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Introduction
Ask most people what makes a successful property developer and they will point to the size of the project. Bob and Hilary see it differently. What actually separates the developers who build wealth from the ones who struggle is not the deal, it is the decisions.
In episode 263 of the Property Mastermind Podcast, Bob Andersen and Hilary Saxton unpack the million-dollar decisions every developer makes. Not multi-million-dollar projects, but the aggregation of marginal gains, the compiled choices where one wrong move can derail everything. Here is the short version.
Decision 1: The site
The worst decision a developer can make is buying the wrong site, and it usually comes from rushing or skipping the due diligence. But here is the nuance: moving fast is not the same as rushing. If you know your patch, know your pricing, and know how to do your due diligence, you can act on a great site in hours and still make the right call. One developer Bob knows locked up a site within three hours, because all the groundwork was already done.
Two traps sit alongside it. Buying too early, where a site simply does not stack up yet and you are left waiting years for the market to catch up. And paying too much, usually when emotion takes over at auction. The fix is the same in both cases: do your due diligence, run a proper feasibility, and let that set your maximum. The land is worth whatever number goes into a feasibility that still leaves you an adequate profit. That is your top bid, and you do not go over it.
Decision 2: The builder
The wrong builder is an expensive mistake, and often a hidden one: variations that pile up, quality you cannot see, contracts that leave the door wide open. Do your due diligence. Check references and referrals, including people the builder finished for twelve months ago, because some problems only show up after they have gone. Look at their work, and look at their sites. A good builder keeps a clean, tidy worksite. Rubbish out the front and offcuts everywhere is a genuine warning sign, as are slow or unreliable communicators.
And remember the cheapest quote is rarely the best. Bob’s approach is a select tender: choose three good builders you would be happy to work with first, then get your quotes. Whoever wins, you win. You do not throw a dart at the wall and hope.
Decision 3: The joint venture partner
A bad joint venture is like a bad marriage. If your money or equity partner is on the title and the loan with you, conflict along the way drains your energy and your project. It has to be win-win. That means the same vision, and, just as importantly, similar values, not simply someone who has the money. Bob and Hilary have seen a student walk away from an apartment deal at the eleventh hour because a controlling partner turned it into win-lose. As they put it, it took them four years to find the right person to bring into Property Mastermind. Choosing your partner is worth the same care.
Decision 4: The selling agent and your exit strategy
At the back end of a project your loan is fully drawn and interest is ticking every day, so the right selling agent matters. Bob learned this the hard way, locking an agent in for 90 days, realising within three weeks he was wrong, and being stuck. His rule now: put agents on a 30-day trial and roll it in 30s if they perform. Never 90 days up front.
The bigger decision is your exit strategy, and it belongs at the beginning, not the end. Sell or keep, refinance or not, it changes how you structure the whole project. Decide late and you can walk straight into stamp duty and capital gains issues, because with the ATO, your original intention matters. Get the right advice from a property lawyer and accountant and set it up right from day one, rather than putting band-aids on it at the end.
Decision 5: Knowing when to walk away
You can only really walk away before your contract goes unconditional. After that, walking away can cost you your deposit or expose you to a claim for specific performance. That is exactly why the due diligence and feasibility up front matter so much: they keep you out of situations you would later want to escape. Property development gets hard, but “this is too hard, I’m out” is not an option once you are committed.
The most important decision: back yourself
The best decision of all is the one to begin. If you have been thinking about property development, back yourself and do it, rather than failing the rocking-chair test of wishing you had. As Bob and Hilary say, the people who succeed at this are everybody: builders, professionals, people in their thirties, first-timers from every walk of life. You just have to know what you need to know, and get the knowledge or the help to make the right decisions.
Want to learn how to run a development from finding a site through to settlement? Join our free masterclass on Saturday 15 August.
Listen to the full episode on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.
General education only, not financial, legal or tax advice.