The Property Academy Podcast

In this episode, we discuss how Australian house prices have fared under several property taxes. We discuss the details of land taxes, vacant residential land tax, stamp duty and a capital gains tax. We find that, even with all of these taxes, Australian prices have increased at only a slightly slower rate than here in New Zealand over the last 20 years.  Finally, we wrap up the show by talki...

In this episode, we discuss whether New Zealand is in its own property bubble ... and compare NZ house price increases v.s. the world.  Throughout the show, we go through the property price increases that countries throughout the world are experiencing and compare that to our experience in New Zealand.  We also discuss our upcoming property investment webinar , where we'll discuss the pr...

In this episode, we discuss debt to income ratios, including where they have been implemented overseas and how they've been implemented in other countries.  We then talk about the sort of debt to income ratios we expect could be introduced, here in New Zealand, along with how this will impact local property investors.  The show wraps up be mentioning our upcoming property investment webi...

In this episode, we discuss property educators such as Dean Leftus, who went bankrupt between 2007-2012. These educators positioned themselves as property and financial experts ... but were they really experts? That's the subject of today's show. We detail their claims, the results their students say they achieved, and also go through the learnings for anyone considering using a property educator...

In this episode, we discuss the main problem we often see with property investment coaches and the property investment industry... they think one another's strategies are wrong and pull each other down.  Here, we discuss a property educator who's story we admire – Lucia Xiao. We share the details from her recent feature in the PropertyInvestors magazine and some of her comments related t...

In this episode, we discuss what you can do if you are contracted to settle on a new build ... but you can't settle because you no longer meet the banks criteria and can no longer get the loan.  This is particularly top of mind given the LVR restrictions are set to change in March 2021.  There are three things you can do: 1) apply for lending through the other major banks, 2) apply for l...

In this episode, we discuss the practicalities of getting a flatmate to help you pay off your mortgage more quickly. This includes digging into tax and insurance concerns ... Should you tell your insurance company that you're going to get a flatmate? Do you need to pay tax on the income that you generate by having a flatmate? And what sort of agreements do you need to have in place. If you have a...

In this episode, we discuss the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand property report for October 2020. This report showed that the median sale price in NZ lifted 19.8% in the last 12 months, and that property prices, on the whole, were up 13.5% year on year.  We also discuss how other indicators of the property market are faring ... days to sell, inventory and new listing coming on the market...

In this episode, we discuss the recent letters sent between the Minister of Finance (Grant Robertson) and the Reserve Bank Governor (Adrian Orr).  Mr Robertson had written to the Governor about his concerns around rising house prices. He suggested a small change to the remit of the central bank, that would explicitly ask the Reserve Bank to consider rising house prices when making monetary po...

In this episode, we are joined by Nigel – a listener of the show – who funded his overseas experience and travel through his investment properties.  Here, Nigel shares how he did it, his current portfolio structure and size, and also his advice for investors who are just starting out on their journey. This episode came because Nigel texted in the topic idea through our number 5522. If you'd l...

In this episode, we discuss the Healthy Homes Act and the percentage of properties that don't meet the standards. This is based on the property management book of Venture Management, our inhouse property management firm. We find that there are 6 key areas where properties are failing the new standards: draughts, insulation, heating, ventilation, drainage, and windows. Remember, if you have a topic...

In this episode, we discuss the difference between the Treasury and the Reserve Bank ... and their respective impact on house prices.  The Treasury exists to advise the government on its fiscal policy (the money the government spends), while the Reserve Bank focusses on monetary policy, such as lending and bank regulation. All up, the Reserve Bank has more of an ability to impact house prices...

In this episode, we discuss who the largest property developers in New Zealand are. This is based on the data released from BCI, a data firm, who focusses solely on the construction industry.  We go through the stats for each region to point out some key differences within each part of New Zealand. Finally, we wrap up by talking about the usefulness of the data and how you would practically u...

In this episode, we discuss how to get the bank to renew your interest only loan. This is a critical topic, because sometimes your interest only period and your fixed interest period can get out of sync.  This becomes an issue for property investors who mid-way through a fixed interest period find themselves paying principal and interest, and not being able to get out of it without paying a b...

In this episode, we discuss the difference between the term / timing that a bank will document a loan over to calculate minimum repayments and the actual term that you pay the mortgage back over.  This is important for investors to get their head around, because if you increase your repayments and allow the bank to shorten the documented term, then you will hurt your ability to get further le...

In this episode, we discuss Labour's new top tax rate of 39% and whether it will have an impact on property investor's ability to secure a mortgage.  Throughout the show, we run multiple models to figure out exactly how much less a high-earning property investor would be able to borrow from the bank. We end up agreeing that fro each $10k you earn over the threshold ($180k), you will be able t...

In this episode, we discuss the LVR restrictions that are soon to be reintroduced by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. These are expected to be reintroduced in March 2021, after the central bank finishes its consultation. It's generally expected that investors purchasing existing investment properties will require a 30% deposit. We also expect that investors purchasing brand new properties will be...

In this episode, we test out a new format where Ed has selected clips from the Reserve Bank's latest monetary policy statement.  Most interestingly, the RBNZ has announced a Funding For Lending programme. This is where the central bank will lend up to $28 billion to retail banks to on-lend to mortgage holders and businesses.  The central bank's goal is to decrease interest rates and put...

In this episode, we discuss a question from a listener of the show who runs active investment strategies. The bank would lend him 50% of the money for a project. But, after that project, he wants to know if they'll let him refinance above 50% of the properties new value.  We go on to detail some of the projects he's worked on over the last year, before wrapping up by mentioning the launch of...

In this episode, we discuss the New Zealand property company, Property Factory. This is a property sourcing company run by Campbell Venning that sources off the plans properties for Kiwi property investors. Here, we discuss what some of their terms mean, and delve into their analysis of a specific property they have recently been marketing.  We also mention our new number, which you can text...

In this episode, we discuss a few recent articles where Sir Bob Jones, New Zealand's most well-known billionaire, forecasts a property market crash. In the articles, he is quoted as saying that he has $250 million of cash ready to buy up property once prices begin to fall. We discuss that Sir Bob is a global commercial investor, and so his comments may not directly translate into the New Zealand r...

In this episode, we answer another question from a listener of the show ... this time, delving into how the tenancy tribunal works.  Typically, you have 60 days from the end of a tenancy to take your tenants to the tribunal. After that, you need to have a valid reason why it's been left past 60 days ... and you also need to have a servicing address for the tenants.  We also mention our n...

In this episode, we discuss particularly novel strategies to tap into the Bank of Mum and Dad, with a focus on how to set these agreements up right. One of the novel strategies discussed is the idea of getting grandparents or parents to take out a reverse mortgage and then use it as the deposit for a property. We discuss the perceived pitfalls of this strategy and then detail a few alternatives th...

In this episode, we discuss the removal of the LVR restrictions that occurred earlier this year and whether we believe the Reserve Bank will bring them back in during 2021. We also discuss the impact we believe new LVR restrictions would have, and come to the conclusion that they likely wouldn't slow house price growth. We also mention our new number, which you can text us on. If you have a topic...

In this episode, we discuss how to negotiate fees with real estate agents, and especially when in the process to negotiate fees with agents.  Ed walks through a model of setting expectations early with your agent so they know what they're expected to live up to. Andrew then shares his war stories of how he's negotiated fees with agents in the past.  We also mention our new number, which...