Reply: 2
From: Denis Backhouse
G'day Michael,
Mate, I couldn't agree more.
Getting into doing your own renos is the most satisfying way to make a living I've found!
I was a full-time builder, and did "OK" over about 25 years, building my own places in my spare time, and then selling and doing it again.
Then the big "D" .. Divorce .. came, and I was left with just a little money, and a "what happened" feeling!
About that time, I met Geoff Doidge, who was still in the Qld Pubic Service at the time.
As well as helping me through the pain of an ugly divorce, Geoff took time to mentor me about property investment the way he was doing it.
The short story is that I took Geoff's advice, and the only mistakes I've made have been the ones I didn't talk to him about first!
Geoff is a contributor to this forum, from time to time (Geoff1), but I'm sure he won't mind my giving him a great rap here.
Geoff teaches thet there are only really three ways to make money in property ...
1) Buy well .. and he teaches dozens of perfectly ethical ways to do that .. No need to cheat old ladies out of their houses, like some seminars tell you!
2) Add value to the property .. Renovate, add a bedroom, subdivide and build another house or move one onto the block, amalagmate blocks into a unit site ... his strategies just go on and on!
3) And finally, make sure it runs positive. And even in that he's so clever! ... ALL your properties don't have to be positive ... But the portfolio OVERALL should be!
That is SO obvious when you are told, but how many of us miss out on a great capital gain investment because it won't run positive?
Go get another one that balances the ledger, says Geoff.
Duhhh! (Smack my forehead!)
Mike ... I work a lot with Geoff nowadays, and count him a firm and trusted friend.
If you are really serious about doing property renovation full-time, get to one of Geoff's seminars BEFORE you quit work. There are some VERY important steps you need to take before leaping out ... Like putting your lines of credit irrevocably in place while you still fit the banker's "squares".
Leave employment, and you become a bit of a worry to your financiers, and will find it hard to get credit when you need it most (Ask me how I know!)
You'll also meet all of the property-savvy professionals that Geoff surrounds himself with ... Accountants, Quantity surveyors, Town Planners, Mortgage Brokers, Solicitors.
I'd reckon my accountant alone, whom I met through Geoff, has saved me tens of thousands over the 5 or 6 years I've known him ... And he clawed back over $20 000 from the ATO for a mate of mine whose old accountant had missed a couple of very important things over the years!
Geoff only does about four one-day seminars a year, as he is too busy in the market to take much time out ... And he'll only do them in Brisbane. But loads of folk from NSW and Vic come to every one. And I met a bloke from Hobart just a few weeks ago who, after coming up to a seminar, swears the sun shines out of Geoff's fundamental orifice!
Have a look at Geoff's website ...
www.financialsuccesssystems.com
It's not pretty, but there's huge value there for anyone who's into property. Geoff is a great "giver"!
If you want to yarn one-on-one, give me a call on 1300 550 656.
Be glad to share what I've learnt from Geoff.
Best regards
Denis.