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Everyone “knows” a few things about property development: you have to be rich, all developers go broke, you need to be a builder, and the council will fight you every step of the way. The trouble is, most of it simply isn’t true.
In this episode, Hilary Saxton rapid-fires the most common property development lies at Bob Andersen — 40+ years and $1.5B+ in developments — and Bob debunks them one by one.
“You have to be a multi-millionaire”
Bob’s “biggest lie”. You need money, but not multi-millions. Most development finance comes from the non-bank sector, and the financier typically funds 75–80% of a project. Bob’s rough thumb rule: take your project’s end sale value and divide it by six — that’s roughly the cash you’d need to contribute.
“All developers go broke”
Fuelled by bad press and clickbait headlines. Some developers do come unstuck — but almost always through poor advice or poor numbers. Going broke isn’t the default outcome of development; it’s the outcome of doing it badly.
“You have to be a builder”
You don’t. Developers engage builders — building is one skill within a project, not the whole project. In fact, plenty of builders come through mentoring because they recognise their own gaps in finding sites, due diligence, feasibility and finance.
“Wait for the perfect time — and the perfect site”
Start before you’re ready, not when you’re ready. Don’t wait until you’ve saved every dollar of equity. And the “perfect site” is usually created, not found — by seeing what others miss and structuring the deal creatively.
“The council is always against me”
Generally, no. Some councils are more pro-development than others, attitudes change with elections and staff, and several states have been fast-tracking approvals. Good consultants with local relationships make a real difference.
“Skip the feasibility, quit your job, and wing it”
Three myths in one. You don’t need to quit your job — hundreds have started while working full-time. You can’t skip the feasibility — development is all about the numbers. And you can’t wing the education: as Bob puts it, “the graveyard is full of would-be developers” who thought they could.
Want the truth about getting started? Join Bob and Hilary’s free live masterclass. Register here.
General education only, not financial, legal or tax advice.