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🎧 Real deals, real strategies, real results. Learn how to find, fund, and operate profitable property plays from someone who’s actually done it.
Hosted by Andrew Wright, principal of Professionals Southport and a commercial investor who rebuilt after losing a ~$15M portfolio during the GFC, this podcast gives you a straight-talking look at what it really takes to build wealth through property.
Each episode delivers practical frameworks, real deal breakdowns, and honest conversations with high-performing investors and operators across residential and commercial.
But it’s bigger than the episodes. The goal is to build a community of like-minded investors who share stories, swap insights, help each other grow and maybe even do deals together.
🔗 Join the community & learn more - leave your email at: www.andrewwrightproperty.com.au
📍 Connect with Andrew: hello@andrewwrightproperty.com.au
Hi, I'm Andrew Wright, principal of Professional Southport, and this is the Andrew Wright Property Podcast. I've built a multimillion dollar property portfolio delivering a seven figure annual rental income, and led my real estate team through thousands of sale and lease transactions. In each episode, I share real deals and strategies that will help you find, fund and operate profitable property deals.
The aim of this show is to provide education and build a community of like-minded investors who can collaborate, share insights, and help each other in each other's journeys. You can make excuses or you can make money, but you can't do both. So come and join us.
Hello viewers, and welcome back to the Andrew Wright Property podcast. I'm thrilled that you're here, but I need your help. We're up to podcast number 18 and I haven't even hit 100 subscribers, so please do me a favor, press subscribe and send a copy of this podcast to just one person that you know who wants to make good money through property investment.
One of the goals of our podcast. Is to educate and empower you to go out and build a property portfolio so that you can look after your family and your friends. But I know that most of the people who listen to podcasts, read books, go to seminars and scroll through. realestate.com. Don't often pull the trigger to build their investment property portfolio.
Now, there's probably a number of reasons behind that. It may be that. They lack confidence. They're too busy, or maybe they feel that they don't have the right team around them to assist in building a property portfolio. If that's the case, employing a skilled and experienced buyer's agent in the location that you wanna buy in might just be that relationship that you need so that you can pull the trigger.
My philosophy for today is again. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Don't wait to buy property. Buy property, and wait. Today's guest is a long-term friend of mine, Tony Cran from Gold Coast. Simply Gold Coast Property Advisors first. Had a transaction with me in, uh, December, 2012. He probably might remember this as I'm triggering his, uh, subconscious, but he was appointed by one of his clients to bid on their behalf at an auction in a house in Zane Street, Mullen Diner in December, 2012, 13 years ago, Tony was successful at auction, buying that house for just over $400,000.
This morning before I came to the podcast studio, I clicked on valuation on Core Logic RP Data, and it come up at 1.39 million in just 13 years. There's a fantastic example of buying well and more than tripling the value of a property in just 13 years. Tony, welcome to the show.
Andrew, thanks very much for having me.
Do you
remember that auction?
I do indeed.
Yes.
Uh, I think Karen is still clicking her heels in the air, so
they still own it. I saw on the computer they still own it.
Oh, that's, uh, a phenomenal result. And, uh, yeah, it was great to, uh, be part of that, uh, auction journey for them and give them the confidence to actually buy that property because if they didn't.
Then, uh, they could be down a, a million dollars worth of equity, like you've just pointed out there.
Yeah.
So,
well, there's a few people that have profited from that because the bank at that time actually appointed me to sell three or four houses on that street that were all mortgaging possession. So I was a motivated seller.
You knew that, and you went in and you bought a bargain for your clients. So that, that's a great, great way to start the podcast. And bit of, um, a good example there of how you can make money if you buy well. Tone. Can you tell the, um, audience a little bit about your history, like before becoming a buyer's agent and how you actually got into the property market?
Yeah, for sure. So we'd, we'd known each other for well over 20 years now. Mm-hmm. And you would've known me as a valuer back in the day. And, um, you know, I got into property through the, uh. University of Queensland doing a valuation degree specializing in property studies. It's a three year degree. Then I worked under a, uh, valuer, uh, for two years and, uh, did a five year apprenticeship, if you will.
And, um, then my experience grew from there. So that's how I got into the, uh, uh, property valuation world. I work with the state valuation service or the Queensland government. That became a bit dry. So I moved over to the mortgage security valuation world and valued for the banks and, and brokers out there.
And, um, yeah, that was a real, um, uh, amazing experience to really see how. Properties tick and how properties are valued, um, and what, um, you know, uh, value, uh, attributes.
Okay. I might just step back. I didn't plan to ask this question 'cause I, I didn't know exactly that you started working for the government, but this is the, um, is that, that's what they call the governor general valuation.
Like for rates like you value a property. How do they actually determine whether you have to, is there a fixed process where they value it every three years? I noticed on the computer some are valued this year and then the next year, some are every two years, some of 'em, and there's a gap of like five years.
How does the government determine when you need to revalue a property for rates purposes?
Yeah. Well, back in the day, they'd like to value the properties every, you know, two or three years. Mm-hmm. Um, it's a, it's a big process. So, uh, each valuer was allocated into their, you know, locality, um, with, um, you know, hundreds of submarket areas within, you know, a, a, a big shire, for example.
Um, so valuing properties every year for rating purposes just wasn't, uh, a, a viable. Um, operation. So you did a mass valuation every, you know, three to five years. Um, and, uh, yeah, it's, um, yeah, look, I, I, um, you know, it was a good grounding for me and, um, you know, it, it springboarded me into some bigger valuations, not just the land, but valuations, but.
I think the biggest valuation I've got to, to help the government with was the, uh, Oxley Police Academy. So that's like a, a mini university. So that was a wow. A a, a big project. So,
wow. I just wanna share again, I didn't intend to say this, but there, we've gone off on a bit of a tangent. I just want the viewers to know that you can actually object to a land valuation, and I successfully did that on one of my properties where a neighboring property of mine sold, and I thought the guy just sold it way too cheap.
When I got my land tax bill, um, which I love paying every year, it's just such a delight. I actually decided to ring the, the government of general, whatever that State Department is, and I said, look, mate, how come you've got this land valuation here? My neighbor's property, sulfur X? He said, oh, Andrew, it's too late to change it now because it's already been done.
But what you can do so you can fill in a form. Provide some comparable sales and make an objection to that assessment and we'll give that consideration next time we value it. And it actually worked. They actually did, I can't remember if I paid a small fee or not, but I filled in a form, send it off to them, and the next valuation they did actually drop it down for me.
So, um, you can do that if you have, uh, good grounds to do so. And you've got some sales evidence there of neighboring properties, so. That helped save me land tax. Yeah. And also I think your rates has worked out on that figure as well, so you know. Yeah,
absolutely.
Well done. If you think you're being rotted, you know, you can do something about it.
Yeah. Well done.
Um, Tony, like where does your business operate and. What's your area of expertise?
Yeah, so our business is, uh, called Simply Gold Coast. So we absolutely specialize and are very passionate about the Gold Coast. So we all cover from the southern border at Cool and Gutter all up through the beach suburbs, uh, into the broad water suburbs of the Gold Coast, uh, and then work our way to the northern reaches of the growth corridor.
Uh, nudging on the, uh, the southern side of Brisbane. Um, staying on our side of the border in the Gold Coast up at, you know, Pimpama Orman almost. So, uh, it, it keeps us busy. You know, we will cover the rural, uh, areas of, say Mount Tambourine down to Udra Valley. Just to broad brush, uh, a couple of suburbs there, but our clients really like us to focus on the coastal suburbs and suburbs that are within, you know, five, you know, maybe 10 kilometers away from the beach line.
And may I ask, are you looking after owner occupiers as well as investors, Tony, or what's your sort of split of client base there?
Yeah, absolutely. So our. Split is around that 60 to 70% owner occupied, uh, clients. And then the balance being investment properties. Uh, once you help a, a client buy a property, then they soon become a, an investor client.
So whether they buy in their personal name, trust name, or a self-managed super fund.
Okay. And, uh, your, your journey, like to build your, uh, knowledge base for yourself is not just about going to uni, but actually getting in and doing some real deals. Your first deal, Tony, you bought at age, just 22. Uh, can you tell us about that deal?
Yeah. Uh, absolutely. So, um, look, I, I really feel for the, uh, you know, the first home buyers out there that are trying to get into the market and, uh, I, I, I, I can really relate to you because, you know, I held down three jobs just to get a deposit together so that I could buy that first home and. It's, um, it was a, a renovators delight, if you like, or a, a butter box or A-S-H-I-T box, some would call it.
Um, my friends would say, why are you buying this property? And, um, you know, I just said, look, just wait and see. You know, I want to get into the property market. It's a forced savings and, uh, I wanna, you know, um, you know, work hard now and get on the property ladder. So, yeah, that property was, uh, in Sherwood, in leafy Brisbane.
Uh, it was just down from the Sherwood Village. I thought I paid too much at the time, Andrew, I paid $95,500. Oh
no.
That $500. You know, I was thinking, oh, should have paid that. Like any buyer, they think that, you know, you're paying too much and the sellers think that they're not getting enough for their property.
So. I, I love the location. That's what brought me to that property. Uh, got in before Woolworth bought up in the village of Sherwood Village, and, uh, you know, four or five years later, that property after some, uh, renovation work and rolling up the sleeves, um, you know, triple in value. So, uh, I, I. Yeah, it was a really good springboard into my property journey then.
So you don't regret going out, partying with your mates. You don't regret buying that first property town instead of, uh, spending your money on lifestyle?
Yeah, there were a few sacrifices. Uh, I had to sell my ski boat to, uh, one of my best mates and, uh, they had all a fun out there on the lake and I was, uh, you know, renovating a way.
Yeah, you have to make some small sacrifices, I think, to try and get ahead.
Well, let me tell you, mate, you can always go and borrow their boat in the future. You don't actually have to own your own. So there's a not allowed to give financial advice, but I've owned a few boats, let me tell you so. Now I've got a saying here that's, um, I, I have heard before and I, one, I think it's funny.
So you mentioned here in some of your content that I looked online, you said that your dad told you, son, if you need a hand look at the end of your arm.
That's right.
Tell us about it and how that's affected your sort of philosophy to business and property.
Yeah. Dad's got some great sayings, but, uh, yeah, he said, if you want a hand, look down your arm.
And, um, you know, I guess what he was getting at was, uh, you know, give it, give it a go yourself, get in there, get committed, um, you know, show some responsibility and, uh, you know, go for it. Um, which, uh, you know, has, has, has really paid off. And, uh, it just gave me that extra confidence to. Give it anything a go.
Mm-hmm. And, um, yeah, it's, uh, you know, good, good advice. We still laugh about that. Uh, you want a hand look down your arm?
Yeah. I think the last time I said that was to my brother when he was mowing his lawn, when I was visiting his family for a short, short chat. So, yeah.
Tony, um, you worked as a valuer. It's obviously a great background. Probably no better background for a buyer's agent than being a valuer, but you were employed by the governor, general state government, and then you worked as a valuer for the banks. What made you. Quit that and start up your own buyer's agency business?
Yeah, I guess, uh, I was privy to seeing lots, you know, hundreds and thousands of, um, contracts come across my desk and we go and value the properties and, you know, um, either support the contract or unfortunately in circumstances where we had to crash contracts and not allow that purchase to go ahead. Um, so, uh, it gave me some real, uh.
Uh, insight, um, to see people paying premiums for properties when agents were actually driving past five or six golden opportunities.
Mm.
To sell their window of opportunity. So I really went, you know, who's helping the buyers? It's actually the selling agents guiding them, and, um, who's paying the selling agents?
It's the vendors and the sellers. So I said to my wife, I said. We really need to help these buyers. So, uh, we, uh, yeah, basically created our own buyer's agency.
Were there other big buyer's agencies around that you could have got a job with them first to learn your, your craft, or were there no other ones locally based on the Gold Coast at that time.
That's what, 2010?
Yeah, that's right. So, uh, I, look, I, I've even, I felt quite isolated because there weren't, um, you know, uh. Any, if any, uh, buyer's agents on the Gold Coast? There might've been a few, but, uh, no one that I could see myself, you know, working under, um, you know, they were very popular in Melbourne and Sydney.
Mm.
Uh, and, and then Brisbane as well. But, uh, gold Coast was where we really wanted to focus, so we had to kind of reinvent the wheel for ourselves and, you know, get the machete out and carve our way through the field and try and educate the, the buyers, the agents. Um, you know, the, the sellers, it was, um, yeah.
It was interesting times, but very rewarding when you did help that first client and then it rolled into two and, and then so on.
But financially speaking, um, having been there myself, that people often underestimate how much effort and time it takes to actually build a business. When you quit your job and go out and set up from scratch, now you.
Your partner continued with her job for a while before joining you to help that transition?
Mm.
How tough was that? How well, how many years was it really tough, or, for me, it took me five years to start, make some decent money in my business. But
yeah,
tell me your journey.
Yeah, yeah. That absolutely. It was a risk that we took and, you know, and you know, never wanted to fail in business.
I wanted to be a success so. Just kept at it. And, um, you know, you only get one reputation. So, you know, you help the first person and then they tell another person and then, you know, that word of mouth starts to, um, you know, uh, emulate. But. Yeah, it was tough. Absolutely. The first few years, no doubt.
Mm-hmm.
You know, um, what is a buyer's agent, you know, no one knew. And, um, yeah, it was, it was, it was, uh, yeah,
tough. How, how did, did your, your wife works full-time, right? How, how many years did it take for her to quit her job or make a decision to quit her job and help? Because a lot of people listening might be thinking of setting up their own business, or might have just started themselves and it's good, good information.
When did she decide to quit and did you tell her to quit or she decided to quit? How did, how did it all work?
Yeah, we, um, yeah, we had many, uh, you know, long walks, a a along the esplanade at Paradise Point, uh, where we, um, you know. Had a bought our, uh, first home together actually.
Mm-hmm.
And, um, you know, it was probably two or three years before I can, could convince her that, hey, we really need to, you know, um, band together.
You know, she's very, uh, capable woman. She worked for Metricon Homes. Uh, really built their business up through the, uh, the marketing world. So she started off as, uh, the boss's pa and worked her way up to being marketing manager and, and helping, um, build their brand. And I'm thinking, hang on, Eva, why don't you start helping build our own brand?
Yeah. Good. Oh, fantastic. And Tony, I don't follow, um, the awards. Uh. That the REIQ and the the, uh, industry provide, uh, often enough. But you were a finalist, was it the REIQ? Buyer'ss Agency awards that you're a finalist in, and you actually ended up winning that at some stage. Tell us, uh, tell us what happened there.
Yeah, yeah. So, um, you know, I always had a, an ambition to, uh, you know, win buyer's agent of the year. This is
Queensland to Buyer's Agent of the year.
Yeah. Yeah. So REIQ have an event. Where they, um, you know, reward the, um, uh, the agents in the industry and there was a buyer's agents category. Mm. And, uh, yeah, I, I had an ambition to win that, uh, award.
Uh, it didn't happen, um, the first or second time. Uh, it was actually like the, the third time that, uh, um, I really, you know, gave that panel all my heart and energy and passion and I wasn't leaving that room until I, they were convinced, you know, but, you know, I was very fortunate to win that award, very humbled and, um, yeah, it's, uh, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's a nice, um,
yeah.
Well it's a great achievement and one criticism I have of you, Tony, is you probably don't talk about that enough. You're not a social. Media, uh, guru, like some of the young buyer's agents out there. And unfortunately, um, sometimes the best known beats the best. But when you are choosing a buyer's agent, you really want to have a look at their qualifications, have a look at their skill sets, have a look at the, the experience.
And, uh, sometimes social media, um, isn't the best way to help you make a decision. Tony, the buyer's agency industry, is it becoming more regulated? And professional still evolving. I acknowledge, but how has it, how has it changed since 2010? That's 15 years ago.
Yeah, so I guess, um, you know, the REIQ are, are, are certainly, um, are welcoming of the buyer's agents and, you know, growing that profession.
Um, you know, they've been very supportive. Um, you know, the, um, the, the content to, you know, get your full license is, uh, you know, quite detailed. Um, you know, you can actually do the course in one week and start your own, you know, buyer's agency or, um, you know, work under a buyer's agent pretty quickly. So that's probably a low barrier of entry and that's probably why we're seeing a lot, a lot of buyer's agents.
That have seen a lot of the TV shows and, um, you know, thought that this would be a good career path to, uh, you know, um, it, it can be portrayed as a, a glamorous, uh, job. But, um, it's, uh, I, I see it as being a midwife, being there for the delivery every hour of the day or night. You just don't know when that opportunity's gonna come up and when you need to really push to close that, um, negotiation for your client for the best price.
Yeah. And in the industry, uh, there's a couple of words that are thrown around investment specialists or property spruiker. Do you have an opinion on that or are they still sprues around Tony, that you see that people maybe fall into traps and pay too much for house and land packages or something with massive commissions built into them and things like that?
Does that still happen very often?
Yeah, unfortunately it does. Um, they're getting, you know, I guess craftier or, you know, um, you know. Less public about it. And, um, unfortunately, Andrew, some SRUs are calling themselves buyer's agents, which is absolutely giving the wrong impression of what a true buyer's agent is.
A buyer's agent is independent, working for your best interest and being paid and retained, um, by that buyer's agent. The spruikers are paid by the developers. Um, I had a finance group come into our office, uh, a Southport office, uh, two weeks ago, just to educate their team what a SP is versus a buyer's agent.
Mm-hmm. So, uh, it was really great to clear up a lot of, uh, misconceptions out there. And, uh, one developer actually said that he was selling stock at $900,000. He was happy to sell it at $900,000. The Spruikers get a very handsome, you know, 5%, uh, $50,000 paycheck for selling that product if they get nine 50.
Mm-hmm.
Now, there's one occasion, Andrew, where, uh, this particular SP Bruker said, okay, will you double my commission if I get you $1.1 million? Now that is just awful. I don't know. Um,
I've heard of it happening.
Yeah,
and guess what? In day two, if you ever did get a valuation, the value of that property is gonna be at least the what you paid for at less that amount of commission and maybe even more so, um, yeah, be careful, and this is why using a good buyer'ss agent, if you are a little bit scared of these disaster stories, maybe that's one reason why someone might employ a good buyer's agent.
Tony, um, you've, uh, renovated properties before and no doubt some of your clients that have bought either for owner, owner occupier reasons or for investment have probably wanted to renovate. I mean, there's a lot of old houses in in the Gold Coast that have needed renovating. Um, have you got any education on the thought process buyers should have in relation to renovating and when are they overcapitalizing?
On the money that they're spending when they renovate a property.
Yeah, sure. So that's a great question, I guess. Uh, you know, it's great to renovate properties and improve them, but you do want to get your bang for buck and, you know, put a dollar in and get three out, so to speak, and not put a dollar in and get 50 cents back.
So, um, you know, if you're going to, uh, renovate a kitchen and a bathroom, for example, in a, in a, in a small, uh, unit, then you're not gonna get the bang for buck as you would. Doing it to a freestanding residential owner-occupied style home. So, you know, you do need to, you know, choose how far and how much you do spend.
If you spend up to 10% of the value, that's a pretty safe, uh, uh, guide. Um, but, uh, you know, it's always good to do a, like a before and after assessment or, or, or, or we used to do them valuations all the time in the banking world. And, um, you know, so then that way you're actually doing your homework. Before you actually spend that hard earned money in the wrong places, you know, you can, you know, do amazing things with, uh, rendering, you know, old 70 brick walls and, um, painting, you know, new
carpets,
carpets,
smells good.
All yeah, all, all, all the beautiful, uh, cosmetic changes. Um, you know, they, they're, um, yeah, they, they'll help you sell a property a lot quicker as well when you, when you do want to go sell. But you know, you want that asset to go up through the goodness of time. So, um, yeah, you just have to be mindful of where you spend that money and, uh, yeah, over capitalization is a killer.
So, um, I've seen it on many occasions where, um, you know, the husband or the wife, you know, gets outta control and just, you know. Knows what they want, but they don't really, um, make the dollars and cents, um, side of it, you know, it, uh, it's more of an owner occupied, um, decision and they better hold that property for a long time to get the, the, uh, the value out of it.
Mm-hmm. Tony, you were, um, determined enough to put yourself in a position where you could buy a waterfront property at a fairly young age as well and bigger rewards there. Um, tell us about that deal. How did you set yourself up so that you could fund the purchase of a waterfront property? What did you buy for it?
Have you still got it now or did you sell it?
Yeah, sure. So I also had a goal to try and buy a waterfront property on the Gold Coast, um, before I was, uh. 30 years old. So, uh, I just snuck that, uh, that in, um, you know, I was working very closely with an agent that kept an eye out for properties for me. He'd ring me every two weeks saying, sorry, can't find one.
Can't find one. Um, I had a pretty tough budget and it was $600,000 at the time. And, uh, yeah, the, uh, the agent called me and he said, I've got one. And, uh, we ended up, yeah, securing that property for $600,000. Uh, did a renovation on that property. It was my primary place of residence. Um, but to get to that point, Andrew, great point because, you know, you just don't all of a sudden buy a, a waterfront property.
Um, so I, I basically, uh, you know, bought my first house very well. Um, it increased in value dramatically, and I bought the neighboring property. And what I did was I actually, uh. Saved a lot of tax free dollars by selling, um, and upgrading properties as I went through. Um, you know, every, you know,
principal place of residences, you mean?
Yeah. My principal place of residence. Yeah. So that was a good way for me as a, as a single, um, you know, title holder Yeah. To, you know, build and, uh, get up to that waterfront style of property. So. I couldn't have done that if I didn't take the chances and sell the, the properties to, uh, profit and upgrade.
Um, but then, you know, on the flip side, uh, it's, it's awful to see what those properties are are worth. However,
I can tell you, because I looked before I came here this morning, I jumped on RP data again. You gave me the address of that property. Can I, yeah. Can I tell you what the computer said this morning?
Go
for it. Go for it.
Yeah. So, uh. 11 Clipper court, bigger award as Tony sold. He bought it for 600, got a good 50% return, sold it for 895,000, 23rd of May, 2009, and uh, the next buyer. Actually lost money on it after four years, only sold it for 800. But today's valuation, you know, it's not a hundred percent accurate.
You just click on an estimate. 1.87 to 1.9 million is the ballpark of, well, that's worse. So you've left a million dollars tax free, thereby selling it.
Yeah, that's, that, that is true. And it's, uh, a big trap for a lot of people out there. So just be mindful of what you're doing. And, um, uh, I sold at that 8 95 mark.
Mm-hmm. Is I could see the market going down and You
were right. Yeah.
And, and it did go down by a hundred thousand.
Mm-hmm.
But what I did do was secure an Esplanade position. So,
oh, paradise Point. So
Andrew got out of that property?
Yeah.
Yes. I left a million dollars on the table, but I probably made 1.5 on the other one.
Very good. So if you're going to get outta the market, make sure you jump back into the same market because you could be left. Behind big time. Mm. And you'll be renting for the rest of your life. So yeah, it, it was, um, yeah, that sounds terrible and I totally agree, but, um, I think,
and you made it elsewhere.
I kind of, yeah, I did. So
that time of the market, I, I, I had a similar example where. I didn't put the money elsewhere. It was exactly that time. It was actually 2008. I gambled a lot of money away in the GFC with trading options and things on the stock market, and I forced my wife to sell 2, 2 1 Marque Street Mermaid Waters for $830,000 in 2008.
Around that same time. And clicked on that button this morning, uh, 2.37 million. So I've lost, I've missed out on one and a half million dollars there at Capital Growth, and I did make the mistake of not putting that money from that property into another 'cause I had to pay off my gambling debts in the stock market.
So,
yeah,
it's very, very good advice. Tony, you need to. If you don't, if you get some cash from a property, say, I'll buy another one.
Yeah, no, absolutely. And that's what I love about your podcast is, you know, these are real situations. Mm-hmm. And, you know, people usually tell you about the, uh, the, the wins that they've had on the, on the races, but I don't tell you about all the losses.
So
yeah,
I just love how this is a real, a real deal.
Thanks Tony
Podcast.
Appreciate it. Uh, question that, uh, people often ask. So if you had a million or one and a half million to deploy right now on the Gold Coast, what type of dwelling would you buy and where on the Gold Coast would you buy Tony?
Yeah, that's a very good question.
Um,
I'm sure there's a right answer, but because no one knows the future, right. But yeah, I'm sure there's some philosophy there that you can share. Yeah,
no, absolutely. And look, it doesn't matter how much or how little you have. Um, 1.5 is a, a reference point, but I say to everybody that comes into the office, I say it, it doesn't matter how much or how little you have, I'll always try to buy your house.
Mm. Buy the freestanding house, the biggest block as close as you can to that lifestyle waterfront, um, uh, water line of the Gold Coast, whether it be with the beaches or the broadwater. Um, get yourself, uh, a freestanding home because that's where the underlying value is. Like my first house. Yeah. You know, the house was no all painting, but the land kept rising up in value.
So that's, um, that's the first and foremost. And hey guys, if you can't afford a, a house, then jump into a duplex. They are so amazing with regards to mm-hmm. Uh, affordability and, you know, you can pay that mortgage off quicker and get yourself into a good location where the duplexes are built and, um, you know, get yourself into the market and then upgrade to a house.
Yeah, no, that's great advice. And I can only say from my first same, uh, experience that I've made exactly the mistake that Tony's saying not to do. My office I bought in 2005 in Southport for just over $2 million. 20 years later, it's worth 2.5 million. Okay, so if I had to spent that 2 million on a freestanding building instead of a body corporate arrangement where I don't own any land, I'm in a high rise, 40 story tower with no land content, paying body corporate fees, I've made one or 2% capital growth a year there instead of much higher compounding capital growth with some land content.
So I've made all the mistakes and that's why we are talking about it here, so you guys can help hopefully make less mistakes when you're, when you're on your own journey. Tony Interstate buyers. There seems to be, um, a lot more of them these days. There seems to be a lot of, um, borderless buyers agents around and, and borderless investors that are buying.
Used to be, you know, you had to buy something that you could travel to within an hour's distance, but a lot of people buy outta town these days. What, what mistakes do you see people make when they do that?
Yeah, look, uh, there's, there's, there's a lot of southerners that like to have a foot in both camps up at the Gold Coast, especially lifestyle city.
So, um, you know, they, uh, some they fall into the trap of using buyer's agents that just dunno the area.
Mm-hmm.
So, you know, they might have a great relationship with the buyer's agency in, um, in their own city. But, um, it doesn't give them the license to come up and, and buy the best value for money and do the right thing, um, business wise.
Um, and, um, you know, just know all the nuances, ins and outs and traps and yeah. Problems. You know, you don't wanna buy someone else's problems. So, um, yeah, if, if, if you're going to use a buyer's agent, I'd never, um, wanna, um, buy a property in Melbourne or Canberra, or. Or Perth. I, I'd certainly use a buyer's agent that specializes in that area.
Mm-hmm. They know the ins and outs and they've done all the groundwork and, you know, especially they've got credibility behind them. Experience. So, yeah, it's, um, yeah, it can be a big, big trap.
Okay. So there, there's a point to our viewers. So if you're looking to buy interstate, choose a buyer's agent who's got boots on the ground that actually knows the market.
And I'll go one step further after seeing some horrendous mistakes. With land tax and stamp duty issues that if you're buying in another state, you should also talk to. Some accountants don't even know legislation around stamp duty 'cause they're trained in federal tax law, not state law. Talk to your lawyer about the implications of buying different states and land tax because it can make a MA massive difference.
Tony, um, there's a bit of a buzzword that's emerged the last few years in particular. I listen to podcasts every day, and a lot of them are from buyer's agents. And, um, the word off market seems to be one of the, um, I, I guess the words that they use to try and say that they're, they're different and come and use us as buyers agents.
'cause we, we've got all these deals off market and if you buy a property off market, we're gonna save you a fortune. We're gonna buy under market value. My assessment of that is, um, in some cases that may be true, but in a really strong market like now, very, very difficult to do. What's your thoughts on that?
Yeah, it's an absolute buzzword. The off markets. Um, so buying an off market, like I'll sell any of my properties off market if you write the check big enough.
Yeah.
You know, there has to be true motivation why a person's going to be selling to meet the market, uh, or, or if they're super motivated, sell under market.
Um, we are in a very strong buoyant market, so, uh. Um, yes, it's great to, uh, you know, claim that you bought an off market opportunity, but have you actually bought it for the right price? You know, that's, um, that, that's, that's part of the, uh, problem. Uh, I don't, I, I, I like buying pre-market opportunities.
Okay. So there's a big difference between off market and pre-market. We chase pre-market opportunities. That's where the agents tell us about an opportunity that suits our, uh, clients', uh, price point locality and anchor points, and all ins and outs. So yeah, they're the, they're the great options that we like to buy, um, because we do know that the sellers are committed to a marketing fee.
Uh, they've signed the form six, or they're about to sign a Form six with a selling agent. We're very protective of the agents as well. You know, we don't door knock and, uh, cut the agents' grass, you know, there'll be suicide. Um, so we hold a lot of secrets, um, when it comes to these pre-market opportunities.
And, you know, we've built up such great relationships with agents, uh, left, right, and center. You know, buying with hundreds, with hundreds of agents multiple times. And, um, it, it, it really does give some great leverage. To buy, not off markets, but pre-market opportunities. So they're the ones to go for.
Yeah, I think, um, that's a good point.
Pre-market versus off market. I mean, one of the times when I try and help a buyer's agent on a daily basis through, through my business, doesn't happen too often, but when I get morga in possession sales, for example, quite often the lawyers for the banks won't allow the agent to market it as a mortgage in possession sale because they're scared that they're.
Bankrupt person might say, oh, you undersold that. You promoted it as a desperate sale. And the lawyers don't like that. So when I get morgaine possession sales, usually that's triggers me to ring up a buyer's agent and say, Hey, look, I've got a morgaine possession here. I can tell you that I'm not allowed to market it online like that.
But I can tell you could be a good opportunity for your clients if you've got any. And that's a classic example of a pre-market situation where unfortunately you can't stop it going to market, but you've at least got a few weeks. To, to maybe, um, get yourself in a position finance wise where you can maybe buy a, buy a bargain.
And when I say a bargain, some, I don't know the legalities all the time and the laws changed, but in my last 20 years working as an agent, a lot of the banks and mortgages and possession have been allowed to sell up to five or 10% below a physical valuation, uh, when they auction a property. Now all, all banks are different.
So don't take that as gospel, but sometimes there are good deals to be done in Morga, in Possession auctions and that Zane Street one was perhaps a good example where you, where I contacted you, I'll let you know there's a Morga in Possession sale and you took action for one of your clients and they've nearly tripled their money in 13 years, not 30 years, 13 years.
Absolutely. And, you know, uh, that was a, a a, that is a great example of knowing, you know, that tolerance of, you know, if it's five or 10% depending on the lender. And, you know, knowing those kinds of, uh, nuances, uh, gives us as a buyer's agent that real distinct advantage. So, you know. How to really push buttons on the auction day.
Stop the auction, get the reserve, you know, reviewed. You know, they'll be calling the banks in and you know, okay, well we've only got bidding up to $350,000 on this occasion, for example. And, um, and then, you know, they drop their, say, let's say four $30,000 valuation minimum, you know, on the day.
Mm.
They do have tolerance.
So they dropped it down to. For example, I'm just, you know, using figures here, but mm, it could have been that $400,000 and no less.
Mm.
And you know, we had that courage to up that bid
Mm.
Significantly to take it off the floor because once you've, you know, secured that property, it's gone. That opportunity is, is missed.
And Zane Street just kept going up and up and up in values. So, uh, having that, you know. Inside knowledge of how things tick and work, um, from that valuation background as well. 'cause we used to value a lot of properties with the
ee. Yeah, no, look, it's very, very interesting because, um, look, every mortgagee is in a different situation.
There are different legalities involved, but sometimes, um, I can confidently say that you're better off buying under auction conditions because sometimes post auction. You might have a, um, a mortgage reinsurer get involved and they might have a bit more of a say after an auction campaign as to what price they will pay, and sometimes you can actually get a better deal.
Buying at auction. There are other times where I've seen buyers actually get a better deal after auction when a morga in possession gets more motivated as the interest accrues and they're getting further and further behind. So get advice, take action, turn up to the auctions because you just never know when you're gonna get a good deal.
Um, apart from that, like I've given that example Tony, have you got a couple of other examples of where you've helped people buy on the Gold Coast?
Yeah. Yeah, there's a couple, um, uh, I can share with you of late, um, and, you know, look, we don't discriminate. It doesn't matter how much or how little you have.
You know, we put our heart and soul into buying the, the right asset for the, uh, individual. So we helped Young Harry. He, uh, was a 24-year-old sparky, hardworking guy. Uh, he wanted to get into the property world. He couldn't afford a house, um, when he had a, a budget of seven 50. So, um. I ended up buying a pre-market opportunity, uh, in a, a, a villa complex.
Uh, so this villa was as big as a house, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, single lockup garage. The going rate was in the eights and mid eights. Um, this was an opportunity where I knew that the seller was, um, you know, returning, uh, overseas. So, uh. We were the only ones to know about the property. Went through the property, told Harry about it after I did, um, comprehensive videos and commentary and he said, I love it.
Um, so we got him through, uh, got a contract signed, uh, started at 7 25 and closed the deal at seven 50, uh, which we knew was great buying. And, um, yeah, he's been adding value ever since with paint. Um, you know, upgrading the air conditioning and, you know, um, electricals and bits and pieces and using his trade to, and, and no doubt he's probably, uh, got some friends in the trades that are helping him along the way.
Do a few other things like plumbing and whatnot, but, you know, how, how good is that Harry's in the market? $750,000.
Good on you mate, and, um, putting pressure on you now. Can you give us one more before we move on? Oh, yeah.
Okay.
To some quick fire questions.
Okay. Then, um, there was another, uh, situation where, um, I was looking for a, a, a high end client.
Uh, we were looking at, um, particularly Main Beach, um, apartments. They wanted to buy like a sub penthouse style property, one per floor. So we were looking at properties that were around about that 24,000 a square meter. And, um, you know, yeah, we, uh, we didn't really wanna pay nine, nine and a half million dollars for the particular asset and, uh, come across a property that was going to auction and, um, you know, jumped in and made a, a, a, an offer.
I said to the client, I said, if we buy this for under $15,000 a square meter, I'm shaving this bid off. And guess what? We bought the property, uh, for $6.3 million, uh, you know, under 15,000 a square meter. 2021 build. Um, yeah, sensational result. Um, and look, we, we did have authority to spend up into the very high sixes and even nine national news reported that sale as happening at, uh, $6.8 million.
So, you know, everyone thinks we paid $6.8 million, but we actually paid $6.3 million. So, and it included some furnishings and gym equipment. Yeah, all of that
well done. So, I mean, there's an example where, I mean, if you wanted to put the dollars behind it, you, you probably should do a social media ad tone and say, we save this person X amount of dollars.
'cause the other buyer's agents would, but yeah, we like, that's a great, that's adding value, isn't it? That's, that's not just charging a fee and saving someone some time. That, that's an example. Maybe a little bit of a rare example of, but really saving them a lot of money because of you. Your efforts and your skillset.
So
yeah, we like to stay under the radar, Andrew, the best we can,
but you can't scale too high if you stay under the radar. Tony, we've gotta help you get some more clients. So, um, mate, how do you, how do you balance like your business life and, and, uh, like balance? You've been doing this for 15, 16 years now, so you're obviously.
You, you are obviously happy. You haven't, um, sort of burnt out. How do you balance that lifestyle and, and business?
Yeah, absolutely. You do see a lot of people burn out. Um, so Eva and I, we've created a, um, you know, successful buyer's agency. You know, we, we said to each other, look, um, we've, we've been in business for 12 years, um, and it's time to have a break.
So what we decided to do was take the kids outta school. Uh, hitch on the caravan and the tinny on the roof and, uh, four wheel drive and, you know, set, uh, yeah. Uh, set around Australia and we spent a solid 10 months in Western Australia. The most remote state of why of Australia. Why Western
Australia?
We just absolutely loved it.
Yeah,
right. It was just a natural beauty, you know? Um, I, I love how it might be, you know, 10, 15 years behind the East coast. You know, the waterways. I love spear fishing. Um, bit of hunt and gather kind of a, um, you know, vice get
to that Margaret River area right down the bottom.
Yeah. About three or four times.
Yeah. We, uh, yeah, we, we love a good, uh, yeah, buttery Chardonnay now and then.
Good on you Tony. Some quick rapid fire questions just to finish off the podcast. What suburbs on the Gold Coast offer the best value right now?
Yeah. It's gotta be the northern end of the Gold Coast. You know, the southern end is, uh, quite expensive now.
So there's more uplift I agree at, at the northern end of the Gold Coast. A hundred
percent. I
agree. Especially close to the, the, uh, broad water, like
absolutely.
Southport Labrador, bigger waters way,
sovereign island's massively undervalued as well, by the way.
Yes.
Biggest mistake you see investors make, Tony.
Uh, I guess that's selling scenario. So people that, um, you know, are trying to make a quick buck in property, it's a long term, um, investment, so selling assets and then not getting back into the market and upgrading
one book every property investor should read.
Yeah, I, I don't read too many books, Andrew, um, but Rich Dad, poor Dad was, um, one of, one of the first books that really, uh, yeah, I resonated with.
If you were 22 again, which was the age when you bought your first house, would you do that again or would you rather go out with your mates on those boats and travel the world and party?
Uh, I'd rather go out in their boat these days and look back at the good old times, but, uh, yeah, I, I wouldn't change getting into the property market.
You know, any which way you can get into the property market. Mm-hmm. Even if it's a one bedroom apartment, just get in the market. Mm-hmm.
So,
yeah, no, no regrets there.
Okay. Well, look, I just want the viewers to know that I, I am fussy who I, I bring on this show, and one of the reasons I have confidence in bringing Tony on the show is not just his qualifications and experience as a valuer and a buyer's aid.
Wasn't that long ago. I actually rang a lady up and as a selling agent and said, Hey, look, um, did you know your block of units and runaway bay's gone up a fortune? Would you consider selling? And she actually said, what do you think it's worth? And I told her and I said, what do you think she, you know what she said, Tony?
She said, oh, I'd have to check with Tony first. She didn't say, I better check with my accountant. She didn't say, oh, I better ask my family. She said, oh, I'd have to ring Tony first. And this was a previous client of Tony, who, I won't say the name, but Tony had bought a couple of blocks of units at Runaway Bay for, and she wouldn't do anything without talking to Tony.
So if that's not a, uh, endorsement of the value that Tony can add to his clients, I dunno. What is Tony, thanks for joining us.
It's been a pleasure. Thank you kindly.
Thanks. And, uh, please press subscribe and forward this, uh, podcast on to one of your friends who might wanna make some money in property.
Thanks for your time.