How a good financial team can add value to your property portfolio

“I don't know how I got into the game of property. I was actually planning to build my one house and one of the first things I did was [buy] a block of land. I think I had it almost for a year or two… made decent money out of it… and I decided to sell it, just because of quick profit,” the property investor shared.

“I didn't know anything about property investing at all back then… It just happened to start from there—where the love story started.”

Since then, he made it a point to educate himself through different resources such as podcasts, magazines, books, forums, seminars, and the acquaintanceship of property experts and professionals.

Around a decade after his first purchase, Jazz has successfully built an impressive six-property portfolio, and he is now aiming to increase its value to $5 million in the coming years.

“The way I'm building the portfolio is, down the line, I want to start subdividing or knocking or building more modern houses, [but] the goal's obviously going to change again… I'm not one of those people who can really sit free for very long… [but] as long as… I don't have to worry about our daily bread and butter thing, so then it's good, essentially,” he said.

The role of a good financial team

Jazz believes that being surrounded by property experts and professionals can definitely help him achieve his long-term financial goal, which includes increasing the value of his portfolio to $5 million.

“It's almost impossible to fly down to every city... [but] as long as I can give them the right direction from a portfolio perspective—this is what I've done so far, this is what my goal is—I think that they can go and find the right property and I can tell whether it's the right one or not. I'm more than happy to spend money on it, basically,” he said. 

“The other thing is, for me, it's more of a hobby or passion anyway, so it's not a work that I'm doing—that's how I look at it, essentially.”

How do you go about finding the right people to take on your journey with you? For Jazz, it could be as easy as being honest about your capabilities, limitations, and goals as a property investor.

“If you do everything right, you'll find the right people surrounding you, and the minute you find them, you'll grow [your portfolio] even bigger,” Jazz said.

The role of a good education

In his decade-long property investment journey, Jazz has entrusted himself and his wife to understand the different aspects of his property portfolio. Now that he has acquired a good amount of knowledge about property investment, he is more than willing to welcome trustworthy professionals in his journey to keep him on the path towards success.

“It was good to know all the different hooks and nooks [and] corners of how things work. Now that I understand it all, I don't mind giving it to someone else,” Jazz said.

“At least, when they talk to me, I'll understand it completely, rather than just giving to someone else, and they go ahead at it and I'm relying on them. I do have enough knowledge now that I can judge whether they're right or wrong.”

Smart Property Investment’s Phil Tarrant, who is an avid investor himself, agrees that having good professionals with you on your property investment journey can definitely add value to your portfolio. While many people would consider the additional expense a burden, successful investors know that they’re always worth their weight in gold.

However, property investors must do well to remember that they need the knowledge to actually have a dialogue with these experts in order to make smart and well-informed information.

“Someone can do something better than you so it makes sense to pay for that advice. But as an investor, you're fundamentally responsible for making decisions,” Phil said.

Jazz concluded: “If you understand what the principles are to look for, or the basic stuff to look for, there's hardly anything that can go wrong, and … you can easily trust the person as well—it's a good relation [right] there.”

Tune in to Jazz Sidana’s episode on The Smart Property Investment Show to know more about his insights on how he realised the opportunities around property investment, how he plans to reach his fundamental goal of “financial freedom,” and his number one tip for new migrants in Australia.