Key takeaway: Lisa Happ, Buyers Agent at Personalised Property Professionals, says investors should build a strategy around their own goals and numbers rather than chase hotspots or rush in because the rules changed. After 30 years in the market, she advises balancing capital growth with enough yield to hold, stress-testing for two more rate rises, and treating your portfolio like a business.
In this episode of Geared for Growth, Mike Mortlock is joined by Lisa Happ, Buyers Agent at Personalised Property Professionals, to unpack what property investors should be thinking about in the wake of the latest Budget changes.
With investor sentiment low and plenty of noise around changing tax rules, falling markets and the future of property investing, Lisa believes the fundamentals haven’t changed: investors need a strategy, they need to understand their numbers, and they need the right team around them.
Mike and Lisa discuss why rushing into an investment because the rules have changed can be a costly mistake, and why there are still opportunities for investors who are prepared to be patient and selective.
They also explore the growing importance of rental yield, the role of manufactured growth, co-living and rooming houses, and why investors need to think carefully before jumping into a strategy simply because it promises higher returns.
Lisa’s central message is simple: don’t let market noise dictate your investment strategy. Know where you are, know where you want to go, understand the numbers and build the right team to help you get there.
Lisa says a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house can be converted into six bedrooms with a shared kitchen, laundry and common area, approved as a rooming house with each room leased separately. Where the house might rent for $600 a week, rooms can fetch $350 to $400 each, taking six rooms past $2,000 a week. Landlords pay extras like water, electricity and Wi-Fi, but she says the higher outlay pays for itself over the long run.
Lisa’s first check is whether the buyers agent has bought property themselves and how long they’ve been investing, particularly in the sector they’re buying in. If they’re buying commercial, have they bought commercial property personally or worked in the industry as a sales agent or property manager? She is wary of buyers agents who have recently switched into commercial without that background, because leases and legal requirements make it a totally different game to residential.
Lisa says it starts with record keeping. She began with basic spreadsheets and moved to accounting software as the portfolio grew, so she could see which properties were making or losing money. Spend where it changes the rent: if a benchtop costs an extra $1,000 and won’t lift the rent, choose the cheaper one unless it lasts years longer. She also says you may need to change accountants as your structures become more complex.
Lisa believes periods of fear create opportunities for prepared investors. If you have the money and are sitting on the sidelines, she says do your numbers, work out the property that suits your strategy and end goal, and buy it, because the sooner you’re in the market the better. She suggests stress-testing your numbers against two more interest rate rises and keeping a buffer, noting some areas haven’t seen prices fall at all.
This is general information from the podcast, not financial advice.
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