An easy three-point checklist for finding good properties
Most property investors find their own ways to identify a good investment—for Jazz Sidana, who has been in the business of creating wealth through property for around a decade, a good investment is an asset with the right price, surrounded by different socio-economic drivers that fuel both cash flow and yield.
While many people would say that the number of properties in a portfolio is a gauge for an investor’s success, Jazz believes that it is more important to focus on certain characteristics of an asset in order to actually achieve his long-term goals.
For around a decade, he built an impressive six-property portfolio by following this checklist:
1. Make sure to pay the right price
Before purchasing a property, Jazz always makes sure of is whether or not he will be paying the right price. According to him, regardless of the bank’s evaluation of the property, he would always take time to assess it for himself with the help of property professionals.
“I'll do my own evaluation first just to figure out where it's at by speaking to different agents and everything… And then if I'm still not sure, I'll go and get the evaluation independently, which is going to cost me four or five hundred bucks—not a big deal,” he said.
2. Buy in the right area
Like many property investors, the location of an asset plays a big role in Jazz’s decision-making.
The right area, he said, is “[surrounded by] enough infrastructure and places, communicable to the job centre, hospitals, universities and all.”
Jazz saw to it that all of his six properties are in areas that are poised for economic growth in the coming years.
“There's like 50,000 jobs coming up in the next 15 years over there… It's probably [some] of the best vibrant areas over there in the outer suburbs,” the property investor shared.
3. Identify the right ‘supply and demand’ rate
An area’s population is telling of the rate of supply and demand for dwellings, hence, a growing population is always a good news for a property investor.
According to Jazz: “If you can hold onto a block of land, which is where there's not enough supply, then you can truly do well of. There's not a lot that can go wrong in that case… Down the line, as long as the population keeps growing, it's going to do okay.”
In the next two years, Jazz plans to increase the value of his portfolio to $5 million. Eventually, he aims to create a flow of passive income consistent enough—around $150,000 annually—to let him retire or, at the very least, give him the freedom to work whenever he likes.
Smart Property Investment’s Phil Tarrant, who is an avid investor himself, believes that his approach is a good strategy for wealth creation through real estate.
“It's not the right way to actually frame your investment. You need to be understanding that the number of [your] property is largely irrelevant [because] it's about the formats of these properties, and how they contribute to your goals and aspirations, and what you hope to do through property investment,” Phil said.
“I'm not one of those people who can really sit free for very long, so I'll start building something again, but… as long as I've got that much income coming in[;] if I don't have to worry about our daily bread and butter thing, then it's good, essentially,” Jazz concluded.
Tune in to Jazz Sidana’s episode on The Smart Property Investment Show to know more about his insights on how he realised the opportunities around property investment, how he plans to reach his fundamental goal of “financial freedom,” and his number one tip for new migrants in Australia.