Episodes

Chief Investment Officer of Motley Fool Australia, Scott Phillips, explains how the share market can offer a viable option for first home buyers to save up their deposit faster.

Let’s look at this idea and some other alternatives:

• Are there different investments for would-be property investors to consider when they can't borrow enough money to buy an investment-grade property?

• What is the cost of a lemon in your share portfolio?

• What are the compound eroding effects of fees?

• Why you need to pre-commit to save & make a habit of it.

• How behavioural biases cost you way more than you think!

This is an eye opener of an episode and we uncover so much gold, so stick around until the end.

Kylie Walsh is General Manager of Di Jones Real Estate and a licensed real estate agent. Last November, Kylie was awarded AREA’s most influential woman in real estate. Kylie has over 24 years experience and over that time she's held a variety of roles that have taken her from the beach to the bush and back to the city in positions of increasing responsibility. She's worked in management roles for Australia's major franchise groups and along the way has won numerous industry awards for sales, property management and leadership. She's also served a term on the REI New South Wales Board.

You’ll be surprised at what we unearthed in this episode. Here’s a snapshot:

• Technology & how it's changing the way that consumers can get more transparency from real estate agents.

• Should school catchments drive our purchasing decisions?

• Why passive buyers will often pay a premium.

• How to become an influencer, no matter what role you have.

• Why it’s important to support those with a minority voice.

• The differences that men & women bring to the table when negotiating, does this even matter to property buyers?

• And finally, are women really better real estate agents?

Is it everybody’s right to have a roof over their head?

Michele Adair, CEO of Housing Trust, joins us and explains how her organization builds and manages affordable housing for people on a very low to moderate income.

We're going to find out the difference between social housing and affordable housing. Michele highlights some important factors affecting household affordability.  It’s not just about first home buyers wanting to get onto the ladder. So what are the gaps in the system?

Here’s some of what we covered:

• What are alternative models for property investment and will they provide more affordable housing?

• Why households spending 30% or more of total household income, in rent, or in mortgage repayments, are in housing stress.

• What happens when life throws a curved ball & you can’t afford a roof over your head. How much ‘buffer’ do you need?

• Can good urban design & planning eliminate social problems?

• Why everyone deserves a decent home & why it’s Housing Trust’s vision.

It’s an insightful episode, we hope you enjoy listening.

Guest Website:

Housing Trust

Get in touch:

Work with Veronica? info@gooddeeds.com.au
Work with Chris? hello@wealthful.com.au

We interviewed Charles Wiggett Principal of Hauss Realty a boutique agency based in the Brisbane riverside suburb of Graceville. Charles prides himself on good old fashioned service, local knowledge and client care.

Here’s a snapshot of the insider knowledge he shared:

• Flood zone risks - why doing your due diligence matters!

• Supply & scarcity - what that means for capital growth.

• What maintenance issues you must consider before buying a “Queenslander”.

• The oversupply of apartments in Brisbane and the impact on investors.

• What’s happening to prices after the Banking Royal Commission.

We hope you enjoy this episode - it’s an interesting one!

We pick the brains of Peter Gordon, one of Balmain’s most active sales agents, ranked in the top 100 agents nationally for the last four years. Peter has been with Cobden & Hayson since it launched in 2005, and has experienced both hot and cold market conditions over the years.

Here’s a snapshot of what we discussed:

• Why “A” grade properties continue to sell well in Blue Chip suburbs, despite market conditions.

• Why letting a sales agent bid for you at auction is likely to cost you a lot more.

• What things buyers are getting picky on now vs in a ‘hot’ market.

• What happens to a property when an agent ‘buys’ a listing.

• How elite agents operate & earn the trust of vendors.

In this episode, we're going to address one of the biggest elephants in the room so far in this podcast. In Australia, engineers don't have to be registered!

We talk to two experts, John Roydhouse, CEO of the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia NSW and Jonathan Russell, Engineers Australia.

Here’s some of what we covered:

• Is the build quality and safety of newly constructed housing up to scratch?

• Why the financial well being of apartment owners can be at risk.

• What’s the downside of an infrastructure and building boom coupled with hurried design, approval, construction and compliance processes?

• Data that points to 7 out of 10 new residential buildings having defects!

• How Opal Tower, Lacrosse Tower or the London Grenfell Tower tragedy might have been prevented.

The 17 Liveability features that will benefit owners, investors & tenants

We picked the brains of Cecille Weldon. Cecille is responsible for the creation and development of the Banksia Award-winning Liveability Real Estate Framework.

Now owned and backed by the CSIRO, this new way of marketing property introduces 17 new property features into the real estate transaction. These are liveability features which cover passive building design, energy and water efficiency and renewables.

The liveability mandate is to create your best home: healthy, efficient, comfortable and connected to your local community.

Here’s a snapshot of what we discussed:

• 17 liveability features of a property & why they matter for homeowners & tenants

• How to reduce your property’s running costs & increase comfort

• Why fixing liveability of your property will give you more disposable income

• Why it’s not just about comfort of living, it can increase the value of your property.

Depreciation schedule lowdown & how to maximise your investment return.

In this episode, we pick the brains of Mike Mortlock. Mike is the managing director of MCG Quantity Surveyors which was recently recognized as Australia's fastest growing quantity surveying firm by the Australian Financial Review Fast 100. MCG was the first quantity surveying firm to publish real data on the average deductions for property investors.

We had a very revealing chat with Mike about:

• Tiny details investors need to understand that trigger paying more tax.

• Why, if you purchase a property off the plan, it's worthwhile getting a building compliance inspection to identify defects.

• How data on units sold off the plan, in a number of capital cities, is proving they are not great candidates for capital growth.

• Why we need to be very skeptical of media spruikers and take time on due diligence, especially given 38% of investors buy new property!

• Why housing affordability is going to be a national concern because rental yields have been increasing.

• How good advice from an accountant who understands property , an investment savvy broker, a strategic financial planner and a good conveyancer will save you in the long term.

In this episode, we pick the brains of Suzy Jacobs, a fabulously outspoken and honest pioneer in women lead business networks. Suzy founded SheBusiness and has lead thousands to business success. She sold SheBusiness and launched Finesque in 2016 to demystify financial language and create opportunities for individuals to grow their financial independence and security. We discover:

• How your beliefs about money have long term effects on your financial future.

• Is it ok to hand responsibility of financial decisions over to a third party?

• How unconscious beliefs drive our decision making when it comes to property.

• Why we need to slow down & be accountable property investors.

• Transitional thinking & why it makes a big difference.

This episode will really make you rethink where your financial future is headed.

Suburb hotspotting, quarterly property outlook reports & what data to be wary of.

Nerida Conisbee is Chief Economist for the REA Group, which incorporates websites www.realestate.com.au & www.realcommercial.com.au, amongst others. Nerida has more than 20 years of property research experience & appears every fortnight on ABC News Breakfast, every Tuesday on Your Money, & she writes a fortnightly column for The Australian. She updates major government bodies on market conditions & here’s what she shared with us:

• What is data & how can it affect property prices.

• What suburbs perform best & the types of suburbs that people are most highly engaged in.

• Top ten suburb lists & hots spotting - the dangers of data.

• Auction clearance rates, median price & how the data can be manipulated.

• Not all data is what it seems, there is some data to be wary of.

Inner city V outer suburbs | Builders going AWOL | Pushy financial planners | Alternative forms of property investment.

In this episode, we are going to answer some interesting listener questions. We cover a fair bit of ground, however, here are the highlights:

• Should you be investing in the outskirts, or investing in the inner rings of the capital cities?

• What happens if the builder runs away with your money, during a renovation.

• What to do if your financial planner becomes a little bit too pushy & recommends property to get paid a commission.

• Real Estate Investment Trusts & whether they're a good idea for you to invest in.

How to get the most rent & how Instagram can blow a tenants cover!

This is the first property manager we've had on The Elephant. Here’s what we found out:

• Seasonality & over supply, the months to avoid.

• What constitutes a good tenant & how to choose the best property manager.

• Reference checking tenants & then checking them again.

• How to change your managing agent the easy way.

• Landlord insurance - not all policies are created equal.

If you own an investment property or thinking of buying one, you need to listen to this episode.

Malcolm Gunning has been in real estate forever and his agency Gunning Real Estate focuses  on commercial, industrial, retail, residential and development real estate, and they provide services in sales, leasing, property management, consultancy, and valuation.

• What is sophisticated investor & do they always get it right?

• The 3 main methods used to value a commercial property.

• How to target the right buyer pool when selling an investment property.

• Why foot traffic, infrastructure and the neighbouring retailer is so important.

It’s our first episode on commercial real estate and it’s full of great insights!

Haesley Cush, auctioneer, sales agent and principal, opens up about the Brisbane property market and explains how apartments can lose money while unrenovated Queenslanders in the same suburbs sell for ridiculous prices. What are the best buys in Brisbane at the moment?  Here’s what else you’ll learn:

• The Brisbane property market & why locals don’t like auctions.

• What's a good property investment & what’s not in Brissy.

• Why it’s easier than you think to over capitalise on an unrenovated “Queenslander”.

• Oversupply of apartments - what’s going on?

There is so much insider knowledge here!

Negative gearing, stamp duty & what's failing property investors

In this episode, we pick the brains of Tim McKibbin, CEO of the REI New South Wales. Originally qualifying as a lawyer and an accountant, Tim joined the REI 15 years ago, and has been the CEO now for 13 years. He's an extremely vocal advocate for the real estate industry, and over the past few years he's had a couple of stoushes with the New South Wales state government on a number of issues. Recently, he's been very vocal and he's called for self regulation. His latest battle has been over stamp duty reform and it’s really fired him up!

We dive into some hot topics, such as:

• What the Government has planned to assist with housing affordability.

• Stamp Duty: Why hasn’t it changed in 32 years?

• Negative Gearing: Is it purely politics?

• Why we need review the regulators of the real estate industry that don’t know what’s going on AKA Fair Trading.

• Trust account audits - the good, bad and the ugly.

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did recording it!

The traps to avoid when getting involved with property developments.

Cameron Macqueen knows why the Chinese want to invest in Australian property. After 5 years growing a big business in China he came back to Australia to run a Chinese property development company - PAI Group. PAI have been building 100’s of small developments, mainly in Melbourne’s middle ring suburbs. These developments are funded by Chinese citizens mainly to get two things, a great return and a permanent residency status in Australia.

Here are some highlights:

• The different ways Chinese think about property.

• How Chinese gut apartments and want everything brand new.

• How you can get Permanent Residency if you have a bit of cash.

• The market risk in doing developments.

• How Chinese build community developments that are amazing places to live.

• How we are going to grow our cities, as we grow our population.

We finish with some rather hilarious tree cutting dumbos so be sure to tune in till the end!

In this episode we have a look at 2019 and what could change in “the property market”.

This is the first of our 2019 summer specials and we reflect back on what some of our podcast guests have had to say about the big issues affecting property prices.

• Peter Koulizos talks Australia.

• Pete Wargent talks Brisbane.

• The Kouk talks all things interest rates and what the RBA could do.

• Mark Foy explains why some properties are performing better than others.

• John Lindemann explains how scarcity really works and where to buy for long term growth.

• We talk about the flight to quality, property fundamentals and how many different markets perform.

Please listen to the end because Chris gives a great summary of how home loan lending has changed and what to do about it in 2019.

Exactly how much money are some “advisors” paid when they recommend property?

Bryce Holdaway, is probably Australia’s most famous property co-host - podcast fans will know him from The Property Couch and TV fans will know him from Location, Location, Location Australia, Relocation Relocation Australia and now Escape from the City on the ABC. What you may not know is why he is the best person to explain to us exactly what a property spruiker is and what makes them so dangerous.

And no chat about spruikers would be complete without also discussing:

1. How much money is available in referral fees for mortgage brokers, financial planners and accountants who know very little about property and are not interested in good outcomes for their clients.

2. Apartments aren’t all bad, but many are risky, so learn the first question to ask yourself before buying a new apartment.

3. The specific issues you need to be aware of when buying property within your SMSF.

But the most compelling reason to listen to this episode is to hear Chris’s “chicken in the oven” analogy.

Real estate can be a really expensive self development workshop.

Lorna Patten, counsellor and trainer, is renowned for telling the truth that needs to be told. So who better to explain to us exactly what lies underneath some of the decisions property buyers make - in particular those that cost people a lot of money. This is the episode we’ve been wanting to make for some time and we uncovered some absolute gems:

1. What we fear the most when it comes to life and how that can lead to buying property for all the wrong reasons.

2. The difference between normal anxiety about a big decision and a niggle that’s really a warning sign.

3. Practical steps for gaining clarity around what you want and to succeed when buying with your partner.

If you suspect that you might be driven by your inner 3 year old saying “I want it, I want it, I want it”, you’d better listen to this episode!

You make your money when you buy, not when you sell.

In this episode we pick the brains of Kevin Turner, a leading independent property market commentator, that's a mouth full, and host of the very popular podcast for consumers, called Real Estate Talk, and another for agents, called Real Estate Uncut. But he's more than just a star podcaster, Kevin has been able to combine his extensive radio and real estate careers which both date back to the 1980s.

We have covered a lot of ground, here’s a snapshot:

1. The downsizer market - lifestyle villages to suit all ages.

2. Multi-generational Living - what developers need to build.

3. Holiday mistakes - don’t buy a house when you are an ice cream licker!

4. Beware of the spruikers - is the negative gearing pitch really worth it?

5. Tips on how to choose a good selling agent.

It’s a great episode - we hope you enjoy it!