The Elephant in the Room
The property podcast for the thinking person.

Episodes

Episode 459: Are Investors Getting the Wrong Property Advice?

How do you know where property investment advice ends and financial advice begins? As modelling tools become more sophisticated, investors can see detailed scenarios involving borrowing, trusts, SMSFs and gearing. But the ability to model an outcome doesn’t necessarily mean the person presenting it is licensed to advise on every part of it.

Jordan de Jong, founder of Gameplans, joins Veronica and Chris to examine this increasingly important gap and why property investors need to understand the boundaries around advice.

Jordan challenges the idea that building wealth through property means accumulating as many properties as possible. Drawing on his own experience, he explains why borrowing capacity can become the real constraint, why quality matters more than quantity, and why a long term property investment strategy needs to account for the assets you can afford to hold and how you eventually exit.

So, how many investment properties should I own? Jordan’s answer is more measured than the usual “build a portfolio” narrative. For many investors, the right number may be far smaller than they think.

The episode also looks closely at buyers agent advice and the responsibilities that come with it. We explore whether large buyers agencies can pull property price growth forward when hundreds of clients are directed into the same limited markets, and what investors should consider when choosing a buyers agent.

The discussion goes beyond property selection to ask whether investors are receiving genuine property investment education or simply being encouraged towards the next transaction.

Property is often one of the largest financial decisions people make, yet it can sit awkwardly alongside super, shares, tax and other investments. Jordan explains why financial planning for property investors may require a team of professionals working together, rather than one adviser trying to cover every area.

The result is a practical reality check on property investment advice, portfolio modelling and the assumptions that can shape an investor’s decisions.

Episode Highlights

01:21 – Meet Jordan de Jong: The Story Behind Gameplans

04:09 – The Borrowing Capacity Trap Investors Miss

06:26 – Why Quality Matters More Than Property Count

09:06 – What Gameplans Actually Helps Investors Do

10:22 – Why Property Modelling Can Create False Confidence

23:21 – Can Buyers Agents Push Property Prices Higher?

27:36 – Why Property Alone Isn’t the Whole Financial Plan

29:12 – Why Investors Need a Team Around Their Property Strategy

30:38 – Why Financial Advisers Often Avoid Property

34:53 – The Risks of Pivoting Into Commercial Property

37:11 – What Investor Activity Is Really Doing Post-Budget

40:08 – The Property Portfolio Size Reality Check

46:00 – Overleveraging: When More Properties Become a Problem

49:05 – Jordan’s Own Property Investing Mistake

50:48 – Wrap Up + Listener Questions

About the Guest

Jordan de Jong is the founder of Gameplans, a portfolio planning software platform used by property professionals across Australia and New Zealand. His involvement in property investing began early, buying his first home at 18 and later building his own investment portfolio.

After becoming a qualified property investment adviser, Jordan founded Gameplans during the 2020 lockdowns after becoming frustrated by the lack of practical, long-term planning available to property investors. The platform allows professionals and investors to model property portfolios, cash flow, borrowing capacity and long-term financial outcomes.

In this episode, Jordan draws on his experience working with hundreds of property professionals to examine how investors approach portfolio building, where modelling can create false confidence, and the challenges of keeping property advice within appropriate boundaries.

He also shares Gameplans' data on portfolio sizes and explains why he believes investors should focus less on the number of properties they own and more on whether their assets actually help them achieve their goals.

Connect with Jordan

Resources:

Visit our website: https://www.theelephantintheroom.com.au

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Chris Bates