Paul has been a full time property investor for over 8 years and has held property since the age of 22 - some 20 years ago! He has several businesses relating to property investing and balances these with his other passions in life - family, property, travel, dirt go karting, charity work, volunteering and being a contribution. Paul is also a sought after Real Estate speaker and coach in the area of Buying Right and Adding Value.

Being a qualified Electrical Engineer and a Telecommunications Technician, Paul brings many years of detail oriented and problem solving experience to his property games. He has completed over 30 self-funded property deals with many more as Joint Ventures in various capacities… from simple tidy-ups and cosmetic renovations right up to small subdivisions and dual occupancy projects, new house construction and removal house projects.

Paul has entered the infamous XXXX Variety Bash of Dick Smith fame this year which should be a lot of fun and of course make a huge difference to the sick and disabled kids that Variety Qld support

The Top 3 Questions’s I get asked…

a.       What will property do this year? ANS – Im not a financial planner nor a qualified professional and cant give advice. However, I can give you my opinion based my experience and I do request you seek professional advice before taking on any investment endeavour to consider your circumstances etc. It is my opinion that Property and every other asset/investment class is cyclical and as such we can generalise about what we expect the Market to do. All the reports and talk I hear is that the fundamentals look amazing for growth in SEQ in terms of infrastructure, population growth, mining etc. The reality is however that no one can really say what will happen in the shorter term – there are BIG uncontrollable external international and domestic forces at play! Who would have predicted things like the GFC. I remember the 90’s all to well where I held an investment property for 5 years and lost 15% of value. Another property I had didn’t go up at all in the 10 years I owned it duringthe 90’s… The market is very interesting at the moment – lots of property sitting which of course presents some awesome opportunities for buying right. The thing is no matter what the market is doing there are always deals around – if you choose an appropriate strategy, have the right frame of mind and remove emotion from the equation! My personal motto is to be a BRAVE Investor – not brave how we normally describe it although that definitely helps but Buy Right and Add Value Everytime… It’s a great way to gain instant equity AND pretty much  like an insurance policy for me.

b.      How can I buy a property or buy more properties when I cant afford it? ANS – I hear it all the time. “Its great for you, you have some money to do deals”. Well the reality is your actions are directly correlated to the world you paint (and its all at YOUR control). Ie If that is what you believe, you wont take action and you wont get any results! I am of the opinion now that you don’t need money to make money! The biggest resource is sitting on your shoulder – your head (and headspace/attitude) and even more specific – your mouth and asking for what you want in spite of your circumstances. For eg – say you had $1000 and really  wanted to buy a property… you don’t anywhere near qualify for a traditional loan… What is stopping you approaching an owner directly and asking them if they would consider a rent/buy. Have you considered one angle may be to  give them $1000 deposit, pay over market rent (or even at market) and secure the right (but ideally not with the obligation) to buy that property for a fixed price in a few years time! Its all about finding out what OTHERS want, giving it to them AND getting what you want by solving their problems! The other huge opportunity that people overlook is their phone – there are literally potential millions sitting with your friends, family, work mates, investors like myself etc in your phone right now that could be used for completing joint venture deals. Its as easy as asking everyone you know (don’t make up their mind for them before even asking!!)and taking a few NO’s along the way. Of course, the deals need to stack up and you need to be someone with integrity who people can trust to do deals and follow through with promises – NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS!  

c.       Where do I find deals? ANS – Simple answer – MANY different places. I look for awesome deals and I have deals look for me! As a serious property Investor, I treat lead generation as any other business would – like a funnel. I fill my funnel with potential deals from networking, (simple)private ads, contract telemarketing staff, flier drops, buyers agents, networking, traditional agents, internet marketing, etc and did I mention networking?? As an aside, one of my core values is to add massive value and be a contribution to all people  I meet – not in order to get deals - but by default deals and opportunities show up!! For eg, I facilitate a Meetup.com  group on the Northside to allow members to share ideas, resources and opportunities – I have made some amazing friends from this and have done business with many of the members…Making money is all good but MAKING A DIFFERENCE is the game in life I am truly inspired and committed to… Incidently, all of above holds true if you are looking for JV partners etc!