Episodes

Plus a deep dive into exactly why buying off-the-plan is so risky

In this episode, Veronica and Chris finish the summer series with a discussion about some of the biggest  “aha” moments in the first 25 episodes.

As always, this conversation covers a lot of ground as we pull snippets from different interviews and discuss the key lessons and takeaways in more detail.

• The most common behavioural biases we have that let us down.

• What’s really happening during an auction sales process.

• Agent tactics to get you to make an offer.

• How data analytics are going to change property investing in the future.

• Flaws in new buildings and the risks of buying off the plan.

This is the 50th episode and there’s so much to learn that only the first 25 episodes could be covered in this chat! Listen up and come back, the second 25 episodes will be tackled soon - there’s so much more gold in them!

Will it really create housing affordability and will there be unintended consequences?

In this episode we stir up the conversation on Labor’s negative gearing policy and just how crazy we believe it will be if they successfully get it legislated. To help you better understand what could happen, we bring in parts of the conversations we’ve had with some of the smartest minds in property - Pete Wargent, The Kouk, Tyron Hyde and Ben Kingsley.

For us, it is wildly outrageous that they believe this will help first home buyers get what they really want long term; a home in a highly desirable location. In fact we believe it will make it even harder for them.

Labor are forgetting that a lot is riding on keeping our property investment industry stable and flowing, but in order to win votes they will bring financial pain to property owners all over the country. For properties not traditionally bought by investors, such as houses in the inner rings of capital cities, this will not have a huge impact. But for properties that are bought almost entirely by investors such as units, new apartments and holidays homes, this could be catastrophic.

There are so many flaws in this policy design and this episode explores what the consequences could be if it gets the go ahead.

Negative gearing, superannuation & property investment tips

In this episode, we had an eye-opening discussion with Noel Whittaker, who is somewhat of a household name.

Noel writes weekly columns in major newspapers in every State in Australia. He also broadcasts regularly on ABC Radio and appears on channel nine. He's written 22 best selling books that have sold over two million copies around the world. His book Making Money Simple set sales records across the country, and was recently named in the top 100 of the most influential books of the last century.

Here is some of what we discussed:

1. Labor’s policy on negative gearing - is it a fallacy?

2. Will changes to negative gearing help housing affordability?

3. Depreciation - is it even worth it?

4. Superannuation funds - why are we so disengaged?

5. SMSF and the importance of getting good financial advice.

   Join us for some fantastic property & investment insights.

Why your first property purchase is your most important financial decision.

Meighan Hetherington is one of Brisbane’s most respected buyers agents with 15 years experience and over 650 purchased properties under her belt. This entire episode is dedicated to first home buyers. Getting your first purchase right can set you up for life but getting it wrong can be devastating. We delve into the best sources of advice for first home buyers. Here are some of the big issues we tackle:

1. Is the government actually helping first home buyers or stitching their financial future up?

2. What compromises can first home buyers make and what they should never consider?

3. The dangers in not realising what we don’t know and how first home buyers have the most to lose.

This advice is better than anything your parents will tell you!

A demographer’s insights into the future of property.

Simon Kuestenmacher is one of Australia’s rising stars in the world of demography. Demographers study people and because property is all about where people live and what we live in, this is something we need to pay attention to. Simon is probably most well known to be the brains beside the renowned Bernard Salt at The Demographics Group.

Here’s some of what we learnt in this discussion:

1. How an ageing population, death and high migration will shift Australian needs for housing.

2. The population argument - for and against - and why it has lead to an awful outcome in terms of housing stock.

3. The difference both old and new technology will make to the way we live and will we ever get high speed trains in this country?

Part researcher, part futurist, what an amazing glimpse into what could be ahead!

How many investment properties do we really need to retire well?

Stuart Wemyss is one of Australia’s top financial experts and has been running his own financial planning & mortgage broking business for over 15 years. Stuart truly gets the important cross-over between good property advice and good financial advice. He’s written many books and his new one Investopoly is a must read because it covers the importance of quality assets and sound evidence based financial strategy.

1. Whether you should DIY or use an adviser to help you with your biggest investment decision in a totally unregulated market.

2. How important is your first property and some cheeky investment strategies for First Home Buyers

3. What qualifies a property to be investment grade and the three things you must do to stay ahead of the herd

This is a long one, but we didn’t cut it because there was nothing in there that wasn’t valuable! Enjoy.

Is buying property on television different to real life?

Bryce Holdaway, Veronica’s TV co-host, is also co-host of the incredibly popular podcast The Property Couch and the soon to be released brand new TV series called Escape From the City. In this episode we discuss the ups and downs of making a sea or tree change. Plus why it’s important to think ahead when you buy property, whether or not you’re moving away from the city. The top three takeaways are:

1. How to mitigate the risks of a sea change or tree change, the importance of “People Like Us” and reminiscing about the lessons learnt while filming.

2. Mindfulness and property decisions and how to do a lifestyle audit before making a big move.

3. The downsides of relocating and what to do in the first year to make it a success.

Bryce also makes a big embarrassing confession about Location Location Location Australia!!

Will property prices continue to fall, correct or stagnate?

Frank Gelber describes himself as “a property forecaster with a long memory”. In this interview we are all treated to a masterclass in property cycles from an expert with an impressive pedigree. Frank is a director of BIS Oxford economics and he takes us on a whirlwind tour of the entire Australian property market and explains how interconnected it all is. Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Options for different players in the property market - developers, short term investors, renovators, long term investors, owner occupiers.

• Which commercial market is about to have an “almighty boom”.

• The structural changes in the economy and the knock on effect in our housing.

• Why removing negative gearing will result in increased rents.

• The domino effect of a low Aussie dollar, increases in tourism, jobs and population growth.

• Build to rent, is it a good idea and can it work in Australia?
  

  Another incredible episode - you’ll never look at property the same again!

“What I'm trying to do is influence a situation because that's what selling is.”

Tim Heavyside, sales agent, auctioneer and director of Melbourne based Fletchers, is the very auctioneer we critiqued with behavioural scientist Simon Russell in our first episode! Tim is the consummate professional, and it should come as no surprise that he is acutely aware of the ways in which his actions influence the behaviour of property buyers.

Buyers need to be very, very aware that many auctioneers, particular someone like Tim, invest an enormous amount of their own personal development, education, training and practice to get to a point where they are an absolute expert at what they’re doing.

This is a very revealing episode, in which we covered:

• How he “gets in buyers’ heads” so they engage and bid at auction.

• How he stops confident bidders scaring off timid bidders.

• What’s Goldilocks and the Three Bears got to do with property?

• Nasty vendors and nice vendors - who gets the best price?

• What happens when you get fined for under-quoting.

• How often luck is involved at auction for both sellers and buyers.

The Reno Queen's secrets of success.

Jane Slack Smith is probably best known for creating the Your Property Success online education program. Jane has worked with thousands of students through the Ultimate Guide to Renovation course and Location Masterclass and also runs a successful mortgage broking business. In this interview we cover a range of investment fundamentals, including:

1. The danger of “hot-spotters” who forget to tell you when to exit.

2. The difference between a property flip and a flop.

3. Renovation strategies: Repair, Rejuvenation, Refresh, Restructure and Revamp.

4. The real cost of a dream lifestyle in retirement.

5. Why borrowing capacity is going to get worse.

Yet another jam-packed episode full of insider property tips!

Plus a sneak peek into the Blue Mountains property market.

Shelley Horton has been a property valuer for over 20 years and worked in many different parts of the industry including the much misunderstood area of Lenders Mortgage Insurance. For the past five years, Shelley has been running her own buyers agency in Sydney and her expertise extends to helping tree changers in the Blue Mountains.

As usual, we covered plenty of ground in this episode, including:

• What a good valuer does when researching recent sales.

• How banks and buyers value property for different reasons.

• How being cashed up can make you susceptible to overpaying.

• Who does lenders mortgage insurance protect?

• Why young couples are tree changing to Blue Mountains

• Why national parks can be a good thing for property prices.

Plus the pitfalls of property development for first timers.

Peter Koulizos is one of Australia’s best known property commentators for good reason. As a university lecturer, Peter’s passion and skill is in educating people and he brings research to the minds of investors that makes a hell of a lot of common sense. Peter is also a respected author and this episode is one that you’ll be nodding your head to as he is so practical! Some of the big points we covered include:

• Which locations he thinks will get the best return in next 5-10 years.

• If population is a good determinant of capital growth.

• Should you time the market, or focus on time in the market?

• How you can pick the next growth suburbs.

• The what, how and why of Gentrification

• Is property unaffordable really?

We will have to get Peter back on because Chris got told off for continuing to ask questions!!