This week, we are joined by Neal Ashworth of White Gorilla Developments.

We discuss Neal’s background both in getting property ready for sale, as well as his development work for investors in today’s market.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM TODAY’S EPISODE:

• How Neal went from an apprenticeship as a carpenter to opening his own business in 2011;
• Starting out renovating with friends and family, and growing the business from there;
• Preparation for sale campaigns, and how vital they can be;
• Examples of how a bit of preparation can take your property to the next price bracket;
• How much to expect to spend, and what your return on that investment can be;
• Development application work, and partnering alongside architects, builders etc to get the project completed;
• Differences in councils across the country;
• Feasibility studies and the role they play in forecasts for a project;
• The low rise medium density housing code coming in July;
• How various fees can add up in your holding costs; And
• Working with neighbours.

SPEAKERS IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Michelle May - Sydney Buyers Agent

Neal Ashworth - White Gorilla or via 0414 557 466

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This week, Marcus gives a brief synopsis on the world of mortgage broking. Now that over half of all loans are written with the help of brokers, what is it that they do that’s different from walking in to a bank directly.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM TODAY’S EPISODE:

• Recent stats from the Department of Fair Trading on real estate agents and compliance to inspection guidelines;
• How Marcus went from being a banker to a mortgage broker;
• How many banks and lenders a broker typically will work across;
• Why it’s different to go to a broker rather than walk in to a branch of your local bank;
• Why a pre-approval is a good thing when house hunting;
• How brokers get paid;
• Questions to ask when speaking with a broker for the first time;
• How some brokers are licensed by businesses that are partially owned by banks, and how theoretically that could determine which bank gets recommended;
• Why you should stay in touch with a broker each year;
• Why you may get a better service and rate with a broker than directly via a bank; And
• Who your broker may be a member with as their professional organisation.

LINKS OR ARTICLES WE MENTIONED:

• Department of Fair Trading email updates

SPEAKERS IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Michelle May - Sydney Buyers Agent

Marcus Roberts - Mortgage Broker

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This week, Marcus sits down with Ray Jaramis, award winner and financial adviser extraordinaire. Ray guides us through the world of parental help. How parents can give their kids a head-start in the property market, where they could get unstuck, and tips and tricks to make it a smooth transaction for everyone involved.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM TODAY’S EPISODE:

• How parents are helping more and more with their childrens’ property purchases;
• Price to income in Sydney on the world scale;
• How Ray became interested in financial advice;
• Why accountability for personal finance is important;
• Gifting funds to your kids;
• Testing out monthly repayments prior to purchase;
• How a parent to child loan could work as well;
• Thinking about longer term and family commitments rather than the immediate future;
• How a gift is treated by Centrelink for the age pension;
• What happens if your kids split up; And
• Why professional advice is important

LINKS OR ARTICLES WE MENTIONED:

• XY Adviser
• Treysta Wealth

SPEAKERS IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Marcus Roberts - Mortgage Broker

Ray Jaramis - @rjfinlife

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This week, Michelle delves in to the world of strata. If you’re looking for a property that is strata title, what should you be looking for in the strata notes?

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM TODAY’S EPISODE:

• Why it’s important to get a copy of the strata notes;
• Where to start, and why looking at the funding position is key;
• Sinking funds/Capital Works funds, and why they’re important;
• Strata manager rule of thumb guidelines to start with;
• Special levies, what have been charged to date and for what purpose;
• Sinking fund forecasts, why they’re a good thing to look for;
• The executive committee, the history of the AGM’s;
• Is the committee meeting its annual requirements (eg. fire safety compliance);
• Where things can go wrong with a new building;
• History of the builder;
• Websites to take a look at; And
• Understanding your potential share should you raise concerns in due course.

LINKS OR ARTICLES WE MENTIONED:

• Your Strata Property
• Strata Man

SPEAKERS IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Michelle May - Sydney Buyers Agent

Marcus Roberts - Mortgage Broker

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• Have a money question you want us to answer? [email protected]

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This week, we continue our suburb deep dive series on the Sydney Property Insider Podcast via our Suburb Spotlight! Today, we’re focussing on the lovely area of Clovelly.  

We discuss the history of the suburb, the demographics, upcoming development work, as well as the day-to-day specifics like local cafes, schools and transport

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM TODAY’S EPISODE:

• The history of Clovelly;
• The original residents of the suburb;
• The estates in the area during the 19th century;
• Entry level prices;
• Price data over past few years;
• How tightly held property in the suburb is;
• Transport links to the CBD;
• Public transport on the way for the area;
• Proximity to Prince of Wales Hospital;
• School zoning;
• Necessities in proximity;
• An underwater trail; And
• Dog friendly parks nearby

LINKS OR ARTICLES WE MENTIONED:

• Bondi to Coogee Walk
• Underwater Nature Trail
• edu.au
• School Finder

SPEAKERS IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Michelle May - Sydney Buyers Agent

Marcus Roberts - Mortgage Broker

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• Have a money question you want us to answer? [email protected]

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• Or, find us on the podcast app of your choice, such as Spotify

This week, we are extremely excited to have Lisa Indge of Let’s Rent on the show.

We discuss Lisa’s tips on property management, why you should use a dedicated professional rather than doing it yourself, and tips and tricks of the trade.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM TODAY’S EPISODE:

• Number of properties per portfolio for most property managers;
• Legislation intricacies;
• Working with tenants to ensure that you keep your arrears in check;
• Vetting prospective tenants;
• What to focus on to increase your rental income;
• Return on investment for your cost outlay regarding painting, taps, etc;
• Timing the market with regards to showing the property;
• Keeping vacancy rates low;
• The value of good photos;
• Questions to ask a prospective property manager; And
• Looking at an overall investment property portfolio as part of your wealth plan.

LINKS OR ARTICLES WE MENTIONED:

• Real Estate Institute of NSW

SPEAKERS IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Michelle May - Sydney Buyers Agent

Marcus Roberts - Mortgage Broker

Lisa Indge – Let’s Rent

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This week, we are joined by top 100 nationwide real estate executive, Kiki Bermudez, from Mint360Property.

We speak about her experience and what she’s seeing in the Coogee and Randwick markets.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM TODAY’S EPISODE:

• How a psychology degree and experience working in palliative care can lead to a career in real estate;
• The evolution of Randwick, and the infrastructure upgrades in the area;
• Coogee’s changing vibe, partially due to the Coogee Pavilion;
• How development has not overrun Coogee and Randwick due to a higher amount of control from the local council;
• Her view on the change in the market over the past 12 months, and how that’s affected Kiki’s suburbs of expertise;
• The major item that prospective vendors should look for when choosing an agent;
• How a support team rather than just the agent themselves make a sale proceed smoothly;
• Educational changes on the horizon for agents;
• The term “burn and churn” and how it relates to agents;
• Kiki’s view on auctions vs private treaties;
• How an auction creates timebound demand;
• Styling, why it’s worth doing if you’re looking to sell;
• How much a property stylist may cost; And
• Why a free strata report for purchasers can create more interested parties.

LINKS OR ARTICLES WE MENTIONED:

Randwick top agents

Top 100 nationwide agents

SPEAKERS IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Michelle May - Sydney Buyers Agent

Marcus Roberts - Mortgage Broker

Kiki Bermudez – 0420 556 557 or via Kiki Bermudez at Mint360Property

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This week, we are very lucky to have leading financial advisor, Adele Martin on the show.  

We discuss Adele’s tips to get that initial deposit together when you’re saving for your first or next home.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM TODAY’S EPISODE:

• Whether to focus on saving a set dollar or a percentage each month;
• What the average Australian saves from their pay packet;
• One of Adele’s favourite money books “The Richest Man In Babylon”;
• Breaking down savings goals to manageable chunks;
• How to view savings like exercise or fitness goals;
• The credit card debt in Australia;
• Whether she recommends paying the smallest balance down first or the highest rate first;
• Getting emergency savings together;
• Subscriptions, the hidden costs;
• Financial date nights;
• Side hustle gigs for extra cash;
• Budgeting, the horrible B word;
• Emotional spending; And

LINKS OR ARTICLES WE MENTIONED:

• Savings Squad
• Adele Martin - Money Mentor

SPEAKERS IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Michelle May - Sydney Buyers Agent

Marcus Roberts - Mortgage Broker

Adele Martin - Adele Martin

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This week, we are very lucky to have principal of Richardson & Wrench Marrickville, Aris Dendrinos as our next guest.

We discuss Aris’ background and what put him in to the industry, the changes he’s seen in the Hurlstone Park/Marrickville areas over the past 20 years, changes in the area through developments these past 12 months, and his outlook for the 18 months to come. All that, plus some interesting notes on how he sees the value of selling via auction vs private treaty.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM TODAY’S EPISODE:

• Growing up in the Marrickville area;
• First jobs in the industry;
• Demographic changes over the years;
• Eclectic mix of residents;
• Resistance in the area to major developments;
• The effect of APRA’s tightening of investor lending;
• The effect of stamp duty concessions for first home buyers;
• Aris’ view on where he sees the market at present;
• Why you shouldn’t focus purely on price when choosing an agent;
• Why strategy for sale is important;
• Having difficult conversations around getting the property ready for sale;
• Auction vs private treaty;
• Budgeting for advertising and styling;
• Showing a home near school starting times as a way of getting more interest; And
• Where Aris sees the market in the months ahead

LINKS OR ARTICLES WE MENTIONED:

• RateMyAgent to see Aris’ most recent award; And
• APRA release from 2017 on APRA’s tightening of investor lending

SPEAKERS IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Michelle May - Sydney Buyers Agent

Marcus Roberts - Mortgage Broker

Aris Dendrinos - Richardson & Wrench Marrickville or via 0412-465-567

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This week, we are extremely excited to start our new chapter series on the Sydney Property Insider Podcast! Our deep dive in to specific suburbs via our Suburb Spotlight! Today, being our first, we’ve decided to focus on Marrickville.

We discuss the history of the suburb, the demographics, upcoming development work, as well as the day-to-day specifics like local cafes, schools, transport, and flight paths!

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM TODAY’S EPISODE:

• The history of Marrickville;
• The original residents of the suburb;
• Migration trends;
• Entry level prices;
• Price data over past 12 years;
• Current developments and protests against high rises;
• Transport links to the CBD;
• Metro development in future;
• What it’s like living under the flight path;
• What to expect when inspecting;
• Addison Road Markets;
• School zoning;
• Necessities in proximity;
• Dog friendly parks nearby

LINKS OR ARTICLES WE MENTIONED:

• SMH article on leaked documents regarding development proposals
• FlightRadar24 if you’re interested in plane-spotting
• Marrickville residents say no
• Victoria Road Precinct
• Mirvac plans
• Marrickville Metro
• Inner West Bus map
• School Finder
• Myschool.edu.au
• Dog Exercise Areas

SPEAKERS IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Michelle May - Sydney Buyers Agent

Marcus Roberts - Mortgage Broker

ASK US ANYTHING!

• Have a money question you want us to answer? [email protected]

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ENJOY THE SHOW?

• Don’t miss an episode, subscribe via iTunes. If you like it, please leave a review!
• Or, find us on the podcast app of your choice, such as Spotify