Today we feature an interview with Scott Lachmund a real estate agent based in Caboolture. Scott is also the founder of 4510TV, a community run online TV station. Scott is a really interesting guy with a lot of great ideas about how to build a personal brand. He also some great advice about how to buy property as an investment.

Today on Fast Fix Monday we continue our discussion about using property to invest in your business. We wanted to talk about ten things you need to consider before you finally decide to purchase a piece of property.

Today we are taking a break from this month’s focus on Phase 7: Expansion. Instead we are going to talk a little about our Accountant Partnership Plus Program. That’s a program that gives our accounting partners some information about different areas of the law that will impact their work. A lot of the accountants have been asking about what they need to know about franchising.

Investing in property is a major decisions. It can have huge implications for you and your business going forward. A sound investment strategy can reap big benefits. But if you don't do it right it could cost you your livelihood. That's why we invited Jason Cook to join us for this edition of the show. Jason works as a financial advisor with WB Financial in Queensland. He is also the author of the book Bulletproof Business. We've worked with Jason on a number of deals over the years and we are really excited to welcome him onto this edition of the show.

Before you sell that property you've invested so much time and effort into you've got to make sure everything is in order. Phase 9: Investing in property is all about maximizing the return on your investment. So before you begin the sometimes arduous sales process here are the top five things you need to have in order before the sale.

We've been discussing property as part of your overall business strategy. In this episode of BLL we welcome Adam Jones onto the show. Adam is the founder with Black Bear Investment Group, a property developer based in Brisbane. Adam is a former lawyer who has worked for many years managing and developing properties around Australia. We've worked with Adam and the rest of the team at Black Bear for many years and are excited to have him on the show.

As part of our series on investing in property we wanted to give you some tips about how to deal with a real estate agent. There are a ton of questions you're going to want to ask. Make sure you ask them before you sign the contract! We've helped many people navigate the sometimes tricky world of real estate. Over that time we've come up with the top 5 questions you need to ask.

How long has the property been on the market?

Some people disagree that this is an important question but it really does matter. If the property has been on the market for a long time the owner may be much more eager to make a deal. The same goes for the real estate agent.

Will the seller negotiate on price?

This might sound faintly ridiculous. After all, everyone wants the most money they can. You might not always get the answer you want but it will allow you to glean some information you can use in later negotiations.

Why is the owner selling?

If you know why they're selling and if there is a deadline attached to that sale you will be able to tell just how eager they are. If you find out that they are moving out of town or overseas you'll know that they are eager to sell as quickly as possible.

Has there been any offer? How much was the offer?

If there have been previous offers and you know how much they were you can alter your offer to meet or beat it.

What is the lowest offer they seller will accept?

A good agent will never answer this question but luckily not everyone is a good agent. You'd be surprised how often you will get this question answered.

This isn't an exhaustive list by any measure. There are tons of other questions you''re going to want to ask. But this is the five that you should start with in order to get a good sense of what negotiating strategy will be most successful.

Your business is taking off and now you have to park those profits somewhere. That's what Phase 9: Investing in property is all about. In this episode we discuss the different types of property you can invest in, what you need to think about before you sign and the due diligence process.

As we move into February we are starting Phase 9: Investing in property. As your company continues to grow investing your profits is going to become a paramount concern. This months we're going to examine the best ways to use property as an investment vehicle.

To start things off here are the top 3 things you need to know before considering buying a property.

1. What entity is buying the property?

As we've discussed in previous episodes you can structure your business in a number of ways. The primary question is why are you buying this property? The answer to that question will dictate what entity you use. If you're buying your primary residence you will likely do that under your individual name because of all the tax benefits you will accrue. If you're buying an investment property, though, you might want to use the trust of it's a positively geared property. There are many ways to do this but you have to get the right advice from your team.

2. The search engine is your friend

It may seem silly but checking the title on the property will make sure the person selling actually owns it. The potential of fraud is a very real one. Council searches and approval searches are really important to make sure that any changes made have actually been given the go-ahead. A Contaminated land search is hugely important too. You're making a large investment so make sure you have all the information you need!

3. Encroachments

Many people think that encroachments won't apply to them unless they live in the inner city. That'snot that case. When you do your plan search you should take special care to ensure that the boundaries of the property are in the right place. It doesn't matter if you're in the city or in the suburbs you don't want to get a nasty surprise.

Its February 2018 and time once again for our Monthly Legal Updater. There have been numerous changes to the law that came into effect in the past month. There has also been a lot of news that legal professionals will be interested in. With everyone now returning from holidays it seems like a good time to bring everyone up to date.