Episode 2: Having a property team behind you & the importance of collaboration in real estate
Behind every successful property investor is a team of trusted professionals. In this episode of Navigating Property with Ben Plohl, Ben unpacks why surrounding yourself with the right experts – from mortgage brokers and buyer’s agents to quantity surveyors and property managers – is key to building a strong, future-proof investment portfolio.
You’ll learn how each specialist plays a role in helping you make smarter decisions, maximise returns and reduce costly mistakes. Ben also chats with Jeremy Iannuzzelli – one of Australia’s leading property accountants and a successful investor himself – about how a collaborative approach can speed up your journey and keep your strategy on track. They explore how seasoned professionals go beyond the numbers, bringing insight and experience that help you scale with confidence.
Whether you’re a first-time investor or already growing your portfolio, this episode is a practical reminder that property investment is a team sport – and the right support can be a game-changer. If you’re serious about building an investment portfolio, or working with a buyer’s agent, this episode will give you clarity on where to start.
Speaker 1
Hello, everyone coming up on this episode, we’re going to chat about the importance of having a team of experts behind you, guiding you to property investing success. After 20 years of personal investing, I’ve realized that in order to be successful, you can’t be across absolutely everything. Read More
Speaker 2
Ben, thank you very much, Matt, it’s always a pleasure, and I’m looking forward to seeing the future of your podcast, because I’ve always said for many years, you and I do share a common trait not many people know, and I know you don’t share that too much, but in your past life, before buyers agency, you were an accountant, and one of the things that you and I, we, we talk about quite a bit, is just our understanding of the numbers behind the asset. So I’m really excited to see the future of your show and really getting that inner accountant out of you mate, as you start to progress through with all your different participants and guests.
Speaker 1
And I guess look for us as a buyer’s agent. We’ve had the benefit of probably working with about 303 50 clients over the last six years. I’d say for you, Jeremy, it’s probably in the 1000s. Or yeah, you’ve got sort of really good insight into people’s portfolios. What are people doing throughout the years? It’s probably fair to say there’s probably a group of four to six or seven really key professionals that you would want as part of your team. I guess the idea around this show or this episode is just to sort of go through each one of those and giving people listeners of insight into the importance of that particular professional and what sort of value they can get out of it. And I guess just before we kick the show off you’re talking about, what’s the idea about building a team? Right? Yes, you can do everything yourself, and that’s fair enough. And some people have the ability and the guess, the tenacity, to do that. But I guess, in your words, in your eyes, what’s the benefit around building a team?
Speaker 2
Yeah, it all comes back down to two key words. It’s the amplification process, the whole role of what we do as individuals is how we can amplify our results and how we can get there more efficiently with more productivity and ultimately leading to more profit. And that comes through having the right people in the right spot at the right time. And not all professionals that you’ll use will be the professionals that you’ll have for the rest of your life. You might outgrow them, you might evolve, you might change your direction, but it’s making sure that you’ve got the right people who can amplify the process and give you ultimately what you’re after in a much more efficient format. So typically speaking, if you’re going down your property journey, ultimately you will need a number of professionals, which will range from very good conveyancer or solicitor, in most circumstances, a fantastic mortgage broker, because we all know that property invest in a large part of that is the finance that partner in your finance team is going to be the person who’s going to achieve your goal of being able to build a portfolio. Read More
Speaker 1
at. Yeah, you touched on the private wealth space, I think, in terms of potential lending. What have you seen, perhaps, work for clients, and what’s the benefit of ending up in that sort of space? Is it more specialist lending? Is it more sort of a relationship style of lending process. What’s the kind of pros with in cons with that?
Speaker 2
The biggest pro is that you’re no longer a customer, to the client, to the bank. I should say you’ve got a lot of good things that come from it. And one of the main things is, is the relationship that you build with the private banker, and they go into that for you. Ben, so you might not have the DTO that. What that means is debt to income ratio numbers available to you to continue lending. But your private banker knows your business. They know that you’re on the way up. They know that you’ve got, you know, maybe potentially, a lot of inheritance coming through. You’re very property savvy. They’ve seen you do deals where you’ve made lots of money, and they can kind of bypass a lot of the credit criteria that a lot of people get stuck in, they’re virtually vouching for you, and that’s the pros of going into the private banking space. It is a smaller club. Not everybody can get there, but if you can achieve some awesome results in your journey and eventually end up in that private banking space, that’s where they will take you to the next level. And I haven’t seen anybody with large portfolios of 20 plus properties not end up in the private banking space. How
Speaker 1
do those banks deal with sort of concentration risk? Or is it something that they’re because they know such a holistic picture of your affairs or your business entities, etc, they’re willing to take on an additional level of risk? Is that what you say? Yeah, that’s
Speaker 2
it. They really understand what you’re about. They really understand the direction that you’re taking, and they understand the risk that you’re taking on as well. A lot of people have this misconception that a bank’s there just to lend money. They’re not really a bank is a big risk business. That’s the primary function of a bank. They’re there to assess the risk and make sure that you’re good for it the lending process. They’re just an intermediary. They’re utilizing their clients money to give to another person. They’re the middleman, assessing the risk and getting the clip in the form of an interest rate premium. So once you understand that, that the bank’s there to assess risk, that’s the whole, I suppose, diamond in the rough. It’s knowing what things you need to do to reduce the risk so that the bank feels more comfortable to give you more loans. That’s
Speaker 1
really interesting. That’s really interesting. I guess the next piece is probably more in my realm, which is, you know, your property strategist and your buyer’s agent. Well, I’m very open when I talk to prospective clients. I said, Look, we can help lots and lots of people, but for some people, we might not be able to add the value that they deserve. You’ve had the benefit of working with, you know, 1000s of clients that have bought property, I’m sure, some with buyer’s agents and a lot without buyer agents, I guess. What have you seen work really well on both sides of the fence. And have you seen people doing it on their own? Obviously, they can get great results as well if they’re really invested in the process. But what are you sort of your thoughts on clients, or what sort of results have you seen when those have come down the kind of the path of using a professional like ourselves? It’s
Speaker 2
a good question, because being in this industry now for over 15 years, predominantly working with businesses and investors, and I do manage a large number of buyers agents in the country as well, I see buyers agents actually achieve a lot sharper and quicker results for the clients than buying them themselves, because what the buyer’s agents are doing is deep, diving into data rather than getting a feel for the area. So data is their pinpoint and then that’s when they start to get their, you know, their boots on the ground, essentially, and start to run around and and find all the prospective properties in that area. So typically, speaking, very openly, buyers agents are achieving, from my personal opinion and from my view, significantly sharper results, quicker gains, compared to doing it on your own. Read More
Speaker 1
there’s so many different types of buyers agents in this space now, which I think is phenomenal, so much choice for the consumer, I guess. And when I get asked about, you know, when I’m speaking to prospective clients, I always say, look, there’s probably two different schools of buyer’s agents. You’ve got your more, larger, sort of transactional focused vas, and then you’ve got the smaller, type of boutique agency, which I’d sort of fall in that path where I’m not sort of going for volume, it’s more just that one on one, you know, sort of leverage the experience that I built up over 20 years. So it’s really about just working out which type of professional is going to be, you know, best for you. Do you need assistance with, you know, building out a strategy or a plan or or whatnot, or do you just need that sort of focus on selecting the right location and going out and buying I think that’s the difference between a lot of us in the industry, and there’s some phenomenal BAs in this space, a lot of newcomers, which are trying to give it a crack, and all power to them. But I think there’s a choice now for buyers or your investors out there, which I think is, is phenomenal. Yeah,
Speaker 2
I just feel that there’s an art, you know, seeing the very most successful buyers, agents, the art is a couple of things. The best ones I’ve seen have come from a background in some form of finance, real estate, or even in accounting, the best ones have had and built their own portfolio themselves and spent a lot of money on education. The good buyer’s agents are spent in 10s of 1000s, if not hundreds of 1000s of dollars a years up skilling themselves at any particular time. And you need to do it, because the market evolves. My industry as an accountant, I spend 10s of 1000s of dollars a year on on up skilling myself in education, not just for my professional development points, but more so. I need to be sharp. Read More
Speaker 1
Next up would be a property manager. So you bought your property. That’s great. You’re all excited. But something that shouldn’t be overlooked is, well, who’s going to be responsible for one, finding a great tenant and ongoing management I think it’s one of those industries that’s tough, one to work in. We’ve got a small property management business, and I see it at that sort of ground level. But look from my own portfolio, I think relying on good property managers is absolutely crucial. Most of my properties, of very rarely do you go physically see and most of them, you don’t really hear from the property manager. But for me, that’s fine. I only want to hear when there’s issues. But what sort of be a personal experience you’ve had with with good and bad property managers, and what do you feel are some of those sort of key traits that that make them really good? I will
Speaker 2
say number one, thank you to all the property managers out there, because, as you said, It’s a thankless job. It’s hard work because you’re dealing with the hardest consumer, which is people, and I think that’s a really tough spot. But personally, I’ve changed my tack with property managers over the last five to 10 years. I was a no news as a good news person, until I found out that no news was actually a lot of bad news. It was just getting covered up by lots of different things. That’s very true. I now do a fortnightly checkup. It was weekly for many years, and just time got in the way, but it’s a 15 to 20 minute phone call with all of my property managers. Must take you a week. It’s a half a day on a fortnight. But you know, when you’re running a portfolio worth, you know, 10s and 20 and $30 million you’ve got to treat it like a business. Read More
Speaker 1
absolutely. And something we explode to clients, I think it’s about, as a proactive investor, you’ve got to be monitoring the market, you know, it’s, I think the old concept of buy and hold forever is, you know, you you’re very pro selling assets if you feel that that market has reached its, you know, full potential, and then repurposing that capital into a different market. I think, yeah, the old buy and hold forever is a bit sort of outdated, having a more proactive strategy, be it close, you know, discussion with with your property managers, but then monitoring the market and just seeing where, you know where things are heading, so you can make some some key decisions. Great stuff there, mate, I guess the last couple of professionals which sort of round out your team would be a quantity surveyor, would be a conveyancer during that purchase process as well. Read More
Speaker 2
absolutely. Yeah, I think the good conveyancers and good solicitors are very commercially minded. I’ve seen my own deals where I’ve had to argue with solicitors that I’ve engaged myself personally to actually understand that is this a big issue? And they would spend 30 minutes explaining to me this issue, and I’d say, How many times have you ever seen this happen in your 30 year career? And they say, career? And they say, no, never happened. So why is this a big issue? Why is this something we’ve got to go back to the other side to try to get it amended if in 30 years you’ve never seen this issue happen. So I think commercially minded professionals is important. Yes, they’ve got to explain to the pros the cons and the risks, but at the same time, you got to draw upon their experience. Read More
Speaker 1
stories, especially in Queensland. Queensland conveyancing, if you miss some key dates, you don’t settle on time. People lose their deposit lines, big money on the line. I know there’s different, different things, like in New South Wales, where if you do, if the buyer doesn’t settle on the settlement date, you automatically get a notice to complete, which is an extra two week extension or thereabouts. Spot on, it’s got to be, you’ll be working with someone that’s really, really commercially minded and and onto it. Next up would be your quantity surveyor. So I guess for for listeners, quantity surveyors are all about they’re the experts that can come into a property and put a depreciation schedule together, real key piece you typically do that, post your purchase and then take your schedule to your accountant, like Jeremy and and they’ll process it in your tax return. Read More
Speaker 2
most providers won’t, won’t actually charge you a fee if they feel that there’s no benefit equivalent to their fee or more. And I’m a big fan, and I know Mike very well, and I use him for a lot of my clients as well, but you know, you’ve got to get a quantity surveyor to actually visit the property. There are a number of them post COVID, which got used to being able to just look at photos and being able to assess the depreciation. Read More
Speaker 1
Spot on, mate, spot on. And the last one was, you’re building your pest inspector. I guess when buying a property, it’s crucial during that cooling off period, during that sort of building and pest clause period, depending on which state you’re buying in, having someone that is really thorough can go through the property to give you an opinion on structural integrity of the building, any termite issues as well. But then, I guess the thing that we find with our clients is, look these reports come back, 3040, 50 pages long. Sound like the place is falling apart. It’s being able to just sit back and really interpret and understand where the key risks are in most residential properties. Everything is fixable. It’s a matter of what’s it going to cost to remediate something, but, yeah, working with someone that is thorough, but then can sit down and take the time to really explain where the key risks lie in a particular asset as well.
Speaker 2
I look at that as an opportunity. So a lot of people run away when they see properties in disrepair, and I look at that as an opportunity. You know, I’m going to an auction very soon where the property is that dilapidated. The agent won’t let anybody in. So there’s no point getting a pest and building report there, but it’s just to show that, you know, sometimes, while there might be a lot of things that need to be done, like you just said, in residential property, most things, in fact, are fixable, and even properties that are sinking, there’s a concept called underpinning, which essentially stops the property from sinking. Read More
Speaker 1
It’s funny, you have a what says what’s in the report versus what they’ll tell you over the phone. Can sometimes be very different, like in the report, they’ll absolutely tell you, put everything down because they’re concerned of potential liability, etc. But if they have an honest conversation with you over the phone or on the site, they’ll just say, yeah, look this, this place isn’t gonna it’s been here for 40 years. It’ll be here for another 40 we’ve had those conversations so many times. Read More
Speaker 2
mate. Absolute pleasure as well, and really looking forward to seeing you know your next, next couple of episodes. It’s an amazing journey that you’ve been on, and I know you’ve got a lot to share about your personal investment journey and some of the awesome things you’ve done over your career, and some of the things you’re doing with lots of your clients. I know I get the benefit of being able to see a lot of those properties. Ben, so thank you for sharing with some of those areas that I get to see. I won’t lie, I have had a peep at some of those areas and very interesting spots. So mate, thank you for having me, and it’s been a pleasure. Yeah,
Speaker 1
thanks, mate. And for the listeners, if you’re after a property savvy accountant that’s got plenty of experience and is a genuine, nice fella as well, reach out to Jeremy Janice Elliot, put his details in the notes for you to reach out. Look, we hope you’ve enjoyed this episode. And I guess for me, the key takeaways are, never embark on a property investment without the support of experienced professionals around you. Work with professionals who are also successful property investors themselves. I think that’s probably an underlooked one, but really important. And I guess, pay well for good advice. Nothing’s free these days. I think if you want to achieve what that professional has achieved in their life, well, it does come at a cost, and the reality is that it’ll pay itself off relatively quickly if you’re working with the right professional. And you know, looking for the cheapest price, but could cost you in the long run.
Darcy Milne
Thanks for listening to this episode of navigating property with Ben Paul. Be sure to click follow so you never miss a new episode and for more insights, visit BFP property.com catch you next time you.
