Episodes

Evolving from student to teacher is an interesting journey, especially when you are talking about property development. In episode 46 of the show I've got part 2 of my conversation with my developing mentor Troy Harris. In part 1 we covered how Troy went from toy store owner to renovator to developer, if you missed it, go back to episode 45 and take a listen, and in part 2 we talk about how Troy's property business has evolved over the years, how you can stand out in a softening market and the i...

Running your own toy store is not exactly how you would imagine most real estate developers would start their property career. How can you go from selling toys to doing projects? Well Troy Harris did just that. He went from retail operator to property renovator and finally developer. Troy has gone on to do a stack of development projects, set up a property developing training program and learnt a lot along the way. I first spoke with Troy in 2012 about doing his property developing mentoring pro...

Becoming a strategic property developer is not as complicated as you might think. What does being strategic mean, and what does a strategic property development even look like? You will discover all this and more as we continue our conversation with Byron Sakha. Today we wrap up our chat with Byron Sakha from Seraphic Developments. If you didn’t hear the first part of the discussion then go back and take a listen to episode 43 as we talk about how Byron went from big corporate to his own show, t...

Finding a niche in a market can really help you focus on delivering something special for your buyers. Byron Sakha discovered a unique property development niche and he is delivering some beautiful projects to service a growing market. He has gone from playing henchman and tough guy, to property developer and master coach, so he has many strings to his bow. I think you will enjoy the conversation that we have. Before I get to that, here’s what I have been up to lately. I have been responding to ...

Getting the sales and marketing right for your project can be the difference between a flying start or the project going stale. So today on the show we are going to be talking project marketing with some great tips and ideas on how to market your next development. My guest is Heath Thompson from Beller Project Marketing, Heath specialises in selling off the plan projects, and he brings a unique perspective to selling projects having come from a family that does property developments, and Heath h...

Effectively managing a development project is a key skill for any property developer, but what happens when you delegate that responsibility to a development manager? Today’s guest, Bryce Yardney is a development manager with Metropole Property. I spoke with his father, Michael Yardney in episode 36, go back and take a listen to that if you want to know how Michael got his property investment business going. Bryce is responsible for managing around 50 projects for clients so has lots of experien...

Today on the show we are going to be talking planning, with a highly experienced planning consultant, and I think you will pick up lots of tips from our discussion. My guest is town planner David Crowder from Ratio. David has more than 25 years’ experience in town planning. He specialises in statutory planning and providing expert evidence before Victoria’s planning tribunal and Planning Panels forums. And as you will hear, David was an expert witness we called in our failed VCAT case. So we sha...

Today on the show we are going to be talking marketing, with one of Australia’s leading small business marketing advisers, and I’m sure you will get plenty of value and ideas from the discussion we have. Before we get to that, here’s an update on what I have been up to. In the last episode I mentioned that we had been to our tribunal hearing and we’re waiting on a decision. Well, we have received the ruling from the planning tribunal following our appeal against council’s decision not to grant u...

Nik Bulum is a Canberra based property developer who is delivering some amazing projects that are helping to regenerate some run down parts of the city. Nik has a slightly different pathway into developing, and this background is what helps drive his approach to his projects. In this conversation we cover how design led projects can generate media interest and attract buyers, where you can look to find inspiration for your projects and how Nik tries to stand out from the crowd. A couple of the p...

Video is a powerful way to share a story, and that power can be harnessed to help market and sell your property development project. In this episode, we explore how to get the most bang for your buck when making videos. Tracey Atkins from Goldeneye Media has produced some beautiful marketing videos for a range of iconic Australian and international properties, so I was keen to sit down with her and talk about how developers can harness the power of video to market and sell their projects. I am a...

Creating independent wealth is a great way to ensure your financial security is taken care of, and property development can be great way to leverage your capital, however how do you attain financial wealth? In this episode you will find out how property developer, investor and educator Michael Yardney has done it. Michael, is one of Australia’s best known property commentators and investment adviser, he has written eight books on property investing and wealth creation, and publishes a lot of con...

Making your money work harder can sound like a cliche but in such a capital intensive business as property developing, it pays to look at ways to recycle your money quicker and generate higher returns. So I speak with Australia’s number 1 commercial finance broker Dan Holden about how you can leverage your money and time. It’s been more than a year since we spoke with Dan and a lot has happened across the lending landscape in that time, and with Dan’s business, so we have a lot to catch up on. D...

Understanding the local market means more than just the sales activity for the area, it includes being aware of any nuances related to the planning process or how long it might take to even get a permit. In this episode I speak with a trained architect turned property developer Kirk Miller. Kirk started off his developing career in California before taking on some projects in Canada. Kirk brings an interesting perspective to the table because of his design background and also due to the challeng...

Wouldn't you love to always negotiate great deals. Secure that awesome parcel of land at a great price and on great terms. Get a buyer to pay top dollar for one of your properties. Well in my discussion with former FBI hostage negotiator, Chris Voss, you can learn how to do all those things and more. Chris has written a book called Never Split the Difference, a fantastic resource that I highly recommend you buy and read. It is filled with practical ways to negotiate better deals and is coupled w...

Finding a good selling agent to help sell your development stock off the plan is crucial to getting your project sold profitably, started as soon as possible and settled with minimum fuss. So I speak with Campbell Cooney a Director of Hodges in Brighton about selling property. Campbell has been in the real estate industry since the 80s, so has lots of experience. We have a good chat about how you go about marketing projects off the plan, how to give the market what it wants, and what materials a...

Getting your valuations right is very important for securing acquisition funding, and exceptionally important when you apply for construction funding. The role of the valuer is an interesting one, as they are usually appointed by the lender to review your project to see if the values stack up, but they work closely with you on sourcing a lot of the reports and documents they need to complete their report. So I speak with leading valuer David Way from Knight Frank Valuations. I enjoyed speaking w...

Getting the best results from your property developing efforts requires some focus on a couple of key areas. Keep getting them right and you set yourself up for success. So I speak with an experienced developer who sheds some light on what he focuses on to achieve success. Danny Ciarma from Urban DC has more than 15 years of developing experience, and has an impressive record of completing a range of projects including some beautiful apartment buildings in Melbourne. He is also doing some projec...

New Zealand developer Graeme Fan joins us to talk about his experience doing property developing in Auckland. Graeme has completed some fantastic high end properties and is now looking to take his developing to the next level. In this discussion Graeme shares with us the one thing he focuses on to ensure his business succeeds, what it is like developing in Auckland, and what he has learnt about himself along the way. I really enjoyed talking with Graeme about how he approaches his developing. I ...

Finance is a key plank of any project and getting it right is crucial to the viability and longevity of your property developing business. How to structure deals, ways to arrange your financing and leveraging your capital and equity to maximum effect, are key to taking your developing to the next level. So I speak with Matthew Royal from Development Finance Partners, a firm that works with developers to get their project funding sorted out. We cover a fair bit of ground in this discussion includ...

Developers face many challenges and obstacles, and Canadian developer Dan Barona shares some stories on his experiences developing property in Ottawa. Dan is a partner in developing and construction business Urbanworx, and has progressed from doing renovations to multi-property developments. We talk about the challenges of building during bitter cold winters, dealing with organisations that issue permits and the vagaries of the Canadian property market. Property Development Training If you are i...

The building side of property development is one of the biggest pillars of the process, so getting it right is crucial to the overall success of your project. And the builder is a key part of ensuring your construction goes well. I speak with builder Chris Brownhill from Brownhill Homes about building multi-unit property developments. Most of his clients are property developers who are doing multi-unit developments. Having a good relationship with your builder goes a long way toward ensuring the...

Completing your project faster means you get paid sooner. Finding ways to reduce time to completion is a perennial goal for property developers. So I speak with Peter Ward from Drouin West Timber & Truss about pre-fabrication or panelisation, which simply put means producing large sections of the building in a factory and then bolting it all together on site. I see real opportunities for property developers to speed up their time to completion by using panelisation techniques. In this conversati...

Finding ways to stand out in a crowded marketplace is key to successfully selling out project after project. So we speak with real estate agent David Stewart about selling off the plan, marketing projects and staying ahead of the competition. David has had a long career in the property industry and a track record of selling off the plan. He is also someone who likes to try new things, and just received some industry awards and recognition for innovation and marketing. In this conversation we tal...

A good building surveyor will play an important role in the construction of your property development project. While they do play an important compliance and certification role, they can also add value along the way that can help reduce costs, avoid delays and deliver a better quality product. So I speak with experienced building surveyor Peter Eyers from Reddo Building Surveyors about their role in a development project. I haven’t had much direct contact with the Building Surveyor on our projec...