From delivering property investment finance strategies to trusted property partner.

We welcome you to Portfolios. When it comes to property investment and finance you can rely on us as a great source of knowledge, real life wisdom, cutting edge information as well as a sound community base of active property people to help you grow your property portfolio.

With Portfolios - Property... Make it Happen

We are constantly being asked why we put so much of a focus on Queensland when there are great deals around the country in property investment.
Ar Portfolios we scour the entire Australian property investment market, and will be bringing some properties in other areas soon.
In this article we will show you why Queensland show great potential in property investment and why we have chosen to offer such a large proportion of our property selection here.
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Firstly you will you note that all Portfolios Property is measured against our strict property selection criteria. In selecting these properties only properties scoring more than 15 out of 20 even make our short list, with the majority of our offering being 18 or above. See our previous article on property selection.
When we show you Queensland’s benefits, perhaps you might ask yourself – when looking at your potential investment – whether the area you are investing in stacks up.
What About Queensland?
The real Gross Domestic Product growth in Queensland is the highest in the country. When placed on the international stage, GDP in Queensland even out performs global competitors like UK, USA and Japan. This is staggering for one state. Much of this is on the back of the resources sector but there is also heavy expenditure right across the state in infrastructure.
Following on from above, Queensland is home to the largest public infrastructure spending program in Australia’s history. You only have to take a drive through Brisbane to see the massive expenditure taking place, but outside of the metro areas ports, roads and rail are being constantly upgraded to meet the growing market.
Queensland is home to a growing young and entrepreneurial workforce fueled by numerous world-class educational institutions. In step with this is Australia’s fastest growing consumer market, being buoyed by the relatively young affluent population. Not to be outdone many parts of Queensland are experience growth in the retirement market with favourable climate and low cost of living.
In terms of trade and economy, Queensland has the 2nd highest number of international arrivals into Australia behind Sydney. The East Coast now known as Australia’s trade coast – connects Queensland to global markets (through many ports including Gladstone, Cairns) There are over 127,000 businesses and the number is growing daily.
Queensland has been ranked by KPMG as one of the world’s mos cost-competitive locations. With the fastest growing population in Australia – major domestic inward migration – as well as from outside Australia, it is unlikely property prices will stop growing in the near future.
So there you have it – we believe Queensland is a great market for property investors. We encourage you to consider your next investment in Queensland and as always are happy to discuss your unique requirements and investment strategy to help your investment property portfolio grow.

We are constantly being asked why we put so much of a focus on Queensland when there are great deals around the country in property investment.

At Portfolios we scour the entire Australian property investment market, and will be bringing other property opportunities from other states, but it is true, we have seen the most potential to date in Queensland.

In this article we will show you why Queensland show great potential in property investment and why we have chosen to offer such a large proportion of our property selection here.

Read Now Or Ready Later? What’s Your Preference?
There is much terminology surrounding the housing sector.
This month we take a brief look at investment properties that can be purchased off the plan and those that are turn-key that is ready to move into.
Which is better? We look at the pros and cons of both.
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Off the plan properties, usually a sales method found in apartment developments, have typically not yet been built. The purchaser is literally buying an apartment “off the plan” based on perhaps a completed prototype or even on the developers history in the development game.
On the other hand a turn-key property is as the name implies, ready to “turn the key” and move in.
It is important to note that in both cases we are talking about new properties yet to be lived in – although turn key does technically apply to any property ready for tenants.
Off The Plan
So lets look at the pros and cons of off the plan first.
Pros:
- you secure a property at today’s prices with minimal cash in (sometimes as low as $1000) and dont have to worry about mortgage repayments for some time – or any other cost for that matter – BUT – you also dont have income from a tenant
- depending on lead time (some as long as 18 months) you could experience substantial capital growth and sell for a profit at time of completion
- You can sometimes determine basic inclusions and colours – usually from a set range so you may have the opportunity to connect with the market better than your developer
- You are gurranteed the property will be brand new and fresh.
Cons:
- there is a risk that a decline in the property market could spell trouble for values and a drop in your LVR. You may not be able to finance the full loan.
- in conjunction with property values, the rental yeild of the property may have falling since
- The developer is only as good as their last project – you need to be sure that the quality of construction and fitout will be in keeping with the price you are paying and the market your development will be aimed at.
- Buying off the plan can be difficult for someone who does not visualise well – being clear on what you are getting, sense of space and functionality will be important.
- you could start paying your mortgage long before a tenant moves in – sometimes the builders work on a progressive scale of work completion – particularly if you are building a house for investment. You could be paying your mortgage months before a tenant moves in. Generally though in apartments you do not start paying the mortgage until the development is completed.
Turn Key
Turn key properties are ready to be tenanted immediately. You will notice that properties listed by Portfolios Property are always turnkey.
Pros:
- You can start your investment cycle almost immediately. Once you have settled you can start earning money from tenants. The only issue is getting the first tenants in – we advise you to work with local agents during the exchange phase to ensure a tenant is ready when the mortgage repayments start.
- Turn key properties in many states attract stamp duty concessions – you need to check in your local state – stamp duty concessions can wipe thousands off the purchase costs.
- You can see what you are getting in terms of investment – you can go through the normal process of getting a building inspections and of course take advantage of the maintenance period of the new property from the builder.
There are not a lot of cons with the turnkey option – at the end of the day you get to choose the property that best suits your situation and market and with the assistance of Portfolios can even look at how the investment plays out over the coming years.
We look forward to being able to work with you to make property investment happen.

Ready Now Or Ready Later? What’s Your Preference?

This month we take a brief look at investment properties purchased off the plan and those that are turn-key.

Which is better? We take a look at the pros and cons of both.

Renovating For Profit
You’ve watched the lifestyle shows, dreamed of buying the do-upable dump and making a good return out of it.
All over the world people take on projects to renovate and make money from property. It is contagious, both challenging and rewarding.
But what happened to making the dream a reality?
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Portfolios is proud to be associated with Cherie Barber and Stephen Tolle and the Renovating For Profit team. It is a unique community of people that buy houses, do them up and sell them – for a living. The amazing thing about this community is it is made up of ordinary Australians like you and me. There are some who wouldn’t dare put a lick of paint on a wall or pretend to be the carpet layer, tiler, sparky and plumber all in one.
In fact most of these people are simply great project managers, I will come back to that later.
Renovating property is a rewarding experience that, given the right tools, structure, strategy and financial platform, will give you a very fulfilling career or some extra income.
I personally complete 2 -3 projects per year, look after the Portfolios group businesses and along with meeting our wonderful clients that is my plan. Business will give you a lifestyle, your deals will give you your financial wealth.
(sub headline) So how can I help?
When looking into renovation project there are plenty of aspects to consider.
The main 3 are: Structure, Strategy and Finance, other fine print considerations for you could be:
1. What is your exit strategy?
Are you going to renovate and hold or renovate and sell?
Always be prepared when you have to hang onto the property that you have the capacity to hold via income or equity.
2. What is your costs and profit margin?
Understand the kind of gains you can make and manage your improvements accordingly. Knowing your numbers for buy, renovation and end sales price are critical to success.
4. What improvements/ works do you need to make?
Are you just making cosmetic changes or major structrual or even extending the property?
Firstly make sure you can make the changes you want to – check with council and look at similar properties.
Your due diligence is your chosen area will make sure you know what is desired and the end sale price for delivering that to the market.
As you make more an more deals this job will get easier because you will be able to estimate better yourself. But in the mean time surround yourself with professionals. Dont be afraid you will be helping their businesses too.
5. What is your contingency?
I see too many developers, renovators and property investors that come in with a conservative estimate on improvement works and do not consider an contingencies.
Lets face it there are many and varied factors to property projects, allow in your plan to cater for these.
6. Become A Project Manager
Project management 101 – manage your project closely – watch your progress, scope and budgets.
Timing is also critical so use a program to manage day to day activities who is where when – what needs to be completed to allow other works to take place on site. And like your contingency build buffers into your program – rain delays, holidays, slack contractors.
7.  With each deal it gets easier
When I started out – like all of us – I made mistakes but in each case I have learnt far more from them,now I have the privilege of helping people avoid the mistakes I made, saving them valuable time and money.
There are aspects of this business that you will always rely on others to solve for you but increasingly you will be able to take on aspects of the deal yourself based on your growing knowledge – you will become more astute and will see potential everywhere.
(sub headline) Financing The Deal
So the deal looks good and you have done your due diligence, what now.
Make the time to work with the Portfolios Team on your plan, whats possible, the project, structure, strategy and then we can work on finance options.
We can even show you strategies how to finance the deal using other people’s money and time.
First things first complete our Portfolio Review and we will work with you through the steps to becoming that Professional Property person.
Make It Happen – you’ll love it.
Paul Pritchett

You’ve watched the lifestyle shows, dreamed of buying the do-upable dump and making a good return out of it.

All over the world people take on projects to renovate and make money from property. It is contagious, both challenging and rewarding.

But what happened to making the dream a reality?

Property Of The Month – Chinchilla

A Never to be repeated bargain! Contract has crashed, and YOU are the winner!!

One Only House/Land package in town of Chinchilla for just $375K with Ducted Aircon.

Call Keiran at Portfolios Property for details on 0447 255550

$1000 *refundable EOI, will secure this for you TODAY! This wont last!!

Find out more about this deal…

Understand Your Strategy, Then Check Your Loan Exit Costs
With the average loan for an investment property being refinanced every three years it is little wonder the banks have introduced fees to make you think twice about moving away from them.
Loan exit fees have become common place in the mortgage market. Today very few banks provide loans without them. But it hasn’t always been the case.
Lenders exit fees serve to discourage people from refinancing to other banks – or even with the same bank. They are designed to keep customers as long as the bank can.
The challenge for banks is that most home loans do not make as much profitability in the first few years as they do in the ensuing years. Banks need to recoup profit if the customer chooses to exit early.
Fees can range from $400, an average of major lenders around the $750-$1000 mark with non-bank lenders charging a percentage to exit of around up to 2.5%.
Whilst we dont necessarily agree with these exit fees it is something we have work with developing your strategy.
What you need to understand is your strategy affects the loan options and it is far more than just the interest rate.
At Portfolios we understand all consideration of your deal and the associated loan/s which is why we aim to offer up to three loan options into your strategy each with its own profile and considerations. Make sure you take the time to review and discuss.
For example if you are purchasing to renovate and sell  quickly  then we will offer up to 3 loans that typically would have  lower exit fees for great profitability in your deal.
However if your strategy is to buy and hold the property then the early exit fees are not so much of a consideration.
Portfolios will work with you to develop the right strategy that includes Structure, Strategy, the Property and Finance.
If you wish to look at your options and get started complete our FREE Portfolio Review and we will be in contact with you shortly.
Portfolios looks forward to working with you to …Make it Happen.

With the average loan for an investment property being refinanced every three years it is little wonder the banks have introduced fees to make you think twice about moving away from them.

Loan exit fees have become common place in the mortgage market. Today very few banks provide loans without them. But it hasn’t always been the case.