In today’s show Nhan Nguyen<\/b>, from Advanced Property Strategies,\u00a0<\/b>gives us some very helpful tips to follow when you are starting out as a developer.\u00a0Some people probably start out a little bit too soon and they learn their lessons the hard way… Kevin:\u00a0 <\/b>I guess one of the progressive steps as you become an investor in property is that you want to get bigger and bigger properties, which probably leads you to becoming a developer in your own right. It seems like a pretty easy step, because you\u2019re learning as you go through. Some people probably move to that developer step a little bit too soon, and they learn their lessons the hard way. In today’s show Nhan Nguyen, from Advanced Property Strategies,\u00a0gives us some very helpful tips to follow when you are starting out as a developer.\u00a0Some people probably start out a little bit too soon and they learn their lessons the hard way… Transcript: Kevin:\u00a0 I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176692471,"featured_media":4331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,35,36,25],"tags":[101],"class_list":["post-4330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kevin-turner-sponsored-channels","category-property-development-topic","category-property-investment-topic","category-sponsored-channels","tag-podcast"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n <\/p>\nTranscript:<\/span><\/h4>\n
\nNhan Nguyen is from Advanced Property Strategies. He specializes not so much in making mistakes, although he\u2019s probably made a couple he might admit to, but he certainly is a very good developer. I\u2019m keen to find out from Nhan what you need to know if you\u2019re going to start out as a developer.
\nHi, Nhan. Thanks for your time.
\nNhan:\u00a0 <\/b>Hi, Kevin. Thanks for having me.
\nKevin:\u00a0 <\/b>Any mistakes you\u2019d like to admit to first off or not?
\nNhan:\u00a0 <\/b>Mate, I\u2019ve made hundreds, if not thousands, of mistakes over the last ten or 15 years. Part of being a developer is being open to making mistakes. One of the biggest tips I can say in learning to be a developer is thinking big and starting small, because there\u2019s so much to know.
\nOne of the things that I suppose defines a developer is what you want to develop. There are so many ways of developing, whether you\u2019re doing a removal home, a subdivision or townhouses. One of the things you do need to know, especially when you\u2019re starting out, is the rules, because there are a lot of rules you need to know.
\nKevin:\u00a0 <\/b>Are these rules from councils and things, or just rules that you live by yourself?
\nNhan:\u00a0 <\/b>I\u2019m talking about council rules and regulations. Every suburb has different rules, every council has different rules, and even from street to street, there are rules on whether you can demolish a property or whether you can build to a certain height. Not just rules; there are other physical limiting constraints, such as flooding, overland <\/b>flow, and pipes in the ground.
\nIt is a bit of a minefield for a budding developer. Yes, there can be a lot of money to be made, but I\u2019d definitely tread with caution, especially when you\u2019re starting out and you don\u2019t know what you don\u2019t know
\nKevin:\u00a0 <\/b>I guess in securing a development site, too, you\u2019d no doubt want to put some due diligence in place. Do you normally try to do your due diligence before you go to contract or after the contract period?
\nNhan:\u00a0 <\/b>Both. Initially, before the contract period, when I\u2019m looking at a property, I might jump online, look at PriceFinder or RP Data, look at various tools there, and do as much research as I can. There\u2019s another tool called Dial Before You Dig, which looks at infrastructure underground, as well as going to the local council website that hopefully will give you as much information about zonings, what you can do, and what you can\u2019t do. For example, if it\u2019s zoned for a shopping center and you want to do a block of units, you may not be able to do that, and vice versa.
\nBeing an area specialist who\u2019s very much high on the criteria, you have to know an area and know it inside-out and upside-down. Also, be open to change, because the council rules change. Every six or 12 months, I reckon, there are various changes. For example, Brisbane city council, on July 1, 2014, made some huge changes to their city plan, as well as other local councils. It\u2019s an ongoing process of changing.
\nKevin:\u00a0 <\/b>I guess one of the other things, too, is you never take things at face value and never accept someone\u2019s word on something. Do your own diligence and find out for yourself. You\u2019ll have no regrets that way.
\nNhan:\u00a0 <\/b>Exactly. That\u2019s where you have to bring in consultants and other engineers, builders, certifiers, and surveyors. When you\u2019re buying \u2013 let\u2019s say \u2013 a normal investment property, you might do a building and pest; you\u2019d do a check for the rental appraisal; you\u2019d go to the bank and get a valuation. That\u2019s pretty straightforward. Once you go to the next level in development, there\u2019s a whole new team that you need to bring on board, because there are other variables and things that you have to either adhere to or be able to satisfy the council requirements.
\nKevin:\u00a0 <\/b>Yes. They would be too complex for us to go into in this chat; It might be something we\u2019ll follow up on on a later occasion. But I guess the bottom line is if you want to step into being a developer, start the process slowly. What were your words? \u201cThink big and start small.\u201d I think that\u2019s probably where we should leave it for today.
\nNhan, I want to thank you so much for your time. Nhan is from Advanced Property Strategies. Thanks, mate.
\nNhan:\u00a0 <\/b>Thanks, Kevin. Thanks for having me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"