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Hi,
Your builder is correct. Check out the Queensland Building Services Authority (QBSA) website. The link is below. After several conversations with them my understanding is as follows:
If you are managing more than one trades person you do need to be an owner builder or have a licensed builder to organise the trades. Given you can only do one OB project every few years, only leaves you with the option to use a builder. We moved up from Victoria at the start of 2010 and have to use a builder on all of our QLD projects. It has added two significant costs to all of our projects: 1) The management fee we pay our builder, and 2) the BSA insurance fee for the project. The other issue is the mountain of paperwork, because to the letter of the law you will need to have a contract with your builder, and your builder should also have contracts with every BSA licensed trade used on site.
I know it sounds daunting, and I'm sure the majority of DIY renovators probably don't follow the rules, however has not stopped us renovating 38 properties over the last 2 years up here.
Building Services Authority Website…http://www.bsa.qld.gov.au/Pages/BuildingServicesAuthority.aspx
PS. I will be speaking again at the PI.com's Mega Conference in Melbourne, so talk to the guys at PI.com for more information.
Happy Renovating!
Hi All,
I thought I add a quick post in relation to some of the queries people have.
As for our background, my wife Elise and I were both full time IT employees and had only dabbled in property when we attended Steve's Master Class in August 2004. Loaded with the information learnt on that day and a burning desire to create a better lifestyle for ourselves we took serious action and have since renovated 27 properties and are currently renovating 11.
We now run a property renovation and development business full time and do a mix of renovating, subdividing and developing.
Steve asked if we'd run an event with PropertyInvesting.com to teach our Renovation System and we were more than happy to be involved. We believe that without people like Steve running good quality investing event's we would probably both be stuck in jobs we didn’t like and living lives we weren’t enjoying.Elise has spent months fine tuning the content for the upcoming seminars and we really hope you can attend because they are essentially 5 years of experience rolled into one information packed day.
In relation to our product the Renovation Toolbox, we had 72 copies of it available when I spoke at Steve’s 3 day mega conference earlier this year. We sold out during the event and there ended up being some people who missed out on their copy. To my knowledge everyone that missed out has at least been sent a copy of the Renovation Control Spreadsheet (which forms the main basis behind the detailed budget we perform on our projects) and is getting the new version of the product at the same price. PropertyInvesting.com stopped taking orders for the product after the weekend. Elise and I are still putting the finishing touches on the new version which will be even more comprehensive and hope to have it released not long after the first seminar in Melbourne.
There was also an enquiry on not being able to find a property in Ballarat over $250k. I live in Ballarat and this surprised me so I did a quick search on http://www.realestate.com.au and as I write this post, there are 143 properties for sale with a price tag of $400k or more.
I can confirm that we’re not on the BRW list but are doing our best to get there one day!
I hope to see you at one of our seminars and in any case, best of luck with your investing.
Dean & Elise Parker.
I think you can make money using this system, but your are right it does take time and money to do so. Martin is living proof that you can build a very handsome portfolio in just a handful of years. I am sure he didn’t do it alone and used different techniques to acquire funds to build it up so quickly. I think all of the reasons you gave as to why you wouldn’t do it are exactly the reason why I want to do it. There aren’t too many people out there willing to put up with all of the problems/issues involved. The entire process does take a long time but the hours you need to dedicate to it is quite low in comparison. If you can find a way to do multiple projects at once, then it could be very rewarding. I have three seperate development projects on the go at the moment and am also doing a renovation project. I am anticipating building that up even more in the coming months…I’ve offered on two more subdivision properties in the last week.
Kind Regards,
Dean Parker.
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
I have found that when you subdivide, you can normally sell your new dwellings for near the same amount as an older dweliing on a full block. So when you subdivide, the greater the land component, the greater the value you create.
Example A:
Block A is $450k and is comprised of $300k land value and $150k house value.
Block B is $400k and is comprised of $300k land value and $100k house value.
If you knock down the house on block B and build two new dwellings for $150k each you will have spent ($400k + $300k) = $700k. You may then be able to sell your new dwellings for $420k each. That would be a profit of $140k less selling fees.
Example B:
Block A is $200k and is comprised of $80k land value and $120k house value.
Block B is $120k and is comprised of $80k land value and $40k house value.
If you knock down the house on block B and build two new dwellings for $120k each you will have spent ($120k + $240k) = $360k. You may then be able to sell your new dwellings for $200k each. That would be a profit of $40k less selling fees.Kind Regards,
Dean Parker.
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
Hi Thomas,
In answer to your questions:
1. I have taken his strategy and applied it here. There was a house I had been looking at that had passed in at mortgagee auction. It had a large yard but had a huge steel shed. I had never thought of looking at the piece of land in the way Martin does and when I returned from Adelaide I looked at the property with different eyes, and we purchased it.
2. I have just started developing and have a three dwelling site with Council at the Plans stage, and another corner allotment in a new estate where we will be building 2 dwellings. The last property I purchased was the one I spoke about above, and it is a three bedroom house which we will be placing another three bedroom dwelling at the rear.
3. It did really change our mindset. It is now another tool we have added to our repertoire. We hd primarily been looking at renovation properties but are finding that there are great opportunities to mix both a reno and development. I have looked at three other sites that fit that mould in the last two weeks.
One point to note is that we have starting developing in a cheaper area and unfortunately the land component of the price does not weigh into the total price very much (about 50/50). To get great results from Martin’s strategy, the property must have high land value and low building value. We are just starting out and realise our profits will not be huge but feel we want to run through the entire process with lower risk rather than jumping into the level Martin is at.
Kind Regards,
Dean Parker.
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
Hi All,
I’m from Melbourne and met Martin at one of Steve’s seminars. My fiancee and I were lucky enough to go to Adelaide about 8 weeks ago and spend the day with him.
It was fantastic experience and really opened our eyes to another aspect of property investing. Martin picked us up from the airport and we spent the day in his car visiting many of his current projects. It truly was “Hands On” and a real insight. I highly recommend it.
I do have a copy of his book which is also a great read. It is titled “You Need A Rocket”, and aims at stirring you into action by looking at your attitude towards life. Martin did tell me that you can buy it directly from him by emailling him at [email protected]
For those going, have a great time on your trip, you will get plenty out of it!
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
The mortgage broker I used is more than happy for me to put his name up here:
Home Trust Mortgages
Andrew Hart
w – +64 (06) 834 3142
m – +64 (021) 115 3571
e – [email protected]Hope it all works out!
Dean Parker
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
I was a part of Kiwi Adventure 1. I had no luck with one of the large NZ banks. They could only offer me 60%-75% LVR on some of the properties and could not offer me anything on a block of units. I was told it was because they were over exposed in certain areas. I was able to secure finance at 80% on all of my purchases through a mortgage broker. I can get their details if you would like, but I’d just like to check with him first.[biggrin] Best of luck!
Hi Guys/Gals,
I’m looking for a copy of WealthGuardian to buy/lend as well.
Dean.
