clear that there were some consistent drivers of property price growth, drivers that did not discriminate based on postcode or the perception of the general public. And whilst most of my self-education to date had been focused around analysing facts and figures, it would be more ‘gut feeling’ than anything else that would see my confidence soar.

One Saturday morning we’d stopped by the local coffee shop to caffeinate amid a long list of open-home inspections. To my surprise the local coffee shop looked like something you’d expect to find in the trendy inner-city suburbs of Fitzroy, Richmond and South Melbourne. Sporting a tan coloured apron, checked shirt with the top button fastened and a beard that would make Grizzly Adams jealous, the café owner greeted us like long lost pals.

As we got chatting, our new 40-something hipster friend shared something I’ll never forget. When asked about his inspiration for opening a café in Coburg he immediately replied, “it’s all coming this way”. “What’s all coming this way?” I asked, puzzled by his response. After pausing for a moment to empty used coffee grounds into a hessian sack he began “The money. The inner ‘burbs are already too expensive for anyone not earning $200k a year, the lack of affordability is pushing young families out this way. My business thrives on those families – they want lattes, baby chinos and $17 smashed avo – and trust me they’re happy to pay good money for them.”

He was talking about a phenomenon known in real estate circles as ‘the ripple effect’. An effect that begins when buyers will no longer tolerate the price indifference between one expensive suburb and the neighbouring more affordable suburbs. As buyers begin searching for greater bang for their buck, what starts as a trickle soon turns into a torrent. Word starts to get out about the next ‘hot’ suburb, buyers turn up to open homes and auctions in droves, and before long the frenzy of activity sends prices skyrocketing.

Thankfully for us, and for the bearded café owner, this is exactly what played out in Coburg. Young families and DINKS (Double Income No Kids) like us began to filter in, buying up the older, tired clinker brick homes, and breathing new life into them through modern renovations and extensions. Couple this with the addition of other cafes, bars, craft breweries, and bakeries serving $10 sourdough, and before you know it, the long-held stigmas begin to fade away.

By 2015, the year we sold up to move north to Newcastle, Coburg had undergone enormous change, so too had property prices. In many instances the value of homes had increased by 70% from the 5 years prior.

My experience at Coburg taught me many things – to be more open minded, to not judge a book by its cover, but most of all to look for signs of positive change. Because in real estate like in life, with change comes opportunity.

Ready to take your next step (or first step) into the property market? Know that your property strategy is sound with a complimentary meeting with the property experts at Capital Property Investment Advisers. Please book a complimentary appointment here or call our office to make an enquiry.

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The one thing you need to get everything you want

Capital Property Newcastle — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 05:36:25 +0000

Author: Tom Haigh

Working in property investment, I do work which is highly satisfying but can be incredibly challenging at times. We work in an everchanging, and at times a cut-throat environment in which the objectives of buyers and sellers are often polar opposites, the only thing truly ‘cheap’ is talk, and your ability to have absolute control over the outcome is rarer than steak tartare.

Acknowledging these are all ‘challenges’ that were unlikely to change anytime soon, I knew early on that if I wanted to achieve success in property, and in business for that matter, I’d need to find a way to stay motivated when the inevitable bumps in the road presented themselves (from experience I can assure you that reading all of the world’s motivational quotes on Instagram, whilst entertaining – is not the solution).

In order to overcome any challenge in life, and to find the motivation to take action, it’s necessary to believe there is sufficient benefit or value waiting for you once you have put in the effort to get through, push past or Fosbury Flop over whatever it is that’s standing in your way. In property, I see so often the willingness of people to quit, to put things in the ‘too hard’ basket and to not act because of one of the hundreds of excuses they have created for themselves. As an avid renovator who likes to turn ugly things into pretty things, I can assure you there have been so many times when I’ve wanted to go to the beach, watch Suits, or just do anything else other than the hard work required.

As I have come to learn, the secret to success is simple – it’s to remember the ‘why’ of it all. Popularised by author Simon Sinek your ‘why’ is ultimately your purpose or your mission i.e. when you made a decision to start a business, change careers, search for an investment property, etc… what was your ultimate objective? What did you set out to achieve?

Losing sight of why you started, why you wanted to invest, or why you wanted to change is a sure-fire way to allow self-doubt and complacency to creep in – leading you to question your own value, the value of what you are pursuing and to throw in the towel when the inevitable challenges arise. We all make decisions to act based on what we think we can get or how we think we will feel once we get there – we don’t decide to do things with the hope or expectation of meeting and needing to overcome challenges, this is just part of the process.

My personal mission is something I need to refer to almost daily, particularly when I feel myself justifying inaction – like right now as I write this and feel the temptation to watch Kookslams videos, drink coffee, straighten the papers on my desk, instead of finishing this sentence.

When starting a property investment business, my mission was and remains relatively simple:

To have more choice and freedom around what work I do, when I do it, where I do it and with whom I do it;
To no longer feel trapped doing work that didn’t inspire me;
To spend (invest) more time travelling with my family before my 3 daughters (2, 4 & 6 years old) grow up and stop thinking their Dad is cool; and
To help others to achieve their own mission by sharing the successful strategies and habits I’ve learnt, in the same way I’ve been able to learn from mentors, coaches and others along the way.

Re-reading this daily is like drinking a triple shot espresso whilst sitting in an ice bath – it serves as an important and necessary reminder of why you shouldn’t give up or feel sorry for yourself when you are met with rejection, setbacks, and failures along the way. It’s a reminder that any and every problem or hurdle can be overcome if we are willing to do the hard bits, and if we keep turning up.

The message I’m trying to share, however convoluted or confusing it may seem as you read this (my apologies), was intended to be simple: what you want is often just on the other side of the thing standing in your way. You just need to remember why you started in the first place, it’s all the motivation you’ll ever need.

If you don’t trust yourself to do the hard work, you can always buy a property. They don’t have Instagram, watch Suits, or go on holidays – but they are assets you can use to obtain greater financial freedom and more time to pursue your mission.

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What’s it going to take for you to be honest about your life goals?

Capital Property Newcastle — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 10:42:35 +0000

My life lesson from the New Year’s Eve bushfires.

Author: Tom Haigh

For many, establishing New Year’s resolutions can be a challenging exercise. Whilst it is an opportunity to ‘wipe the slate clean’ we often set resolutions and goals without sufficient end-value to motivate us, or without an understanding of the steps required to make significant and lasting change.

Ordinarily, I’m no different. That was until 31 December 2019 – a pivotal moment in my life. A moment when everything changed.

The clarity and perspective you experience in a life-or-death experience is unparalleled. I spent this New Year’s Eve in Mallacoota with my family, sheltering from an out-of-control bushfire that had ravaged many parts of Eastern Victoria – claiming lives, destroying property and creating a terrifying experience for all who stood in its path. We were incredibly lucky to be spared, thankful beyond words for the work of the courageous firefighters who protected us and for the act of God that saw the fire change path when it was upon us.

In this moment, when you fear all that is precious to you may be lost, you receive an unshakeable reminder of what is important in your life. For me, it was about time with my family, or more importantly the quality of time I spent with family. Being self-employed, I often find it incredibly difficult to switch-off and be fully present with my family. I’m often guilty of ‘chasing too many rabbits’ to quote a Chinese proverb.

My resolutions or commitments for 2020 are structured around creating the time, space and rules for this to all change.

CEO of coveted magazine Monocle Tyler Brule experienced similar clarity and motivation for change when recovering from gunshot wounds he sustained when working as a foreign correspondent in Afghanistan, leading him to “…focus on the fundamentals of quality of life”. For Brule “the epiphany was to feel more committed to doing good journalism and to do it on my terms”, leading Brule to start Wallpaper a magazine focused on interiors and architecture, and later Monocle which covers international affairs, culture, fashion and design.

Whilst my goals for 2020 crystallised without any effort, research by fitness app Strava alerted me to the fact that of the 31.5 million people included in their survey, New Year’s resolutions lasted an average of just 12 days. Therefore, I knew that if they were to be life-long changes I would need to ensure that I followed the steps utilised by the world’s best when making successful change.

A recent article released by Harvard Health Publishing (HHP) highlights the 7 steps you can follow to create life-long change. I’ve summarised the steps below and provided further detail in the body of this article.

The 7-Steps for Big Changes in 2020

Dream BIG: HHP note that audacious goals are compelling, particularly when shared with those around you who will support you. Ensure you imagine and remind yourself of how you would feel when you had achieved your goal as it is incredibly important when it comes to staying motivated.
Break big dreams into small steps: a crucial step supported by Psychologist Dr Marny Lishman who in a recent interview with Virgin Australia Magazine notes “ In order to be attainable they (big dreams) need to broken down into small goals or steps that involve actions.” Author Tim Ferriss talks about utilising small steps as a way to “rig the game in your favour”, i.e. by making the steps small, tangible and easily achievable, Ferriss argues that achieving small wins provides the positive mental energy necessary to keep moving forward rather than quitting when we don’t achieve the larger goal as quickly as we would like.
Understand why you need to make a change: make a list of all the positive and negative things associated with your current behaviour or the thing you are striving to change. A physical list of all the negative things can serve as an important reminder of why “adopting a new behaviour (is) more important than standing in place.”
Commit yourself: HHP recommend making yourself more accountable by “making a written or verbal promise to people you don’t want to let down”. From experience, making your goals and resolutions public can serve as incredible and lasting motivator owing to the fear of public failure.
Don’t forget to reward yourself: successful business coach Daniel Brown is big on celebrating ‘all the small wins’. As a mentor, he often reminds me of the importance of regularly stopping to reflect on the progress you have made. It can be a long slog so don’t forget to stay motivated by remembering where you stared and how far you’ve come.
Learn from the past: think about all the times you have failed to make a change and learn from that approach. Each attempt will provide you with learnings and an opportunity to better tackle your goal. Breaking things down into smaller, more actionable and achievable steps is an incredibly common catalyst for success.
Give thanks for what you do: HHP recommend forgetting perfection. Don’t dwell on how well you did or didn’t execute each step along the way, remain focused on the progress you have made and on reminding yourself of how you will feel when you achieve your goal.

I hope you find this to be a helpful and actionable blueprint for achieving your resolutions and goals in 2020. Be honest with yourself, commit to making the change, follow the steps above and the rest will take care of itself. More important of all, don’t wait for a life-threatening event to make changes in your life that you know deep down you should.

Here’s to a happy, healthy and successful 2020!

Tom Haigh

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The value of a Property Mentor – create a $450,000 yearly income

Capital Property Newcastle — Tue, 07 Jan 2020 04:29:58 +0000

Author: Tom Haigh

“If you don’t build your dream someone will hire you to help build theirs.” Tony Gaskins.

I recently sat down with someone I’d consider to be living a dream life. As the saying goes the key to being a success is to ‘be the dumbest person in the room’ as often as possible. I certainly ticked that box during my recent meeting with Jeff.

Here’s are the lessons from a very enlightening conversation about being in control of your financial world.

“Be your own master, don’t ever forget it. That’s the aim, don’t make life any more complicated than it needs to be.” Hanging on every word my hand was working overtime, madly taking notes as he signalled the end to our meeting with one last slurp of the cappuccino that sat largely untouched over the course of our hour long meeting….

“And stop second guessing yourself…” he continued, “you already have the answers, just start taking action that will allow you to be in control of your own s**t”.” “Thanks Jeff!”, I yelled with sincerity as he tore off down the street, eager to make his way to the ocean baths for his morning swim – a rain, hail or shine ritual for the last 25 years.

Jeff’s parting advice that day was a real epiphany for me. I’d spent the best part of a decade making changes in my life to ultimately get me closer to the very thing Jeff was talking about. Jeff had built a real estate portfolio which included 30 properties and delivered an annual (passive) rental income of $450,000, allowing him to do whatever he wanted with his time. Jeff knew what he was talking about.

When I started my own business I had set out to achieve something that resembled Jeff’s life today. A life where I had control over my days, and a life of greater choice – particularly choice of what work to do, who to do it with (see the 4-hour Work Week). Jeff had a similar vision of what he wanted his life to look like, and had taken the steps and applied himself consistently until he was able to achieve his goal of “not having a boss, a job or any client who I felt I relied upon to live the lifestyle I wanted to live”.

Jeff’s strategy was simple – buy real estate, renovate to add value, find a solid tenant who would pay his mortgage, utilise the increase in value to fund the next purchase by refinancing – rinse and repeat. Occasionally he would sell a property to pay down some of the debt in his portfolio, but only when someone would make him an offer too good to refuse.

The real reason for his success was consistent action, putting time and effort into successfully building an investment portfolio no matter the ‘free advice’ he was receiving from well meaning family and friends. “Most people are capable of anything in life, they have big dreams, big aspirations, but they fail at the most important hurdle – taking the necessary action to get what they really want out of life. They listen to the doubters, and they end up doubting themselves so much they never do nothing.”

Jeff had created his own recipe. He knew what he wanted the finished product to look like, he learnt all the steps required to bake the cake and wasn’t afraid to roll up his sleeves.

The common thread connecting all of the successful people I’m lucky enough to have met in my life, people like Jeff, is undoubtedly their ability to take action take action. They are so hell bent on having more control over their own lives that they do the work necessary to move themselves from where they are to where they want to be.

Are you ready to take your next step (or first step) into the property market? Know that your property strategy is sound with a complimentary meeting with the property experts at Capital Property Investment Advisers. Please book a complimentary appointment here or call our office to make an enquiry.

The post The value of a Property Mentor – create a $450,000 yearly income appeared first on Capital Property Newcastle.

3 tips to grow your wealth with property (regardless of the market)

Capital Property Newcastle — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 04:00:41 +0000

Here are three tried and tested ways to grow your wealth through property, regardless of what the market is doing:

1. Buy below market value:

This is a strategy that undoubtedly delivers the best bang for buck when it comes to making money through property. Why I hear you ask? The old saying that you make money when you buy is never more relevant than in flat markets, periods of time where we can no longer rely on passive capital growth to drive property values north. Buying below market value provides us with an opportunity to build equity without having to wait for market or manufactured growth.

So that all said, how exactly do you buy properties below market value? Do you need to be lucky to buy below value? Well it very much depends on how you define luck. For us, and to quote Roman philosopher Seneca, “Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity”. Our ability to buy properties below market value comes down to:

Preparation x 3: 1) doing our homework so that we possess intimate, up-to-date knowledge about market in which we are looking to buy, 2) building relationships with local agents and vendors, and 3) getting our finances in order and our team lined up so that we are ready to pounce when an opportunity presents itself
Opportunity: this is where our hard work in the preparation-phase comes to fruition. Be the buyer who knows a great buy when they see one, who has built relationships with people who are in control of property we want to buy, and who is ready to get a deal done when the opportunity presents itself. We recently purchased a property for an investor client 15% below the initial list price, all because we had built a relationship with the agent, our client was ready to act and we understood and were able to solve the vendor’s problem – the need for a quick sale.

And remember, we may need to turn over a few rocks before we find what we are looking for – but great deals are always worth the effort. Instant equity anyone? Yes, please!

2. Add value:

For truly passive investors, buying a turnkey set and forget property which they hold in their portfolio for 2+ market cycles can be a great strategy. For anyone seeking near-term gains, the strategy of ‘manufacturing’ growth by adding value can be an enormously effective strategy. Whether via a cost-effective cosmetic renovation (re-investing 10% or less of the property’s value in improvements) or a substantial renovation (re-investing 20% or more of the property’s value in major improvements) the aim with all value-add projects should be an increase in the value of the property disproportionate to the additional investment required, i.e. A $2 increase in the value of the property for every $1 spent.

Best of all, on completion of our value-add project we have options. Depending on your lending picture there is scope to rent the property out, re-finance and release part of the value to fund other investments, or alternatively, we can put the property to market and a realise a profit on sale. Personally, I must admit to having a personal obsession with renovations, having completed 5 renovations for profit in the past 6 years – I am well and truly a fan!

3. Buy properties with development potential and holding income:

To quote the oracle of Omaha it was Warren Buffet who once said, “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful”. In this context, having just come off one of the largest new construction booms this country has ever experienced and with construction and development funding drying up, development sites are being put back to the market at a rate of knots.

The opportunity for investors is to purchase properties with development potential, or perhaps development approvals in place, at a discount to true value. Obviously, this is a strategy that is not without its risks. Successful execution of this strategy comes down to the capacity of the investor to hold the property until such time as a market recovery occurs – as such, properties with holding income are the golden geese. Target properties which require little of your own capital to cover holding costs and sit tight. As market confidence returns, savvy investors are well-positioned to cash in their chips – either by putting the property back to market at a premium to the original investment value, or raising the funds required to develop the property and ultimately realise development profits.

About the author: Tom Haigh is a passionate property investor and self-confessed renovation addict. Tom works with private investors and business owners in Newcastle who leverage Tom’s $500M experience in property to realise their own wealth creation goals. Tom is a licensed buyer’s agent, and co-founder and managing director of Capital Property.

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Meet Damian Stathis

Capital Property Newcastle — Mon, 15 Jul 2019 04:09:43 +0000

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