Speaking from his years of experience, Ben Kingsley from Empower Wealth tells us the 5 things you can do that will add real value to a property.

Michael Yardney tells us about the ticking time bomb for “Off The Plan” Property Investors that could see thousands of investor face financial ruin because they won’t be able to settle the apartments they have signed up to buy.

We talk to Belinda Smith who decided to develop a business out of her passion for property. She teamed up with another Belinda and together they have been successfully renovating and flipping property for over 30 years.

Michael Beresford has been helping people build property portfolios for many years and he talks about how a lack of a finance strategy has held many investors back.

Bryce Yardney helps us with the suburb due diligence you need to do before committing to a development project and Jo Chivers tells us what to look for in assessing if an investment property is suitable for a granny flat. There are some that suit and some that don’t. We find out which is which.

 
Transcripts:
Belinda Smith
Kevin:  A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of talking to Belinda Smith, one half of a dynamic duo. She and her best mate, Belinda Westblade, both share the same first name and about 30 years ago, decided to get in to developing property, their passion. They’ve done a lot of flipping over the time, along with their husbands, too.

You might recall that interview that I did with Belinda. It was back in early August. Go back and have a listen. You can get it on our website, of course, so you can go back, and have a listen and look at the transcript, as well.

Belinda joins me again. Hi, Belinda.

Belinda:  Yes. Hi, Kevin.

Kevin:  Now the Website is oohm.com.au. You pronounce “Oohm.”

Belinda:  “Oohm,” I pronounce it, just like the mantra, or just Google “the two Belindas,” we do come up.

Kevin:  Just Google “the two Belindas.” You’ll find them.

Belinda, I’m going to take our conversation a bit further. Last time, we talked about whether women look at property differently from men, but I want to get into the real guts of it, which is the flipping. How does someone actually get started in property renovation or property development?

Belinda:  I just like the idea of starting small. I’ll always advise somebody they ask Belinda or me just to start with something that’s manageable and achievable, and that might not necessarily be in your own hometown. You can renovate a place very easily at a distance; you just have to work harder, put a few strategies in place. They can always contact us, and we’ll tell them how to get it.

Kevin:  Yes. There’s a great amount of information available at the website, oohm.com.au. You’ve also got some Facebook pages, as well.

Belinda:  Yes, under Oohm Homewares, you’ll find us on Facebook. We have quite a following on Facebook. It’s quite fun. It’s something we attend to all day long so that we can answer quick questions from people on renovating.

But I do advise that people start small, mainly because I hate to see people in financial trouble. I think to start with your first one, you might make a few little errors. Renovating is something… I know that there are people who teach courses, who make it sound like you can just quit your job and turn it into a career.

And that is absolutely possible. Belinda and I have actually done it with our husbands. We’ve done it as a source of building equity. Belinda has done it really as a lifestyle choice. She and Rod have not worked for a boss full time for 30 years. So it’s absolutely achievable that you can renovate for profit, for income.

But starting small is key – keeping risk level low, getting good at keeping costs down, and sometimes that doesn’t mean tradies costs. There’s not a lot of cost-cutting you can do with plumbers, electricians, and the guys who you need to call onsite to do the official work, the l