We did a simple security substitution in 2010, loan on property A which we sold and then transferred the loan to property B – no paperwork needed (which was good because our financials we rubbish at that stage having just started self employment).

This was post GFC and really simple.

I have a different opinion to those above.

My first 2 homes were built and I made a lot of money on both within a year. The key thing is looking at land prices vs house prices. Often land in new estates is more expensive than a vacant lot in an older estate. Having a good builder also makes a huge difference. I was able to negotiate really strongly with my builder and so was able to keep costs down (there are a few tricks to it – keeping colour scheme neutral, not deviating from builder inclusions as much as possible, no changes once choices have been made, doing stuff like landscaping/curtains/painting yourself etc).

I'll give you the figures for eg:

Block of land was $80000

House was $120000

Finish of was $10000

Total was $210000

We sold that house after living in it for 12 months for $298000.

This was 7 years ago.

2nd house was even better. I was lucky though because I could live with parents while the house was being built (which was only 12 weeks from slab down because of our AWESOME builders). Having to cover rent as well as mortgage payments would have sucked.

I have tried to do a couple of deals like this in the past. One thing to be a bit cautious of is the real estate agents. Many people think that they are experts in property – which is only half right. There have been so many agents I have come across who don't even really know what vendor finance is or only have a very tenuous grasp on it. Many of these would not present your offer very favourably to the vendor. You just have to work out the best way to present your offer.

Also, if it is a new development I don't think the developer will be very interested, as Richard said they will be less flexible.

One thing I have found works is to wait for the blocks to come up as an individual sale – I have noticed people sometimes jump into new releases only to have their circumstances change and they need to sell the block without building on it. This way you get to negotiate with an individual.

Good luck. Let us know how you go.

I don't know how relevant this is given the age of this thread but I have seen some properties for sale for under market value that are the result of divorce proceedings. It looks like it's the new 'deceased estate'.

There are other things you can bring to the table if you have no money.

I do sometimes feel like it is a bit of a fairytale but there are people out there who have money and don't have the interest/inclination/time to look for deals. I have found two such people so far (both through free seminars!) and am now constantly looking for deals for them.

I would be employed as a project manager – getting around 20% of the profit.

There are ways to do it but it is a hard, long road. And very frustrating – I am constantly finding AWESOME deals and virtually cold calling developers . Hasn't worked as well as I thought it could, they either ignore me or say they are not interested but will pass it onto their networks.

I figure if I keep going I will eventually hit on something! If not then at least I am gaining really valuable experience.

Oh and with the investor I am working with at the moment, I asked him what my role was in all this (considering I have no money to bring to the table) and he said "You're the terrier". And that is exactly what I am, constantly calling agents, negotiating, searching,searching, searching.

If I can find enough deals and do enough projects I will eventually be able to contribute financially and take a bigger cut of the profits.

Good luck.

Heya, I just sold in a country town and paid 2% plus GST and $500 advertising but I am starting to think this was a bit exceptional.

3% sounds pretty standard.