My parents and I have been a member of the club since 2003, when my parents bought their first investment property with them.  They were good for inspiring you to invest, but both of us only bought our first through the club and then went on to do our own research and investing.  

I have dealt with the club and its members in South East QLD as we air conditioned a lot of the properties for members and we worked for TIC Realty for the air conditioning maintenance side of things.  I have found that while they're great for inspiration, the education side is a little lacking as to what you do next after purchasing the property ie: long term planning.  I haven't purchased anything through them since I purchased mine in 2005, and the club is very different now than what it was when it started.

Their mantra that you 'never never never sell' can be damaging as there were many highly geared mum and dad investors during the boom time that came undone during the GFC (don't get me wrong I support long term investing, however I think that reality sometimes changes your plans and you need to change with the times).  My parent's townhouse that they purchased with them has double in the 10 years that they predicted, however mine at 8 years is actually back down to its original buy price in 2005, but as a very long term investment I'm not concerned if it doesn't double.  

I would go to some meetings and see how they do it, and learn what you can.  I believe there is a lot more than 1 way to make money through investing and you need to find the right one for you.  They might have some good ideas that help you out, but I certainly don't encourage people to follow one strategy blindly.  

Good Luck!!

Hi Vic,

I too am looking to do a buy-reno-sell in the Ipswich area (still tossing up between that and build & sell) and I will definitely be checking out the serviceseeking site for other trades (thanks for that info!), but I just wanted to let you know that if you were looking at air conditioning and electrical, our company, GT Air, is Ipswich based and may be able to help you out with at least one of the trades!  

I have worked with a builder, Neil Kickbusch, who is very good to deal with, I'm not sure if he only does full houses, but he might be worth a call, let me know if you would like his number.  

A friend of mine is currently doing a reno out at Sadliers Crossing so I'll pick her brain once she's done to see who she would recommend, I know they are pretty happy that their builders are working on weekends at the moment so they can move in before Christmas!

Good luck with everything!

Kristy