Messy and costly legal issues in property development can often be avoided through good upfront advice and planning with an experienced property solicitor or lawyer. What are some common contractual issues and legal potholes that you should try and bypass? I speak to a property lawyer to find out. My guest on this episode is Kristy Muhlhan from Burke & Associates Lawyers. Kristy is the head of their Property Law Division and she shares a wealth of tips and ideas about keeping the legal...

Anybody who has been through a few planning applications would know that strange things can happen along the way. Getting a permit is not always as easy as it sounds, particularly if there is some contentious element or interest groups start to mobilise against your application. This is exactly what happened to well known former professional basketball player Andrew Bogut when he tried to get a permit for a redevelopment project he wanted to do on some land he owned. Instead of being a...

The classic pathway into property development is to start with renovations and then move into smaller developments and then on to small scale multi unit projects. And that is the journey that Paul Wilding has taken. I’ve known Paul for a few years and he’s been doing a number of small unit projects around Melbourne, some in similar areas to my own projects. Paul shares his insight into what he has learnt along the way including the importance of understanding market dynamics, how to...

This month I wrapped up a 14 townhouse project that I have been working on for nearly five years. It has been a long, challenging and eventful project. There have been many many lessons and I will share some with you. We have finished with all the settlements in the complex. I have one remaining unit left unsold which is currently on the market and I'm looking to get that sold in the next month or so. I had always planned on keeping this unit till the end of the project because it is...

There’s nothing like experience to provide some hard won lessons on what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to delivering a property development project. While every project is different, there are some fundamentals that can be applied across projects to help things go as smoothly as possible. Matt Chamberlain from Chamberlain Property has delivered more than a dozen small scale development projects and shares with us some of the tips and ideas that have worked for him. We cover...

Many developers look to grow their business quickly, trying to scale and improve their returns. But scaling rapidly comes with risk, as you expose yourself to more debt and leverage. However, slow and steady might just win the race. My guest today has taken a measured approach to growing his development business, and we'll discuss his deliberate approach to scaling and growing a property company. I am speaking with Peter Siassios from Inland Property Group. Peter is doing some awesome...

  Property developing is often a solo pursuit for many but partnering up can be a great way to accelerate your business and complete more projects, however there are some important boxes to tick before you join up with someone else. There are many benefits to joint venturing and we will discuss what these are along with some pitfalls to avoid and mistakes to sidestep. "If you are not at the next level and you want to be, there's a reason." Zoltan Celedes - Arena Equity Property...

  Finding a great property development site only to discover it has a restriction on the title like a single dwelling covenant can be very frustrating and often leads to a potential project being ruled out. However, getting covenants lifted or modified is not an impossible task, but it can be tricky. Fortunately, we are speaking with a previous guest who has lifted not only one, but two, restrictive covenants in two very different ways. So let's find out what's involved with varying...

Partnering up with somebody to do a property development project is not uncommon but would you do it with your sibling and take on some big towers? But before we get to that, here’s a quick update on my townhouse projects. Construction is moving along nicely with project 1, most of the site is at lock up stage, which is good. Actually had a meeting with a council enforcement officer last week to discuss noise complaints from a neighbor but fortunately we were compliant with our obligations...

Building to sell is the classic model that property developers often follow. They create value, realise the gain and then recycle their capital and do it all again. But when market conditions change this may dramatically impact the bottom line and render this model unviable. So what do you do if you are starting a project or half way through? Well, one option may be to repurpose your project and exit that way, or you could choose to hold on to the stock and ride out the change. Adapting...

Decades of experience have taught Rod Fehring a thing or two about property development, and he shares some of the lessons learned along the way about how to create a successful property development business. In this episode we explore those lessons, the standout projects and the future of Australian residential property. Project update - Project 1 - framing well underway, couple more sales, 75% sold - Project 2 - assessing build quotes, readying to make a decision on who to appoint,...

Delivering high rise tower projects was the driving aspiration for Jonathan Hallinan from BPM Corp, and he rushed to get there from a humble start on a renovation project. Jonathan has followed the quintessential property development path, starting off with a small property purchase, doing a renovation and subdivision, then getting into small multi unit townhouse developments, graduating into apartment projects and finally leaping into high rise buildings with hundreds of units in them....

Amassing a $4.5 billion dollar portfolio of property assets is pretty impressive. I speak with the head of the organization about how you achieve that and the lessons learned along the way. Rod Fehring is the former CEO of Fraser's Australia, and is now on the Frasers Property Australia Board. During Rod’s time as the head of Frasers Property Australia, it amassed a $4.5 billion portfolio of assets, and grew at a compound rate of 25 per cent, all the while he championed sustainability,...

Daring and dangerous are two words you would not normally associate with property development, but my latest guest suggests that may in fact be a way to create something fresh and exciting to bring to market, and carve out your own space in a competitive sector. Can you be daring and dangerous and still deliver successful projects? Let's find out... Before we get to that, I have to say I have some amazing guests lined up for the next few episodes and I can’t wait to bring them to you so stay...

Developing property in another country is not something most people would turn their minds to, but opportunities exist everywhere and maybe it’s not as hard as you think, as my latest guest explains about his experience developing in Japan. Some developers focus on a particular location and become an area specialist, others branch out and explore across a city, some go further and look interstate, but very few look beyond the borders of their home country. In this episode we speak with...

Decay, dispute and disappointment is how former Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu describes the planning system. In this thought provoking discussion we will cover who cares about rising construction costs and how developers can deliver better outcomes. Most property developers lament at their experiences of going through the planning system. There often seems so much about it that is frustrating and inexplicable for marginal outcomes. That’s why this discussion with Ted Baillieu is so...

Large property development projects have unique challenges, but some of them are familiar to what can happen on projects of any size. I'm talking with someone who has experience with projects that range in size and sector. As I record this episode, Melbourne has started stage 4 lockdowns to prevent the spread of COVID19, which means many businesses are closed and movement is severely restricted. So the kids are home from school and we don’t get to go out much. This certainly has been a...

How can fragmented property investing help property developers grow their business? It is a fledgling sector of the property industry that offers an interesting model to get people involved with property and an alternative funding model for getting projects completed. Before we get to discussing fragmented investing, here's a quick update on what I've been up to. I’m doing fine, just dealing with Melbourne going into lockdown for a second time due to corona virus which is a bit frustrating...

Responding to the COVID19 pandemic is testing many property developers, with uncertainty sweeping across property markets. To help you figure out what you should be doing in this strange time to ensure continued success, I am continuing my discussions with past guests about how property developers can best respond to the COVID19 pandemic. In this episode I speak with Don O’Rorke from billion dollar property company Consolidated Properties Group. Don featured in a great double episode (52...

The build to rent model is getting a lot of attention across Australia as the cost of buying property keeps escalating. It seems to offer a lot of benefits but how does it work and what challenges does it present? Let's find out... Hello and welcome to episode 69 of the show, I've been enjoying a bit more social freedom as we slowly ease up the covid lockdown across Australia. I've also been very busy for the past few weeks, with lots going on with my projects. We've started demolition...

I am continuing my special series of discussions during the COVID19 pandemic, this time we are talking with Dan Holden from Holden Capital about all things finance and capital in times of uncertainty. During dynamic, volatile periods it is common for fear to take hold and cloud our vision of the future. It is often made more challenging when people and organizations around you are withdrawing capital or pausing to take stock. However, it is important to work through the fear, tackle the...

When there is an unexpected slow down it can cause fear and uncertainty but pausing to reassess is not a bad thing, it's what you do next that counts. To help you consider what steps you can take during an unexpected slow down here's the second in my series of discussions with thought leaders about how to respond to the COVID19 pandemic sweeping the world and what property developers can do in response. I speak with past guest Andrew Hoyne about his advice on what you can do right now....

Property developers are used to dealing with challenges, coping with uncertainty and managing complexity, but the dilemma presented by the COVD19 virus sweeping across the world is something totally new. With so much change washing across society, the economy and property markets, what can developers do manage their projects and maintain their equanimity? In this […]

Private capital funding was somewhat of an exotic animal a few years ago for most developers but has become quite mainstream in recent years, with more developers using it to fund their projects as bank lending has tightened. So we dig in to find out the best way to access non-bank lending. At the time […]

Discover how property developer Rob Flux lost his property portfolio then rebuilt his wealth through developing property. He leveraged all the lessons he had learned from investing in property to come back bigger, faster and better. In this conversation we talk about the importance of mindset and tackling problems, return vs risk and time, and […]