In this week's episode of the Property Planner, Buyer and Professor Podcast, the team intimately share with you some of the most significant mistakes that they have made along their property journeys, and their lessons learnt. In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos discuss: •Selling properties they could have held. The Planner, Buyer and Professor have all made this mistake at some point on their journey, along with many other Australians. Selling a property that you could have kept, is one of the most common regrets we see. •Not having a mortgage strategy in place. Your mortgage strategy allows you to use equity, optimise your tax deductions and plan for holding property into the future as you accumulate more properties in your portfolio. It is critical to help you avoid the first mistake of selling properties that you could have held. •Keeping track of your Money Management! The way you manage your money is critical to success and ensuring that you have an effective money management system in place will not only give you peace at night, but will allow you to build your cash reserves to take the next step in your property journey. •Not knowing what makes a good investment. The allure of shiny and new can be tempting, but beware! Not all that glitters is gold. •Listening to the wrong people. Whilst your friends and family are well meaning and have your best interests at heart, they are most likely not property experts, (unless you are lucky to have a dad like Pete's who worked in real estate). Ensure that you surround yourself with, (and get advice from) independent experts. •Buying a 'bargain'. We all love a good bargain, but when it comes to property, looks can be deceiving. Purchasing a bargain property can attract a poor quality of tenant and you need to ask yourself whether it's worth the headache and trouble. •Not purchasing when you could have. Your risk profile may preclude you from taking that critical step in your journey. Whilst most people regret selling a property, you can also regret not taking the risk of purchasing a property that would have performed well. As they say, hindsight is 20/20. •And of course, our 'gold nuggets'! Visit the show notes - https://bit.ly/34c3hVU

In this week's episode of the Property Planner, Buyer and Professor Podcast, the team take you through the ins and outs of investing in commercial property. In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos discuss: •How commercial property investment differs from residential, from a higher return on investment, duration and construction of leases, flexibility in lease length, business category of tenant and to ongoing running costs. •An introduction to the different types of commercial property - industrial, retail and office. •Higher return also means higher risk, and that risk comes in the form of vacancy rates, rental volatility and higher funding costs. It's often much easier to find a tenant for your home, than your warehouse or high street shop. •The high cost of entry and ongoing maintenance. Buying commercial property is often much more expensive than buying residential property, on top of that commercial property investment requires higher deposits as a direct result of lower loan to value ratio constraints, and higher interest rates for commercial lending. •Real estate investment trusts and how you can invest in commercial property without purchasing the whole building; Dave touches on this exciting purchase pathway, but only scratches the surface. The trio look forward to delving even further into REIT's. •Volatility in the commercial market as a result of the Covid-led economic slow-down, with sentiment dropping to unprecedented levels for some categories, dire vacancy rates are the market indicators. •The economic outlook for retail, office and industrial commercial property including some positive insights for specific subsets of commercial property •And of course, our 'gold nuggets'!

https://propertyplanning.com.au/propertyplannerbuyerprofessor/ This week, the Property Planner, Buyer and Professor turn their thoughts to established properties and why they offer superior capital growth prospects. In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: 1. Established houses tend to be located close to the CBD, and generally the older the property; the closer to the CBD, (being the central location for the majority of jobs and the highest land value per square metre.) 2. People want to live close to where they work, but will that be the case going forward as many businesses comfortably shift to 'working from home' life? 3. Established properties are more likely to have an optimal land to asset ratio, with the majority of the value invested in the appreciating component of the asset - the land! 4. New estates may offer larger blocks of land than inner established areas, but that doesn't equate to a higher land to asset ratio. In fact, the abundance, (and lack of scarcity) of land in these new estates means that they have a lower value per square metre. 5. You don't pay a 'brand new premium' for established property. Paying for a brand-new property means that you also pay for the developers profits and cost of labour. For established property, you pay only 'market value'. 6. The NIMBY effect (Not in my backyard!) - Long established communities have great influence over councils, (including the implementation of heritage listing and overlays) that make it significantly more challenging to increase supply through development in the preferred pockets and streets. 7. Melbourne's highly sought-after ring of suburbs located 5-20km from the CBD have seen very little growth in population in the last 30 years. This phenomenon has directly impacted property price growth in such areas. 8. Period homes have architectural appeal and features that Australian's love, increasing the demand for those properties due to the irreplaceable nature of these elements. 9. And of course, our 'gold nuggets'! Visit the show notes - https://propertyplanning.com.au/why-established-properties-outperform/

The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor continue analysing off the plan purchases, and in particular, high rise apartments. This week, in the second of two episodes dedicated to this type of property, their focus is on the financial risks of purchasing off the plan. In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: 1. The 'Pros' of purchasing off the plan. The team start off outlining a number of financial benefits of purchasing off the plan, however many are short-term and what you could call a 'catch 22'. 2. The risks of not being able to access finance (through no fault of your own). Lenders protect themselves by limiting their exposure to off the plans because they understand they are 'risky' securities - less likelihood of capital growth and hard to sell in a fire sale. That includes limiting the number of properties in a building or postcode they will take as security, limiting the loan to value ratio (requiring a higher deposit), and working to a minimum limit of the number of square metres in the apartment that they will lend against. 3. The contract can limit your re-sale options, with many contracts stipulating that only a particular real estate agent can on-sell your property. This is so the developers can maintain control of the sale prices within the block. 4. Homogenous dwellings of identical apartments in a building or houses in a development have significantly reduced scarcity value, and it is likely that sellers will have competition from properties that are similar to theirs. Buyers must consider what makes a property unique and desirable? 5. Over-supply can adversely impact the expected rental yield, particularly when many identical properties flood the market at the same time, causing a race to the bottom for landlords to find a tenant. 6. Limited capital growth prospects from low land to asset ratios, as the land component which is appreciating can make up only a small percentage of the overall asset value. 7. The likelihood that the value of the property will go backwards after you purchase, as the largest component of the asset (the dwelling) is depreciating. 8. The cost of management fees that are not certain upfront. Owners corporation and strata fees are not typically specifically outlined at the time of an off the plan sale. To compound the issue, future special levies for maintenance or issues arising out of poor quality builds can quickly eat into your available funds. 9. Lost opportunity costs in waiting years for an asset to be finished, that you could have invested in the meantime in an asset with superior capital growth prospects. 10. And of course, our 'gold nuggets'

The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor take a deep dive into the risks of purchasing off the plan. Because the risks are many and varied, this will be a two-part episode with an episode solely on financial risks to come next week! In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: 1. Pros of purchasing off the plan - for a balanced view, we take you through the advantages of purchasing off the plan. Following the pro's, we then detail the risks that buyers need to be aware of. 2. Risks of buying a property that doesn't exist. You may be able to visit a display home, but often you are looking at plans, dioramas and drawings - and unless you are an architect or builder, it can be quite difficult to visualise the end product. 3. Alterations to the property without your consent. The contract will normally allow the developer to make changes to the property within a certain percentage of variance, and without your approval. Often this results in unexpected changes/reductions in floor area to the plans, specifications or differences in the quality of the final finishes. 4. Lenders may not accept the property as security if the alterations cause the square metreage to fall beneath their prescribed level. 5. Contracts often favour the developer and the build completion almost never runs on time. 6. The timeline to settlement is uncertain and you could be waiting between 12 to 48 months. In the meantime, your lifestyle, financial position, lender policy, property value and the market could change. The lost opportunity is pertinent if the project is cancelled or builder becomes insolvent. 7. The value of the property can fall before settlement, and combined with a large number of off the plan purchases being overpriced from the start, valuations coming in lower than the purchase price can cause significant out of pocket expenses. 8. Limited recourse against the builder in the event of a dispute, your contract of purchase is with the developer and not the builder. 9. Are you dealing with a spruiker or an independent advisor? Is the person selling the property receiving an income from the developer for the sale? Beware of spruikers masquerading as advisors! 10. And of course, our 'gold nuggets' Visit the show notes - https://bit.ly/2OIrp9x

In this episode The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor take a deep dive into the impact of the lockdown in Melbourne and Victoria border closures on the property market and broader economy, and how the key indicators were tracking up to this point. In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: 1. Victoria back into lockdown just as consumer confidence and new listings recover to pre-Covid levels - what does this mean for the property market, economy and what are the differences from the last lockdown? 2. Lender scrutiny and efficiencies are clogging up the approval process, how can this impact your ability to snap up the right property? If you're looking to purchase or refinance, getting your ducks in a row is critical to ensure timely assessment. 3. Extension of repayment holidays for an additional 4 months through to 2021 as the liquidity bridge is extended for those who cannot meet their repayments, but how and who qualifies? 4. How does accessing your Super impact your ability to borrow? A little hint, it's not helpful... 5. How the property market has bounced back and is normalising with auction clearance rates steadying and new listings recovering - prior to Melbourne lockdown at least. 6. Buyer demand continues to hold up prices, with the combined capital city index showing only a 1% drop since Covid started and 1.3 buyers for every one new listing. 7. First time buyer purchases are going through the roof, as many take up Government and State based initiatives to get into their first home. 8. Rents continue to fall, particularly for the problem child of property - medium to high-density apartments in Melbourne and Sydney CBD and inner suburbs. 9. Will there be an economic or fiscal cliff? Public and private sector institutions continue to build the bridge to the other side with talks of extending JobKeeper and Jobseeker but making it more targeted, and extension of repayment holidays. 10. And of course, our 'gold nuggets' Visit the show notes - https://bit.ly/2ZtArxs

The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor dive into the capital growth v cash flow debate when it comes to planning your investment strategy. Who will have their arm raised in victory? In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: 1. The Property Professor makes the case for capital growth, by comparing property value and rental return over 20 years if you had purchased a capital growth v cash flow property for $600,000. 2. The Property Buyer explains how you can achieve the same outcome with a cash flow strategy - not everyone can afford to hold a capital growth property, but everyone can make great property decisions that grow your wealth. 3. Don't forget about gearing! Whether the property is positively or negatively geared carries a large bearing on the end results. 4. How the cost of holding a capital growth focused property decreases over time - negative gearing is not forever. 5. Counter intuitive but true, how the rental yield of a capital growth focused property increases faster than yield on a cash flow property. 6. How bank policy and assessment can impact your ability to execute your strategies and why you need a strategic mortgage broker in your corner. 7. How your age and stage of life is a critical factor to consider when piecing together your investment strategy. 8. Who, I mean which strategy, won? You will need to tune in to find out the Property Planner's adjudication! 9. And of course, our 'gold nuggets' Visit the show notes - https://bit.ly/31R7NYH

As we come to the end of another financial year, The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor delve into all things property tax and uncover the myths that can lead you astray on your wealth creation journey. In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: •All the deductions you can claim on an investment property so that you do not miss a trick when completing this year's tax returns. •Depreciation, what you can claim as a tax deduction on fixtures & fittings, the building and when do you need a depreciation schedule? With thanks to some great tips from our good friend Mike Mortlock from MCG Quantity Surveyors. •Capital Gains Tax and how you can avoid nasty tax bills that eat into your wealth if you 'property plan' ahead. •Negative gearing, how it works and why it doesn't last forever - at some point all properties become positively geared. •Tax variations and the risks of using this as an investment strategy. •How your mortgage strategy is the foundation to maximising your tax deductions (good debt) and reducing your non-deductible borrowings (bad debt) if you have the right mortgage strategy and structure in place from the moment you purchase a property. •Expats, the changing tax landscape and how laws relating to capital gains tax and land tax have changed this year. •And of course, our 'gold nuggets', plus a sneaky third nugget from our host Cate! Visit the show notes - https://bit.ly/3dL8Lb8

The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor unpack the economic cliff. What will happen when JobKeeper, HomeBuilder and lender repayment holidays end? In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: •How banks will look to help keep many of the most affected borrowers and businesses to stay afloat with new initiatives such as interest only repayments, lower rates, extended loan terms and pauses, although some zombie businesses will need to be let go. •What holds for employment, as 124,000 people are re-employed in May and a further 850,000 expected by the end of next month. •HomeBuilder scheme, the ins and outs of the scheme and questions yet to be answered. •How state governments will provide further stimulus to support home buyers and builders, beefing up stimulus packages offered to Australians. •Where to get your information from, and why the Treasury, ABS and RBA are the most trusted sources. •The effect on buyer behaviour as more people work successfully from their home office and recalibrate what is needed in a home and location as part of their Property Planning. •And of course, our 'gold nuggets'! Visit the show notes: https://bit.ly/3du5eOr

The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor discuss all things diversification, from the reasons why you should diversify your portfolio to the many ways you can implement diversification in your investment strategy. In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: •Beware of one size fits all strategies! The suggestion that you should have a 50/50 balance of shares and property (or any other type of investment) is vastly oversimplifying the concept of diversification and neglecting the most important element of the equation, YOU! •Discussing the different asset classes for diversification, there's more to consider than just property v shares. •How you can diversify with property - state, city, regional centres, different suburbs, city segments, property types, growth focused V cash flow and more. •Tax comes second! Tax benefits should never be a primary reason to invest in a particular asset, it is the icing on the cake. Don't sacrifice the cake for the icing. •Considering the macro and micro of diversifying your property portfolio. The macro is the state or the city and the micro is the suburb. Start with a big picture view and work down to suit your property plan, not the location you live or a buyer's agent. Or worse, where a buyer's agent is buying, but not based in. Your next purchase could be anywhere in Australia. •Capital gains v cash flow, how your investment strategy needs to be tailored to you. •Land tax, an often neglected area of property investment. How and when should land tax factor in to your property decisions? More than two reasonably priced properties in any state will generally start to eat into your returns via land tax. •Blue chip v gentrification, higher rewards come with higher risks. •Fractional investing, is it worth getting a fraction of your foot in the property door? •And of course, our "gold nuggets"! Visit the show notes - https://bit.ly/3e1Jzy1