Most people who want to do property development have some money. Just not enough. And that gap is where most deals die, not because the deal was bad, but because the person walked away rather than bring someone else in. On a recent episode of the Property Mastermind Podcast, Bob Andersen and Hilary Saxton unpacked how joint ventures close that gap, starting with Bob’s own first two projects. Here is the short version.
Almost every development is already a joint venture
Take the two words literally. A property development is a venture. Joint means more than one party. By that definition, the moment a financier lends you 80 percent of the project cost, you are in a joint venture. The financier puts in at least four times what you do and only wants an interest return. No share of the profit. As Hilary put it, that is the best joint venture partner you will ever have. The only question is how you cover the other 20 percent.
Vendor finance: Bob’s first deal
Bob wanted to be a developer and had some money, but not enough to buy a site and subdivide it. He had deliberately gone into selling land subdivisions because nobody taught development in those days. A landowner named Tony listed a block that already had a permit for four lots. Bob told him he would love to develop it but did not have the money. Tony’s answer: money’s the easiest part.
Tony let Bob use the land as security to borrow the development money. Bob paid half the land value at settlement and owed the other half at interest under a second mortgage, which he paid out after selling the lots. That is a vendor finance deal, and the profit bought Bob a house for cash.
An equity partner: Bob’s second deal
Keith, an earthmover who was dating Bob’s sister, watched the first project and offered to fund the next one and go halves. Bob put in no money at all. That is a joint venture with an equity partner: one party brings the equity, both borrow the rest together, and they share the result. Once you have done one deal and are talking about it, people want to do the next one with you.
Syndicates: three live projects
Bob and Hilary’s development company, Ultra Urban, currently has three syndicated joint ventures running, where a group of investors put up the equity and the team runs the development.
North Harbour, 16 industrial units. They decided on an industrial project, went looking between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, and found a subdivision that had already sold out off the plan. They stayed in touch with the agent and were offered a lot when another developer needed to let one go. An option locked it up, the development permit was obtained before settlement so there was no interest on the land during approvals, and the investors came in under the option. The building is finished, close to half sold before titles, and the project is worth around $19 million.
A childcare centre refurb. A 32-year-old centre that had sat empty for a year, bought in late 2025. The key to bank finance was signing a long-term operator before the refurb began. Vandals stole the piping and flooded the building, which revealed pre-existing mould. A loan partner covered the extra cost for an interest return, the incoming tenant agreed to a higher rent, and the higher rent lifts the end value. Rent more than covers the interest while it waits for a March sale, and investors are looking at around 30 percent a year.
Bundamba, 24 industrial units. About 6,000 square metres near Ipswich, 50 percent bigger than North Harbour, with construction just started.
Top-ups are normal, not a crisis
Two of the three projects needed more money part way through: $120,000 on the $19 million project, and around $350,000 after the vandalism. Both came from investors who wanted an interest return, one already in the syndicate and one who had recently emailed asking for a project. On a project of that size, a top-up makes no dent in the profit. It is just something that happens, and there is a structure for it.
The ways to cut a deal
- Vendor finance: the landowner leaves part of the price in the deal, secured by a second mortgage.
- Equity partner: a partner brings the equity, you bring the deal and the work, and you share the profit.
- Loan partner: someone lends the shortfall for an agreed interest return, with no share of profit.
- Landowner joint venture: the landowner contributes the land as their stake in the project.
- Syndicate: a group of investors fund the equity and the developer runs the project.
The cost of waiting
If Bob had waited to build enough equity in a house, save the deposit, or take a second job, his first deal would have been five or ten years later. Think about how much a developer makes in five years of small projects, and that is what waiting costs. It is like trying to save up to pay cash for a house. Nobody does that. They use the financier, and they use a structure for the rest.
Want the full stories, including the vandalism, the mould and the investor who emailed at exactly the right time? Listen to episode 271 of the Property Mastermind Podcast. And if not having enough money is the thing holding you back, joint ventures are the focus of this year’s Property Development and Joint Ventures Workshop on the Gold Coast, 9 to 11 October 2026, with an online kickoff on 1 October.