Clients – Developers
DEVELOPERS – SUBDIVISION
“Strategy uncovered for making wealth”
Andre Sauer | 40 | Business Owner
I couldn’t afford to leave our future to chance, I have a wife and three children. I needed to ensure that our future was going to be financially secure and comfortable.
Knowing the way the Australian economy was going, I knew there was no way I could take the risk of relying on a pension or even our superannuation. This was the entrance into wealth creation for me and my family, it was a necessary means to an end.
I bought my first property in 1998 and my next one in 2004, it was easier back then as it was before the big boom. These properties have done really well for me and they have grown more than I could have ever anticipated. It is of late that things needed to change.
The property market in Perth had already peaked and I realised that if I wanted to keep growing my property portfolio, I would need to change my strategy somewhat.
Upon my return from working in Malaysia I contacted Property Wizards. I followed their success stories over the years, but had never done anything with them. I decided to make the time and sit down with the Property Wizards team and chatted about investment and wealth creation.
It was through Property Wizards that I uncovered my strategy for creating wealth, even in a flat market. Property investment can be done in any part of the cycle, it is simply about having the right strategy for the cycle in question, to capitalise on it.
It was also through Property Wizards that I first learned about buying sub-divisible properties and making money in a flat market. I had heard of it before, but never thought this was something for me, as I wasn’t sure about all the steps involved in the process. The Property Wizards team explained it all to me and I immediately got excited about the opportunities out there.
The idea is that you buy a property which has the ability to be subdivided and turn it into two separate properties, which enables you to sell off the one block and retain the other, resulting in making a profit in a flat market without growth. This was great for me to learn about, as nothing I have read – and I have read a lot – has ever made it so clear in such easy steps. It is a strategy that Property Wizards has been using and teaching for quite some time to help their clients create additional wealth.
Using this strategy we bought a property that had only been on the market a few weeks and the owners had spent a lot of money on it. They put in new carpets, blinds, kitchen, bathroom, landscaping, painted, redid the roof, new front door, new sliding door, and had the window frames redone.
The property had been given a complete facelift and it was able to be divided up immediately. Part of the Property Wizards system is to do market research in the area to ensure that the property price is good value and that as a subdivision, it can make money – that eliminates most properties. The market research for this property showed that other properties of similar standard in the area which weren’t zoned for subdivision, had sold at the same price as mine, therefore I basically got an extra block for free.
I am currently doing the subdivision and as it is my first, it is all a learning curve, but I know at the end I have many options of what to do with property, ie I can sell the back block and keep the front, build on the back and sell both, or keep the back and claim depreciation. There are so many options, it just depends on what I want to do next with my investment. The whole process can be done in a few months. I estimated that in a few months I will earn about $30 – $40,000 once all costs have been deducted, not a bad return for a few months work. If I can do 4 of these a year, it is an extra $120 – $160,000 on top of my regular income. I can’t imagine anything else giving me returns of this calibre.
Property Investing is such a fascinating hobby and one that I am extremely passionate about. Being able to work with experts such as Property Wizards will ensure that all my investing in the future is 100% the best and most up-to-date strategy in the market as well as for the current property cycle.
As a result of investing in property, I am very certain of my family’s future and know that my retirement will be 100% enjoyable and stress free, as I will have no financial concerns.
Adrian Amaladoss & Nicoleen Simon | Business Professionals | Singapore | 30s
Some years ago my wife and I decided we needed to be proactive about our future and take a path that would create a financially secure future for when we retire. We decided to use property investment as the tool for working towards this goal, as it seems a strategy which has created a lot of wealth for many people.
A friend found an article about buyer’s agents in Australia which seemed perfect for us, as they would be able to do everything for us and because we had no knowledge of the market at all.
We contacted a couple of buyer’s advisers and Property Wizards stood out with their knowledge of the industry as well as the market.
We decided to come to Perth on a business holiday, having made the decision to invest in Perth. Not only was the market in Perth doing well, but it was quite close to Singapore. We made arrangements to meet with Property Wizards during our trip.
We had certain ideas in our mind about what we wanted and our strategy was to buy and hold. We wanted to buy property that had medium to long-term potential of around 5 -10 years.
Armed with knowledge gained from our meeting with Property Wizards’ we could refine our property plans. We realised that we would need to completely recalibrate our ideas for our investment property, as we wouldn’t be able to get what we wanted in the kind of areas we wanted with the budget we had at the time.
This is where the Property Wizards’ strategies saved us. We were able to not only find a solution to our budget constraint, but it provided us with a whole new investment strategy, which has ever since formed the foundation of our personal property investment strategy ever since.
Based on our new knowledge and strategy, we decided on buying in a growing area where infrastructure was increasing to drive the 5-10 year growth we desired to achieve. Also to invest in a property with the potential for higher density zoning. This way we could create wealth not only through natural market growth, but through higher growth because of the potential to subdivide into two. In addition we had the option of subdividing it ourselves and creating two properties, resulting in us gaining another block of land for a very cheap price.
A perfect house came up which was on a really large block in a growing area and the block had the potential to be subdivided now, not wait for future changes in the future. All this was within our budget, which was fantastic.
What is so great about my story, is how the Property Wizards systems looked after us.
Something came up during the due diligence checks. It turned out that the fence line for the property was not in the correct position, and the neighbours had been utilizing 90sqm of land that actually belonged to my property for the past 18 years and had no intention of giving it back. The listing agent wanted to ignore it and not address the problem, but we were protected by our Property Wizards purchase conditions.
In the end we were able to get compensation from the seller at settlement, for a portion of the total purchase price, which was great for us. We are still able to subdivide the land in the future which is a real bonus that made the deal even sweeter.
This has been a great experience for us. We learnt a great deal about property investing from Property Wizards and we now use their strategies as the cornerstone of all our future investing. We will not look at buying a property now which does not have the potential to fast-track our capital growth. This is a great result for us as it will enable us to reach our financial goals faster as now we are even smarter investors than we were before meeting Property Wizards.
“Strategy is the key”
Jane Bennett | Mum-at-Home | South Fremantle, WA
The Bennetts are a typical hard working, time-poor couple. What made them different is that they wanted change and formulated a strategy to achieve it. They decided to sell their family business which sucked a lot of time and energy from them and become full time investors.
To arrive at this decision they had to look at all the alternatives of how they can make money and live a comfortable life which will give them financial and personal freedom to spend their money and time how they choose.
As Jane has a passion for property investment, she had already done a lot of ground work and knew that to gain maximum capital growth for a quick influx of wealth, they would need to go for quick value-add properties which had the option of being subdivided, as well as needing some renovations.
Jane:
Applying this strategy meant that we could make more money, as the prices of the homes would be lower and we could renovate at a much lower cost as my husband is quite handy and can do a lot of the renovation himself. We would also have the added bonus of subdividing the land and making money off both blocks.
We started looking for properties, but were unable to find any in our price range and decided to use a buyer’s agent. We looked on realestate.com.au which listed three buyers agents for Perth, all of which we contacted. I had specific criteria in choosing our buyers’ agent and these were;
• Who got back to us the fastest
• Who would come and see us, as we are time-poor
• Who could move the fastest in getting the ball rolling
Our Property Wizards adviser came to meet with us in our home within days of my enquiry and assured us that there were properties out there in our price range which were subdividable.
Property Wizards started our search straight away. We did not get the firts two properties, but as the saying goes…..third time lucky. The whole process was really quick, even though we had signed with one adviser, when working with Property Wizards you have the benefit of all the agents working for you, as they are constantly scouring for new properties, especially subdivisions. We benefited from this scenario in the way that one of the other agents found the property in our preferred suburb.
This property was perfect and we moved quickly on it and bought it for a great price, considering the median property price for the suburb at the time was $35,000 more than we paid for our property. The existing house was great for renovating and the back of the block was big enough for the subdivision. Already the median property price is currently $65,000 more than what we bought ours for.
We have not had our property professionally valued yet, but estimate that we could sell the front home on its own for more than we paid for the entire property and we could sell the land at the back for an extra $150,000. Taking into account the $30,000 we have spent on the property to date, we would have capital growth of 44% so far. We are intending to hold onto the property however, renting out the front house and building a house on the back block to be rented out as well when completed.
At the moment we are in the accumulation phase of investing, having just finished consolidating. At the moment we have our family home and this investment property, but I will continue to buy even when I don’t need to, because that is just the way I am. Our next step is to use the equity in our investment property as well as our primary residence in South Fremantle, to purchase another property in which to live while we renovate our South Fremantle property, we want to make it the perfect home we have always dreamed of. Without the equity, we would have had to rent a house and pay off somebody else’ mortgage, rather than living in one of our own homes.
Property Wizards helped us kick off towards our goal of living off our property investments in 5-10 years time, helping us to spend more quality time with our children and do the things we really enjoy in life. I love being able to be a full-time mum to our three children and love having them at home with me rather than having to send them to day care if I had to work.
Property investment has given us the freedom of choice we never had before, or would ever have had, had we continued working in the family business. Now we look forward to acquiring 10 – 20 properties over the next 5-10 years, engaging in renovations, subdivisions and buying new properties to create a diversified and profitable portfolio.
A young group of friends with a common goal!
Alpesh Shah, Jay and Saloni | Under 30 | Safari Developments
These young guys (Jay (25), Alpesh (28) and Saloni (under 30) had a vision to work together to pursue a passion for property development and wealth creation. They created the company, Safari Developments (inspired by their Kenyan origin), with a future hope of being property developers. They all have full time jobs but came on board to manage the initial purchases and subdivisions.
Jay relays the story:
Teaming up with Property Wizards seemed like a natural step to take as I am new to property investing and even though my partners already have existing property portfolios, we needed a helping hand to make this happen.
Through the Property Wizards systems we formed our strategy of creating our own capital growth through property with the potential for subdivision so we could “churn and burn” them. Buy the properties, subdivide as quickly as possible and sell off one, if not all the blocks to create capital to start again.
Property Wizards systems soon found us a great property in High Wycombe at the right price which could be subdivided while keeping the existing home. It hadn’t even hit the market yet when the team provided us with a comprehensive report covering all aspects of the property as well as research on the area and other comparable properties which were both on the market and had recently sold.
We secured the property for $25,000 under its market value before it even hit the market and other buyers could have snapped it up. There is no way we could have known or achieved what the Property Wizards methods did, without the knowledge and access to information their systems provide.
We are currently in the process of subdividing and at this point in time are planning on keeping the front home, which had just been completely renovated before we bought it and selling the back block or depending on market conditions we might sell both. It is just great that we have the options open to us. We also have a tenant in the front property, which helps create an additional income on the asset while we are in the process of subdividing.
Working with Property Wizards was such an educating experience and being new to the industry, I was able to gain a lot of knowledge in a very short period of time. We are looking forward to our next purchase sometime next year and adding to our portfolio.
“You are never totally ready, it’s just about an opportunity, a decision and taking action”
Michelle Head | 28 | Recruitment Consultant | Shenton Park, WA
When I was employed as an Office Manager for Property Wizards – a buyer’s agency, part of my job was to put together and manage deals for the buyer’s advisers and their clients.
I am in my late 20s and I have lived a good life, I have traveled and partied pretty hard and as a result I accumulated a fair bit of debt and have nothing but good memories to show for it.
Although I saw the buyer’s agents in the office buying properties for themselves and their clients and doing really well out of it, I never invested. The whole team were constantly badgering me about buying property; they couldn’t believe how I didn’t see the benefits of getting into the market.
As the months passed, all my objections were overcome and I made the decision to invest. I organised pre-approval on a loan and waited, I didn’t know if anything would happen as I only had a small budget.
One day in the office one of the advisers found a great property, but it was way below the price bracket for all of his current clients and it was a brilliant piece of property that had the ability to retain the home and subdivide thus creating an extra street front block. None of the agents had a client wanting this specific investment and as they all hate to see a good deal go by, he jokingly asked if I wanted to buy it.
I decided to go ahead and purchase this house. It was even way under my budget and we bought it under market value. I wasn’t even going to go and have a look, I just trusted the advisers that much.
Eventually I went down to have a look which was a great learning experience. I remember walking around and commenting how pretty the house was, which is how I would have made a decision, whereas the Property Wizards adviser had to firmly advise me that we were looking at an asset and its potential not how pretty it was or wasn’t. This was my greatest first lesson in property investment. Property Wizards taught me to take all of the emotions out of buying. We are buying a vehicle to create wealth, not an asset to sit on our shelves and look at.
My plan was to do the subdivision straight away and have everything completed in 12 months to sell immediately and make a tidy profit. The subdivision is almost complete and I have spent about $30,000 on the subdivision.
I bought at the peak of the market, but because of our conservative estimates and because I added my own value, not relying on market growth, I didn’t have to worry.
In the current flat market I stand to make potentially $20,000-30,000 profit. The best thing of all is that I was still able to party and enjoy myself while subdividing and increasing my wealth.
By gaining the knowledge from Property Wizards and investing in a property with potential profits, I now look at property differently. If I hadn’t worked for Property Wizards, I definitely wouldn’t have invested. The profits I make are going to help me fund another overseas trip and I won’t have any more debt. I am keen to invest again, as it provides a nice little windfall for whatever I want to do with minimal risk.
Building Wealth – Creating Freedom
Linda Iannantuoni | small business owner | Charlie Iannantuoni | partner in a company
Charlie and I have been involved in property for a while, but weren’t getting the same results as another couple in our family. They were getting amazing results with their buying strategy, with one of them being a buyer’s agent with Property Wizards and the other a finance broker. They have been encouraging us to invest more in property for some time so we decided to change our strategy. In the past we had always bought a property, moved in, renovated and then sold and done it all over again. As you can imagine the process is quite slow and as a result we were missing out on building up significant wealth like our investor family members were doing.
We set about investing in property a little differently, we changed our strategy so we were able to buy a lot more property by involving our family and close friends. We formed joint ventures and drew up agreements to protect all parties and started to pool our money. This enabled us to buy better quality properties and land and invest more frequently than if Charlie and I were to do it on our own. Using this strategy we could amass more wealth in a shorter period of time.
Charlie and I are not big believers in superannuation and only have the basic superannuation. We also have played in stocks and shares but believe the best wealth is created through real estate. That is why we have decided to be proactive about our retirement by using property as a vehicle to create ample wealth so that Charlie and I can not only live well but can look forward to a comfortable and enjoyable retirement, as by the time that occurs I doubt there will be much of a government pension, if one at all.
As we were teaming up with experienced investors, when we joined up with Property Wizards, we wanted to start off straight away with property development. Their system found us a 1012sqm 4 unit site that had been sitting unnoticed on the market for about 5 months and was about $50,000 less than other similar properties. Everybody probably thought something was wrong with it. The real estate agent said just to pick up the keys if you want to view the property, didn’t even take us there and I am sure this put off buyers even though it was a fabulous deal just sitting there hidden away.
The Property Wizards systems cut through all that and established it as a potential goldmine for our development. We’ve since built 4 homes on the site, each of which is worth more than the original site. Even without us developing it, the subdivided land alone would be worth $200,000 more, a significant increase in value in just 3 years.
The second property found with Property Wizards systems was a 3-unit site in a quiet street. Again it was presented poorly. On the positive side, it did have an old house with a terrific tenant who remained whilst we went through development procedures with council. We also had rent during this time, which helped to pay the loan. In short, we purchased this property and triplex sites are now selling at about $160,000 more, or about $200,000 more if subdivided. We’ve built 3 homes on the subdivided land, each also worth more than the original property.
Since we started our intensive property wealth creation journey 5 years ago, we achieved some great things. We created wealth that we wouldn’t have dreamed of, we had a great overseas holiday as a result of one property purchase and have increased our financial wealth significantly, and been able to help other friends and family members to do the same, which is a great feeling. Currently we are in a fortunate position that by collating the proceeds by after selling off some of our properties, we are able to build our dream home in an exclusive part of the beautiful suburb of Mt Lawley and live in it 100% mortgage free. Smart property investment has enabled us this amazing and fantastic outcome. With our lack of knowledge and confidence in the stocks and share market, we would never have achieved this through superannuation or the stock market.
Using the Property Wizards systems to identify and secure sound and cost effective land deals, perfect for our strategy, has built us more wealth than we could possibly have achieved by working in our chosen careers.
I am definitely planning on retiring early in order to do voluntary work, especially with endangered animals both in Australian and abroad. Charlie and I will always invest in property, it has become an enjoyable hobby now and something we do as a family.
GETTING STARTED
Want to invest in property? We’d love the opportunity to help build your wealth as an Australian property investor. To set the wheels in motion, please fill out our no obligation enquiry form – this gives us an insight into what you’re looking for. Alternatively, you can contact our property investment advisors directly on (08) 9381 7450.