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TPC Gold | A Step-by-Step Property Development Guide with Peter Koulizos

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In today’s bonus episode, we’re joined by the “Property Professor” himself, Peter Koulizos, as he breaks down the 12 essential steps to property development success. 

From setting goals and crunching numbers to working with council, Peter shares invaluable insights drawn from his years of experience.  

But property development isn’t always as glamorous as it seems. As Peter candidly reveals, it’s a high-risk, high-reward game with plenty of challenges at every turn.  

That’s why we’re tackling the tax side of development head-on, including: 

  • Why understanding GST and capital gains tax is critical 
  • How to avoid costly surprises 
  • The importance of choosing the right accountant 

Plus, Peter reflects on his very first development project—what went right, what went wrong, and the advice he’d give his younger self. 

For the full episode, tune in here: Episode 241 | 12 Steps to a Profitable Property Development – Chat with Peter Koulizos 

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Further Resources from “Property Professor” Peter Koulizos

As mentioned in the episode, here’s the 10-part video series on one of Peter’s property developments: 

 

If You Enjoyed TPC Gold | A Step-by-Step Property Development Guide with Peter Koulizos, You Might Also Like:

Transcript

Bryce Holdaway
Alright, so before we go to the last one, we’ll round them off here. Number one was set your goals. Number two was research, research, research. Number three was find a development site. Number four was choose the best site. Number five was draw up your plans. Number six was crunch the numbers. Number seven was work with council. Eight, select a builder. Nine was organise the finance. Ten was all about project management. Eleven was about the real estate agent and the property manager. And Pete, number 12 is… 

Peter Koulizos
The taxes. You need to understand the taxes because when you buy an established property investment and you sell it, right, you’re going to have capital gains tax. Hopefully if you’ve made a gain, right? Same with development. If you build something and sell it and you make a profit, you’ll pay capital gains tax. But the other tax that you will pay in property development, whether you make a profit or a loss, is the GST. So they don’t care whether you made a loss on the whole deal, the taxman wants their GST component. Now, if you go and see an accountant before you even start, they’ll tell you things like, you should register for GST. We’re going to do this under something called the margin scheme. All right, you have yourself all set up, and we’re gonna put this in this entity. Maybe because you wanna sell them straight away and you’re gonna make a big profit, why don’t we put it in your wife’s name who earns less than you?  

Ben Kingsley
Or a company structure.  

Peter Koulizos
Yeah, or a company structure. Go see your accountant first, work out the structure, get to understand what taxes you might be liable for. But a lot of developers have come unstuck because they’re happy to, well, not they’re happy to pay the capital gains tax, but they’re willing to pay the capital gains tax. But that GST…  

Ben Kingsley
10%, bang.  

Peter Koulizos
That’s being paid whether you made a profit or a loss.  

Ben Kingsley
Yeah. So on that point, not every accountant’s created equal, are they?  

Peter Koulizos
Nah.   

Ben Kingsley
So your local accountant that might be doing your typical tax return, like a volume tax return provider, not the type of accountant to go and see. You may need to get a specialist referral to an accountant who does this type of work on a more regular basis and can give you all of the pros and cons of the different types of structures and all of the tax impacts around it.  

Peter Koulizos
Certainly the accountant that I use in Adelaide, fantastic property specialist. But for those people that either don’t live in Adelaide or live somewhere else, simple things like somewhere on the contract it’s going to have is GST applicable or not. If your accountant can’t answer that question, you’d better go find another accountant.  

Bryce Holdaway
Absolutely. Hey final one for me is if you were to, we’ll do a little bit of time travel here Pete, we go back to your very first development that you ever did. What advice would the current Pete give to the Peter back then on that first development that you didn’t know at the time?  

Peter Koulizos
If only all the deals were like that! So I buy a property in a seaside suburb of Adelaide called Seacliff. And I get just the approval to build two. Just the DA. I make 50% profit. Just on the DA. Next person that buys it, they sell it a year later. The bastard also made a 50% profit, which to me is an illustration of timing the markets is also important. Because the property market was going up anyway we were making a profit, so I thought I was a genius making 50% but I went to all of that trouble.   

Ben Kingsley
The buy-and-hold strategy works.  

Bryce Holdaway
What would you have said to yourself to back yourself in staying a bit longer and don’t give away your margins?  

Peter Koulizos
I mean, I know so much more now obviously than I did before. But you’re right mate, the best way to make money in property is to buy and hold. It’s not the only way, but it’s certainly the best way.  

Bryce Holdaway
Well, I think it’s a good place to stop mate you’ve delivered some great gold. Mate we appreciate you coming on, I think our listeners will benefit from your wisdom, your experience and doing this in the trenches, not only for yourself, but also having to impart that on to students so that they can do it as well. 

Peter Koulizos
I just want to stress again; property development is not easy. You know, we’re having a laugh here and a bit of a joke. But the reality is property development, small scale residential development, let alone big scale apartment development, is not easy. It looks sexy and exciting, but it can be very risky. Be careful.  

Ben Kingsley
And I think, you know, if I was to close that out, there’s a couple of people that I’m talking to and mentoring around this stuff. And I’ve said to them, look, I’m not the expert. I’ve got some baseline knowledge that I can very much help you. One of the things that’s really clear in watching them is the uncertainty. Why can’t you give me certainty on this? And it is just a constant wheel of uncertainty. And you’re trying to mitigate risk and you can’t because no one can give you definitive answers in this space. And I think if you go in there, knowing that it’s going to be white water on some days and it’s going to clear up the next day and then more white water the next day.  

Bryce Holdaway
Stay out of the waves.  

Ben Kingsley
Stay out of the waves. That’s the piece here and I know that’s frustrating because you want to invest in something you think is: I’ve done my homework, I’ve done my due diligence, but it still can be a rough ride and no one can give you certainty. So once you get peace with that and you understand that it’s high risk, high reward then you might enter into this area.  

Bryce Holdaway
Pete, we’re gonna put some links in the show notes, a couple of the resources that you talked about, if anyone wants to reach out to you and say good day, they can do that. But mate, as always, it was a pleasure having you on The Property Couch and keep doing the great work that you’re doing at PIPA and everything you’re doing locally in South Australia. And we’ll see you next time when you come along and join us. 

Peter Koulizos
Thanks mate, I appreciate it. Thank you, Ben. Thank you, Bryce. 

TPC Gold | Red Flags in Building Inspection Reports!

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In today’s bonus episode, we’re diving into why building inspections are essential for every property buyer. 

Joined by building inspector and builder Paul Baker, we discuss how inspections help identify hidden issues that can impact both the safety and value of your property.  

A building inspection offers peace of mind, ensuring that your new home or investment doesn’t come with unexpected repair bills. 

Paul highlights some key red flags to watch for in the reports, from foundation issues to water damage and asbestos. And because the inspection industry isn’t heavily regulated, he offers his own tips and advice on choosing a building inspector. 

For the full episode, tune in here: Episode 153 | The Do’s and Don’ts: The Discoveries We’ve Learnt in Property Investing (PART 1) 

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Now That You Know What to Look for in Your Building Inspection Reports…

We hope this little snippet helps you in your next purchase – whether you’re searching for your dream home or the perfect investment opportunity! 

If you’re looking for support throughout the buying process, consider working with a qualified Buyers Agent.  

Buyers Agents specialise in finding and negotiating property deals on your behalf, ensuring you’re making informed decisions and getting the best value. They can also help you navigate building inspection reports, advise on potential red flags and offer guidance on properties that align with your financial goals. 

For personalised assistance with your next purchase, book a free appointment with a qualified Buyers Agent from our sister company, Empower Wealth. 

 

If You Enjoyed TPC Gold | Red Flags in Building Inspection Reports, You Might Also Like:

Transcript

Bryce Holdaway
We are going to showcase today some of the best gold from their interviews Ben.  

Ben Kingsley
Let’s get into it, mate. I want to listen again. I want to reboot.  

Bryce Holdaway
Okay let’s kick it off.  

Ben Kingsley
Let’s get started. 

Bryce Holdaway
We interviewed Paul Baker regarding building inspections. And this is just insurance that no one should avoid.  

Ben Kingsley
It’s unbelievable how people try and avoid this.  

Bryce Holdaway
Let’s have a listen to some of this gold.  

Ben Kingsley
What are the things that they should be looking for inside that document?  

Paul Baker
Well, there’s a lot actually. So our standard report covers a whole range of things. And when you do read it, it does feel quite cold and like there’s a lot of issues with the house. But a lot of the issues in the reports are just general maintenance things. Building reports need to conform with Australian standards, so you need to cover off on a lot of things. So a lot of those things that you read in a report are just things that you would fix up in general day-to-day maintenance of a house.  

The things that you really want to look out for are all the footings and foundations; making sure that things are nice and level and straight. Cracks in walls are a good indicator of issues with foundations and water damage. Making sure that, you know, the place has been built correctly in the first place, making sure that all the members in the roof, for example, are correct and that there’s no issues up in the roof.  

Because a lot of people, when people go and look at places to buy, they might go to two or three opens and spend 15 minutes at a time in these opens. And there’s a lot to think about. You think about whether your furniture fits, (whether) there’s enough natural light, all the things that you think about when you’re wanting to buy a home. And there’s not enough detail gone into the actual structure itself. So what we try to do is just take that element out of it and you can just really concentrate on whether the home is suitable for you.  

Bryce Holdaway
Sometimes it’s not just big structural issues. Again, question with that notice, you might remember that one we did in Seddon, single fronted, a couple of weeks before Christmas and there was asbestos in the roof. Do remember that one?  

Paul Baker
Yep, I do.  

Bryce Holdaway
And part of your recommendation was to get that asbestos out of the roof, (which) would just be a monumental operation. And if you don’t, children who will be sleeping in those rooms will be breathing or potentially breathing those fibres. I mean, it didn’t have to just be stamps or footings. It was a precautionary tale there as well.  

Paul Baker
Yeah, well that’s right. So that particular house had been renovated and they put a false ceiling in which had covered all the asbestos. But then they’d come along and put ducted heating in and made penetrations in the asbestos in the roof. So the asbestos had been broken and hot air was being blown around. So it was just one of those things where nothing was wrong with the house, but it was just a real safety issue.  

Bryce Holdaway
What should they look for in terms of an inspector? What’s the minimum entry level for someone who’s doing your job?  

Paul Baker
Yeah, the industry is not regulated, so anyone can call themselves a building inspector. But if you are getting an inspection done, you would want to really look at the qualifications of that person doing it. So you want someone that’s obviously been in the industry for quite a while as a builder.  

Ben Kingsley
So a licensed builder is a good example.  

Paul Baker
Absolutely, registered builder. And what their background is. And just talking personally, our background’s in the building industry, the renovations and extensions. So we’ve spent a lot of time actually rectifying or fixing up old homes.  

Ben Kingsley
Beautifying old properties.  

Paul Baker
Yeah, that’s right. So all the issues that we personally see in the building inspections, we’ve (also) at one time or another had to deal with those issues.  

Ben Kingsley
You’ve got a good sense of cost – in terms of what it costs to replace all that type of stuff.  

Paul Baker
Absolutely, but getting back to Bryce’s question, what do you look for? You look for someone that firstly can communicate pretty well and so if there are issues you can talk through them and make sure you understand the process to getting them fixed, and you know the potential likely costs of getting them fixed. Someone that’s as I said been in the industry for quite a while and had some experience dealing with the defects; not just reporting the defects but knowing how to fix the defects.  

Ben Kingsley
And the consistency of their reporting…is that something you would ask? I know I would. Again, I don’t want War and Peace. I want a simple worded report that basically gives me some type of rating or whatever and obviously that’s why we’ve jumped on using you guys because of that.  

Paul Baker
So when we got involved in doing property inspections, there is an Australian standard to a report. So it was really important that we covered off on all the things that needed to be done. We try to keep ours quite simple and we try to use really simple terms. So when you do read ours, there are obviously obligations to report all the defects and issues with the house. But we try to follow it up with a phone call straight after the inspection and just sort of verbalise the report with the client, just to put them at ease. And then we try to do it soon after the inspection as well, so it’s fresh in our minds. And then when the report’s sent out, we invite clients to call us at any time to discuss any concerns that they have with the report.  

Bryce Holdaway
Do you know when you read a report and (see we) can’t get under the floor, you can’t see the ceiling, and you put that sort of in there to say, look, these things weren’t seen prior to making this recommendation. What recommendation can you give to someone who’s engaging a builder who can’t see those things…as to whether or not they should go ahead? Do you sort of give them: hey, look, in my experience, I think this could be a concern that I haven’t seen it, or in my experience I think it should be okay.  

Paul Baker
Yeah so getting under the floor is a good one because a lot of the places (particularly in inner western Melbourne) where I do a lot of work, the houses are built on stumps but sit quite close to the ground so you can’t get under a lot of the houses. And you can’t actually determine the quality of the bearers and joists and things like that, but there’s a lot of telltale signs as you walk through the house above the floor. You know a bit of springing on the floor. You can look at doors and door jambs as well.  

So if you look at the gap across the top of a door, (there) might be three or four mil in one corner and in the other corner it might be 15 mil which suggests that the house has moved and they’ve just planed the door to suit the shape of the door frame. Cracks above windows and doors, and cornice cracking is another one that suggests there’s been some movement. Skirting boards that separate from floorboards is another one. If you’ve got gaps, there’s a range of telltale signs that suggest that there’s some issues below the floor. You don’t physically need to be under there.  

Bryce Holdaway
And you just bring it to their attention that those are the signs you’ve seen. Veronica on the show, she always carries a marble. And I thought she was losing them at first. But she just sits and she puts it there and she just sees where it rolls just to get her (an) idea of where the floors are level on a pitch.  

Ben Kingsley
That’s a great little idea.  

Bryce Holdaway
So the thing has been, we help clients, we make sure that they get a building inspection all the time, but when you hear some of that stuff, just beggars belief why people don’t do that.  

Ben Kingsley
Correct. Hundreds of thousands of dollars invested for a small fee to get an indication of: there are some problems, what’s it gonna cost to fix them? I mean, for me…building inspections are about yay or nay. They’re about yay, it’s all good, like we hoped it was OR nay, it’s a no, there’s too much problems with the structural integrity of the building or there’s some issues with asbestos or whatever it may be. Obviously, that was a bit of Melbourne stuff, but if we’re thinking of different cities, they’ve got different problems. Some areas of Adelaide might be sandy, so is that a good foundation, is it a bad foundation?  

Bryce Holdaway
A fair bit of rising damp happens in Adelaide.  

Ben Kingsley
Adelaide, and then the moisture. Mold is a big problem when you’ve got high humidity in the areas of Queensland. So what are you doing about that? And the ongoing maintenance around properties in Queensland. If you’ve got weatherboard or timber, you’re gonna have to be on top of that maintenance program.  

Bryce Holdaway
My tip for anyone (from) someone who’s seen a lot of building inspections over the journey Ben, I always tell the client that we’re looking for two things: categories of major and minor.  

Ben Kingsley
Love it. 

Bryce Holdaway
So the majors are, are the structure okay and is there any termites? And if the answer is no to one or more of those. But the minor doesn’t become anything more than a maintenance list because people go, I’ve seen people try and crash on minor defects, but you essentially can’t, you may have a little bit of leverage for negotiation. But ultimately it’s usually established property, you’re buying it as is, but at least you know what your maintenance list is going to be once you buy the property and sell on it. But for me, Paul said, what to look out for, someone who communicates well and has good experience. They’re two fundamentals for somebody who’s looking for a building inspector.  

Ben Kingsley
So when you’re ringing around to find the best building inspector, obviously, you know, give Paul Baker a call. Compare that to: What do you want? Eh, can’t do that one, mate. Flat out. To: Yeah, I see where I can put that in. What are we looking at? I mean, you just know, don’t you, when you pick up a phone… 

Bryce Holdaway
The post building inspection phone call is critical because they were required in writing to make sure all things are brought to your attention. But it’s good just to talk, you know, I talk to Paul all the time. Hey, mate, on balance, what do you reckon he said? You know, on balance, just go and have a little chat. There it is. Yeah, you’ll know. 

Ben Kingsley
All right, mate. Beautiful. 

TPC Gold | 3 vs 4 Bedroom Homes: Which Do Renters Prefer?

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In today’s bonus episode, we’re digging into a question from listener Joel, who’s wondering if adding a fourth bedroom will make his place more attractive to Aussie renters. 

Bryce and Ben break down what renters really want in a property – and spoiler alert, it’s all about finding the right balance! They cover why extra bedrooms can be a win, but only if you’re not sacrificing too much living space.  

Plus, they share tips on how suburb trends and layout choices can make all the difference when it comes to attracting tenants. 

If you’re keen to know how to set your rental property up for success, this snippet is packed with insights to help you make the best choice! 

For the full Q&A episode, tune in here: Episode 178 | Q&A: Is that 4th Bedroom Such a Good Idea? APRA’s Effect on Credit Cards & What’s The Secret to a Career in Property Investment? 

__________________

Now That You Know Renters’ Preferences for 3 Vs 4 Bedroom Homes…

We hope these insights help you on your journey to building an investment property portfolio! 

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to sharpen your skills, our book The Armchair Guide to Property Investing is packed with tips to guide you along the way. And the best part? You can grab it for FREE!

If You Enjoyed TPC Gold | 3 vs 4 Bedroom Homes: Which Do Renters Prefer? You Might Also Like:

Transcript

Bryce Holdaway
Today’s Q&A Day, we love it. SpeakPipe, we always want our listeners to come and leave us a message. So here, Ivise, is our first one.  

Joel
Hi Bryce, Ben and Stiggy. My name is Joel, I’m from Adelaide, South Australia. The question I’d like to ask is what types of rooms and features do Australians want in the rental market at the moment? The property that I’m looking at is a three-bedroom with an open living area and a large home entertainment room or cinema room. Now looking at the plans, I would probably convert that into a fourth bedroom, add some wardrobes, because it’s quite large. But I don’t know what other Australians would want. So I would live there for a few years before renting it out. But I don’t know, would Australians prefer the fourth bedroom or would they prefer to have a home living area, activities rooms, stuff like that? So any input would be great. Thanks.  

Bryce Holdaway
Very good question, Joel. I would say the first thing, Ben, is my number one rule within looking at something like this is context. What’s the context for the suburb right? If you’ve squeezed in a fourth bedroom and it’s meant a very tiny living area and there’s only one bathroom and the rest of the suburb provides you much better options than that, you’ve really limited your market.  

Ultimately, I took this from Bernard Salt. He wrote the book The Big Shift back in the 90s. I read that. And he goes, Australians, it’s not a Manhattan-isation. We value space. Whenever we have a public holiday, we get the kids in the car, we drive to nature, we go to the bush, the beach, whatever. So we value space. So for me, from the buyer’s end’s perspective, if you can add another bedroom, all things being equal and you haven’t seriously compromised on the living space, it’s just a proven fact that that actually creates value.  

I mean, we have bought properties for clients where there was a precedent where just down the road there was someone with an extra bedroom, made the change, automatically created some equity. So all things being equal, extra bedrooms make a difference, but as long as it’s not coming at the expense of four bedrooms, one bathroom. That’s a nightmare. Or the suburb norm does not support what you’ve done. They’re my two caveats around that.  

Ben Kingsley
Mate, if I lift your message up to the 30,000 (ft) view, look. I think of it like a pyramid, right? So I come back to this owner-occupier appeal piece, and I say this in terms of trying to explain it. If there was a, let’s say there was a glut of properties in the marketplace. I’m talking, for whatever reason, half of our population was wiped out tomorrow, right? And that would mean that obviously rents would be at a premium. I mean, everyone would worry about why the population got wiped out. Might have been a war, you know… 

Bryce Holdaway
Collingwood premiership. 

Ben Kingsley
But just think of it like this. It’s as simple for me as what would be my preference from an owner-occupier. So if the price came down on a Toorak mansion that I could rent for 500 bucks a week, would I rent it? Yep. Because it gives me convenience, it gives me access, it gives me everything. So I always, when I’m looking at buying property, think about the owner-occupier appeal for the renter because the renter wants all the things that an owner-occupier wants.  

They don’t think necessarily like a renter. They don’t say, because I’m a renter, I don’t want this, I don’t want that. There might be an argument where they don’t want to do gardens, but that’s about it. But if you give me a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home for the same price I can do a unit in the same suburb, most people are gonna go for the four-bedroom home. Now that’s not possible because the four-bedroom home’s probably worth double and would charge a premium rent. Now that rent is set by demand and supply. And the only reason we can command a rent of that level is because of the appeal, the demand.  

So Joel, coming back to your question, if it’s got an extra room, that extra room could be a sewing room, it could be a storeroom, it could be a bedroom, it could be a study, it could be all of those things to those different people. So, Bryce summed it up beautifully by saying, we will take the extra space so long as it’s within our budget. Okay, and normally if you do get that extra space, you do get a little bit more extra rent because you’re providing more dwelling accommodation. You’re providing more residents under which you’re able to charge that out. So the bigger the property, the more bang for buck you’re going to get from a rental point of view and it’s as simple as that. So don’t try and get too caught up in: this is perfect for a single person with a dog or this is perfect for a couple who are studying at university.  

The big caveat for me, I always try and say, if you have to go and settle for an apartment, try and make sure that the toilet is outside of the bathroom. People think about that stuff. They think about the fact that if someone’s got a stomach-ache or whatever, but they’ve got to have a shower to get to work, they can’t go in there because someone’s ill on the toilet. Right. It’s little things like that that make all the difference. So a mandate for me is that.  

Bryce Holdaway
Including if you’re buying a one-bedroom apartment too, Ben.  

Ben Kingsley
Totally.  

Bryce Holdaway
Because imagine if you’ve got friends over for dinner and they’ve gotta go through your bedroom to actually go to the toilet. 

Ben Kingsley
Yeah, and you know if I’m looking at an apartment, I like apartments that really are more than 55 square meters in size because I want sort of a dining area. I want an area that I can put a table to sit down that’s not in my living room, that I’ve just got to sit on my sofa to watch the television. So that’s a big thing for me. The separate laundry is a big bonus and that’s what normally happens. The bigger space but that’s why you pay a premium for it. So it still comes back to the whole fundamental of you will get more rent for something that has more demand.  

Bryce Holdaway
The message here is don’t over-complicate it. If you can move something from a two to a three bedroom, that’s got enormous power. Three to four, it’s great for families. Four to five? Not so much, maybe.  

Ben Kingsley
No. But if you’re offering me the four to five, if you’re offering me a five-bedroom home at a four-bedroom price as a tenant, because the market might be soft at that time…guess what? The tenant’s more likely to take the five – better to put the surfboards in or to put the bikes in or to put whatever, because it’s more storage.  

Bryce Holdaway
But as the investor you want to appeal to the tenant, you also want to make it a return on investment.  

Ben Kingsley
Correct. So if you’ve paid an absolute premium for the fifth and sixth bedroom and you’re not going to get that return, that’s when it starts to taper off.  

Bryce Holdaway
Good question. We appreciate that, Joel. Thank you; hopefully that’s helped. Let us know. Send us an email. Let us know if that hit the mark for you. 

TPC Gold | How to Beat Insecurity: 4 Tips from Life Coach Jaemin Frazer

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In today’s bonus episode, Bryce sits down with life coach, author, and founder of The Insecurity Project, Jaemin Frazer, to explore some game-changing practices for overcoming insecurity and living your most authentic life.  

Dive deep into topics like: 

  • Stepping into the light and confronting your reality. 
  • Taking 100% responsibility for the stories you tell yourself. 
  • Stacking the pain to fuel meaningful change. 
  • Creating a compelling vision to inspire action and prevent setbacks. 

Jaemin also unpacks the magic of midlife as the perfect time for change and reveals the dangers of unfulfilled dreams and ambitions. 🕰️ 

If insecurity has ever held you back or if you feel stuck, this episode will give you the tools to rewrite your story and unlock your true potential!  

For the full episode, tune in here: Episode 300 | The Unfair Advantage: Master This New Framework To Get The Passive Income You Want – Chat with Jaemin Frazer 

__________________

Inspired by Jaemin Frazer’s Insights & Ready to Start Living Your Best Life?

When it comes to finances and money management, it’s easy to bury your head in the sand—but consider this your wake-up call. 🚨 

Even if you’ve got your finances under control, our free e-book, Make Money Simple Again, offers fresh insights and frameworks to keep you ahead of the game. 

Or explore our money management app, Moorr—designed to help you fine-tune your strategy and create the lifestyle you want, on your terms. 

If You Enjoyed TPC Gold | How to Beat Insecurity: 4 Tips from Life Coach Jaemin Frazer, You Might Also Like:

Transcript

Bryce Holdaway
Hey, your latest book is Unhindered and you talk about the seven practices. Can we just, can we summarise what those seven practices are?  

Jaemin Frazer
Yeah, so practice one is to step into the light, which is a big part of this conversation. A lot of people are afraid of the light, for what the light will reveal. So they run and they hide and they avoid. However, if you’re going to begin any change process, you’ve got to see clearly what it is that you’re dealing with. So the only people who ever solved insecurity were the ones that were willing to stop running and do an honest assessment of their current reality and to do an accurate diagnosis of what the problem really is.  

Typically people try and solve the problems where they see the pain. So they see the pain with their job or their finances or their house and so they think it’s a money problem or a relationship problem or a work problem. They try and solve it on that level but when you turn the light on and say no, no, it’s a problem with your own opinion of yourself as we’ve talked about, then you’re into the process. You can’t change it if you can’t see it. So to see is the first practice. So that’s practice one to step into the light.  

So practice two, then the logical question people ask when they go, oh cool. So it’s an insecurity problem. Look at that. I thought it was a relationship problem. I thought it was a money problem. I thought it was a work problem. Look at that. It’s an insecurity problem. It’s very vulnerable, but I kind of get it. It’s true. The next logical question people ask is, well, why would I have that problem? Why would I have these opinions about myself? And typically they go back to the things that were said and done to them or not said and not done, the moments of pain and discouragement and disappointment and failure throughout their childhood or growing up. And they go, that makes sense. Yeah, I’m insecure because my parents were divorced or, you know, I got bullied at school or this girl rejected me, or my first business failed. That’s why.  

But that’s not why. That’s got nothing to do with why you’re insecure. We’re sense-making creatures, we’re storytellers. We go into the world and we tell stories about our experience. We have to make sense of it. And we make sense of it with two questions. Why did this happen? Question one. Question two: What does it mean about me? So we’re asking and answering those questions in moments of pain as children, and answering questions as children do with a limited amount of data and maturity. So the pattern is children answer those questions negatively.  

So in moments of pain, why did this happen? I must have attracted it, deserved it, brought it on. If I was better, this wouldn’t have happened. What does it mean about me? There’s something bad, something deficient, there’s something inadequate. So therefore, insecurity is created by us. We’re the one with the pen and paper. We’re not the actor in the story, we’re the storyteller. So practice two then is to take 100% responsibility. And not just to take 100% responsibility, but to realize you already are 100% responsible. You created this, it was you, you’re the one writing stories.  

So great, stop looking for other people to come fix this for you. Because lots of people do that. They think I’m insecure because my dad didn’t love me. Therefore I need someone else to love me better than my dad to fix this. No, no, you’re not insecure because your dad didn’t love you. When you perceived your dad didn’t love you, you decided the reason that was true was because you weren’t worthy of his love. Your opinion. So that’s responsibility. You’re the one who can change this. All change comes from responsibility, even though blame and excuses are natural and easy.  

Bryce Holdaway
Sounds easy, those two, right? Like sure, you know, step into the light, take responsibility. How hard can this be? I mean, to downplay that is to just downplay humanity, really. That is number two, it’s huge.  

Jaemin Frazer
They are huge, but people complaining that it’s hard. I’m like, it is hard. Great. What did you expect? And by the way, tell me your current existence isn’t hard. Tell me living as an adult who has outsourced their significance to the world. Tell me that’s not hard. Tell me that’s all beer and skittles. Of course that’s hard. Both roads are hard. That’s a given. You may as well choose the hard road that’s going to lead to life, rather than the hard road that’s going to keep you stuck.  

Bryce Holdaway
Yeah. 

Jaemin Frazer
You’re right. They’re hard. Practice three then is to stack the pain. So the only people who’ve ever solved this problem have been the people who’ve done so from a place of great pain. Which doesn’t sound fun, more hard stuff. But this is the gift pain offers. Pain’s intention is to move us from safety, from danger to safety. So you put your hand on the fire, it’s supposed to hurt. That’s pain saying, make some change with the position of your hand so you don’t destroy it. That’s very useful.  

So you know, feeling shit about yourself is supposed to feel shit. That’s the point. And that pain is designed to say, hey, listen, what if we did some work on your opinion so that you didn’t feel like this anymore? That’s a loving message to listen to. So most people are avoiding pain, masking pain, medicating pain, and therefore missing a massive opportunity for self-motivation for change. So stacking the pain means to stop and do an accurate cost assessment and go: How is this opinion of myself that’s gone unchecked for 20, 30, 40 years, how is this ruining my life? How is being a child in an adult’s world costing me in my job, my relationships, my career? Oh my goodness, it’s costing me everything. This is a disaster.   

So just because something’s killing you doesn’t mean you have to pay attention to that, which we see with smoking cigarettes as a great example. You kind of think it would be impossible to smoke cigarettes in today’s world because we know so much about it. But plenty do and they do so just by ignoring the costs. Easy. So you can ignore the cost of insecurity till you die. However, if you want to change it, then start by paying attention to the costs and it dramatically increases the pain just to go, this is a train wreck. And therefore you create this threshold moment where you kind of go, yeah, there’s pain in change, but there’s far more pain in staying the same.  

Bryce Holdaway
Yeah. 

Jaemin Frazer
Then you’ve got every cell inside you actively leading you to go whatever it takes, whatever the cost, whatever is involved, I’m gonna do this change work now before it gets any worse.  

Bryce Holdaway
You’ve got a window of time when you think there’s a sweet spot, isn’t it, from where people have got enough experience. It’s available to anyone, but you’ve got a sweet spot that you talk about.  

Jaemin Frazer
I think, yeah, I think the midlife 35 to 45 change window really is, and part of the reason why it’s so conducive to change is because the pain levels are right. I’m not sure that young people have enough pain to desire lasting personal change and perhaps elderly people have too much pain or pain that they’ve suppressed too deeply. But midlife, there’s a bunch of pain, but it’s kind of mixed with hope that you realize it’s not too late. I could make some significant change here and set myself up for an incredible back end. So it’s a beautiful resource, this pain midlife. And it creates this openness to go, what am I wrong about? What have I missed? What input could I receive now that I’ve been closed to before? So stack the pain.  

Bryce Holdaway
Stack the pain. So step number one is step into the light. Number two is take 100% responsibility. Number three is stack the pain. Number four is?  

Jaemin Frazer
Develop a compelling life vision. Often people just use pain avoidance as their whole motivation strategy. Anthony Robbins taught me this that it’s like the pressure cooker because massive pain leads to massive action. Sorry, massive pain leads to massive motivation. Massive motivation leads to massive action. Massive action leads to massive change. Massive change leads to massive pleasure, which dials down the motivation, which dials down the action. And then six months later, you’re back to where you were. It’s how people do weight loss a lot of the time.  

So it’s only half the equation. Sure, you got to have a moving away from strategy. Be clear about what you don’t want anymore. But what do you want instead? What’s the dream? Where are you taking this thing? What’s your vision for your life? Lots of people have already shut down that question, by the way. I think it’s the hardest question we get asked as adults, but it’s also the most beautiful, the most important, the most life-giving, and it’s always inside of us. To desire is human, so no matter how far you suppress it, we all do know what happiness and success is to us.  

So to tap into that dream again and to kind of realise that without a quest, without a mission, without a desire and ambition to actually do something meaningful. What’s the point of diving into fear and pain and doing some of this personal development work if you don’t have a reason? So the only people who solve this problem are the ones who dive back into that desire and reimagine a compelling future for themselves and kind of realize, I’m not prepared to die with the music inside me.  

One of my clients is an end-of-life pain specialist. And the reason he’s my client is because it’s his job to help people in great suffering at the end of their life. And he says, you might think it’s physical pain and suffering that is the biggest pain for them. It’s not. It’s always existential. It’s an unfulfilled life. It’s dying with the music inside you. It’s disappointment. It’s what if. It’s a should have, I would have, could have. He’s like, so many people are suffering greatly because they never found a way to fully show up as themselves. And he’s like, that would be me. If I don’t make some change now, that would be me too. So I think, again, we all kind of have this idea of something ambitious for our life. And to tap back into that is the only way you’re gonna solve this problem. 

TPC Gold | What Makes Vendors Sell Before Auction?

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Ever wonder why a vendor would choose to sell before auction day? 🤔 

If you’re a buyer looking to understand the psychology behind pre-auction sales, today’s bonus episode is for you! 

From agent strategies designed to create urgency, to sentimental sellers seeking the comfort of a quick sale, this episode reveals it all.  

You’ll also get the scoop on how market conditions, interest rates, and emotions can tip the scales in your favour! 

For the full episode, tune in here: Episode 145 | 8 Reasons Why Vendors Sell Before Auction 

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✅ Save Time – We handle the research, inspections, and negotiations.
✅ Gain Market Insight – Get insider knowledge on property values and trends.
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Buyers Agents can take the pressure off, so you can focus on landing your dream property! 🏡 Book in a free initial consultation today >> 

 

If You Enjoyed TPC Gold | What Makes Vendors Sell Before Auction, You Might Also Like:

Transcript

Bryce Holdaway
Ben, we’ve got a framework. We’ve got a framework.  

Ben Kingsley
No, are we unpacking a framework today?  

Bryce Holdaway
We’re going to unpack a framework. Here’s the deal, right? The amount of times that someone comes up to me and says: Bryce, tell us a strategy about buying properties prior to auction. And so there’s a bit of a technique. And then they say to me: why would someone sell prior to auction? And I’ve given up trying to come up with all the answers that people do, because sometimes it’s just you know, circumstance. So we decided that we’d actually give a framework. 

Ben Kingsley
Brainstorm it, yeah, brainstorm it, throw a few ideas out.  

Bryce Holdaway
So we threw a few around.  

Ben Kingsley
So you want me to lead off?  

Bryce Holdaway
I do.  

Ben Kingsley
Mate, I’m gonna start with an actually marketing ploy.  

Bryce Holdaway
Ooh. 

Ben Kingsley
So this is a little bit different. I sort of look at it like this where I’m basically talking about if for whatever reason there’s a time issue, and we’ll talk some about some other time issues as well I reckon, but this one is about marketing. Okay, so auctions are about creating scarcity and creating an outcome by a set time in a competition sense. So I actually think that agents might say: look, let’s put this under, you know, forthcoming auction or auction set date by this or offers before. So all of a sudden it’s actually a means by which the vendor, and they might be traveling overseas, they might have other commitments, but that’s the sort of thing for me if it is a marketing ploy to basically create that interest and get a result sooner rather than later. So I’m saying the number one is because it is an agent-led ploy to get an outcome quickly.  

Bryce Holdaway
I like it. There’s actually an agent, can’t think of his or her name, I think it was a him, on the central coast of New South Wales has a market that’s around $400 to $450 as typical sale price. And that market’s not typically where you’d expect auctions. He goes to auction, I’m pretty sure it’s a he, he goes to auction on 95% of his listings, right? And in a market that’s not known for going to auctions. Because what it does is it actually timestamps the marketing campaign, which is what you’re talking about if the listener thinks the real estate agent only gets paid for their time. So if they have a private sale arrangement, that could go for eight weeks, it could go for 12 weeks, whereas an auction campaign has got usually a finite time.  

Ben Kingsley
Because we know, don’t we, that when a property’s been hanging on the market for a while: What’s wrong with it? If it stays on too long, and we know it happens in Queensland as well, doesn’t it?  

Bryce Holdaway
The power shifts, doesn’t it?  

Ben Kingsley
Yeah, yeah. 

Bryce Holdaway
To the buyer. But this particular agent uses that as a timeframe to create scarcity, to create urgency, so that they can get through all their campaigns. So I think you’re absolutely spot on. You gotta think about: it’s not just does the vendor wanna sell to me? It’s the agent whose got ambition and goals and they’re trying, because if they do private sales all year, their income will probably be a third of what they’ve done, because they’ve got these rolling campaigns. They get the deal done before the auction, but it creates the urgency in the time frame.  

Ben Kingsley
I love it, I love it. 

Bryce Holdaway
So I think opening with that one’s a good one.  

Ben Kingsley
What do you got?  

Bryce Holdaway
For me I’m gonna go, massively, telescope, big picture. Sort of the external micro factors. Think about talk of sentiment change, think about interest rates, think about government changing, think about last year when the negative gearing debate came up. All those things create anxiety and uncertainty in the mind of the vendor and so therefore if any of that exists, I think that’s often one of the reasons why a vendor would be keen to take an offer and accept any reasonable offer.  

Ben Kingsley
We’ve already seen the Sydney market come off and that is changing the sentiment in that market. I mean, we were there a couple of weeks ago and speaking to the people there, they all said, definitely, market’s definitely slowing. So if you are that, you’re sort of thinking, your macro might only be your state or your city, and you’re starting to think well, all right, just if, you know, a bird in the hand as opposed to potentially a couple in the bush, I’ll grab that offer. All led by that particular macro factors that is changing the view and the media, you know. All the sort of boom, bust types cycles we go through in the media, so I think that’s a cracker. Alright.  

Bryce Holdaway
Alright, got another one for me?  

Ben Kingsley
Well yeah, probably the nervous seller. I mean that’s a classic one where you know they’re not familiar with auctions, they don’t understand the process. They don’t want to go through this anxiety burn that’s going to happen when they’re on the day of the auction. You know and usually you know they may be an older vendor or deceased vendor, and they don’t have their partner there anymore with them to sort of give them the confidence and the security. And even though the agent is going to hopefully reinforce that, if they’re still a little bit sceptical about agents, that can certainly be a place in that. I reckon that’s the nervous seller, the one who’s willing to sort of say, all right, well again, if I’ve got a fair price and that’s all I was looking for, that’s gonna be enough to get me moving. I’ll probably move on the sale.  

Bryce Holdaway
Yeah, well, if you think about the auction process, as you know, Ben, the person who wants the auction is the agent. The buyer doesn’t want it. In fact, a lot of the time, the seller actually doesn’t want it because, like you say, it just gives them that internal churn and that internal burn. Yeah, often they get a little bit of stage fright. And the agent is so used to the auction process that it’s so desensitized to them that they will happily take them. They know it’s worth it get it out.  

Ben Kingsley
And it’s amazing to think that some vendors are just happy to get a fair price. I mean, the vast majority and the job of the selling agent is to get the best possible outcome. But in some cases, we’ve talked about this before, where a vendor has sold to the couple that they prefer better. That they’ve got a connection with and this is a beautiful family home and I want you to create your memories there. I don’t care if someone’s gonna offer me more, because we always naturally go to that position that everyone wants the most and if this thing’s gonna sell for $400,000 above reserve, I’m gonna be doing cartwheels because that sets me up financially. But there are some vendors out there who may be nervous and who are saying, you just get me that, because that’s all I need and the job’s done.  

Bryce Holdaway
I think you raised a really good point there because if you’ve got someone who’s got a family home. It’s been their family home for 30 years and they would just love to see another family get that property, versus a developer who’s hanging around at auction.  

Ben Kingsley
Yeah, that’s another reason. Yeah, could be sold before auction.  

Bryce Holdaway
You picked up on a very good point. So I’m nervous or a sentimental seller.  

Ben Kingsley
Yeah, sentimental seller.  

Bryce Holdaway
Yeah. All right. Okay. I reckon this one’s a bit of a no-brainer, but they’re committed elsewhere. 

Ben Kingsley
Forced sales.  

Bryce Holdaway
Whenever given the choice between certainty and uncertainty, they will take it every day of the week. And of course, if they then translate that uncertainty into certainty, they can then maybe line up settlement dates as well. So, you know the classic they’ve bought somewhere else, is one of the reasons that bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.  

Ben Kingsley
Yeah, yeah, and you know in a moving market a lot of people were forced to do that, you know. They were sort of saying I just need to get in and then I’m reasonably confident that my property will get a certain value. So if they’re upsizing, you know they were forced certainly in the Sydney market It’s happening a little bit in the Melbourne market as well as opposed to going the other way around, because we would always say if you’re a conservative person you should sell first and then buy. But if the market’s moving too quickly, you might just jump in. And so obviously, if they have done that and they haven’t sold their property, guess what? Again, a good strong offer early in the campaign could potentially get that property off the market. 

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