I went the other way. I had my own consulting practice as my main source of income for 10+ years. It earned good money but it was always harder to get bank finance. Also, it can be the same trap as a full time job, i.e. the more you earn the more you spend. On the side we’ve also progressively built up our restaurant business over the past 10…[Read more]

I’ve looked at it seriously twice (2 years ago and 7 years ago). These were specialist financial planners. Both times recommended by people I know well. Both times I walked away after my own due diligence. Looking back, had I taken their advice it would have been financially disastrous.

Two observations.
(1) They sell pre-packaged investment…[Read more]

I’m doing a shop/apartment development in Ashwood at the moment. The designer is Ron Asling of Studiothreedesign. He has been good at hooking me up with all of the other services required (surveyors etc).He shares a building with a lot of them and they have a little cluster going in Pakenham to service a lot of the new developments out that way.…[Read more]

I’d contact the planning department and arrange a pre-planning application discussion (even if it the site has ‘provisional’ planing approval, its really a pre-purchase meeting that you are seeking to have). I have done that 3 times now in Monash Council. I went ahead with two of three projects based on those meetings. I backed away from one…[Read more]

Thanks thecrest, thats really helpful.

I been watching this thread for a while now, its a good quality discussion. I’m interested in people’s opinions on motels with restaurants.

My wife and I are in the restaurant business. I find the sites, do the deals and fit them out, she (and family members) operate them. Then, I fix things when they break! We’re on our third restaurant now,…[Read more]

I agree with Michael, you can look at it in many ways and it will provide different insights.
‘Yield’ is a return on something. There are different somethings.
Michael’s first example, based on what he originally paid, is a yield calculation of the return on his capital employed. The later example is a yield calculation of the return on assets (at…[Read more]