Property management in 30 minutes: How this investor does it

Education also stands as one of his top priorities as being up-to-date with current market movements and trends helps him make the right decisions.

However, as a property investor, Mr Gray describes himself as mostly “contrarian”.

While his peers are poring over all available resources trying to be an expert in as many markets as they could, he prefers to make use of his time and energy a little more sparingly.

Mr Gray explained: “I know my numbers in terms of what properties I’ve got, my mortgages, my rents—all of those are on Excel. But a lot of people assume that I'm across the markets all around Australia… I’m not.”

“I know one thing very, very well, which is the blue-chip, medium-price, secondhand market. I don’t understand Melbourne, Brisbane and all those other places. We use experts for that.”

While it’s definitely possible to be an expert in the Australian property market through continuous education and an unyielding dedication to the industry, the investor has always preferred to utilise outsourcing and delegation to build and grow his portfolio through the years.

Much like running a business, this strategy has allowed him to be on top of his wealth and assets with the help of more experienced professionals.

“In a business. the CEO handles  the sales, marketing and accounting departments, the stocks and all the rest of it, but he doesn't necessarily know every little thing. Still, he's the one that makes the decisions and he's the one that makes the money – that’s how I am. So even if I’m overseas, I can be confident that the whole thing is working,” he highlighted.

Building the portfolio

Before being able to hold a 14-property portfolio worth $15 million, Mr Gray was an accountant who aspired to break into the blue-chip property market.

According to him: “I started in the UK. I lived in a good area and a nice suburb and my philosophy always was: if you rent to people with good jobs, they will always pay the rent because they don’t want their boss finding out that they haven’t paid the rent. Really, really simple philosophy.”

Through the education that he got from different sources, including successful investors and property professionals, the budding investor was able to formulate a strategy that eventually brought him the success that he enjoys now.

“I guess I just fit my strategy into that demographic and really tried to understand that demographic. It just carried on… I actually still have the same strategy that I had when I was 22 and I knew nothing.”

Over the years, Mr Gray has also learned how to filter the advice that he gets so that his strategy stays in line with his personal goals, capabilities and limitations as an investor.

“One of the bits of advice I was given before is playing with 10 per cent of your portfolio and reinvesting one per cent to your education. So, years ago, I did a house-and-land package in Queensland as a joint venture with Australians in the UK. The property went okay – it went up 50 per cent. But, in Sydney, property values were going up by 100 per cent.”

“Is that a mistake? Maybe, maybe not. But while I did make a profit, I just knew that the strategy is not going to suit me moving forward… My main portfolio remains to be a ‘buy and hold blue-chip’ portfolio,” the investor shared.

Smart property management

For Mr Gray, his success in property investment comes largely from working hard and working smart.

With 12 properties in Australia and two properties in the United Kingdom, it could be easy to imagine him having a hard time managing his portfolio. However, in reality, it only takes him 30 minutes a month to get on top of everything.

Basically, he updates his Excel files and calendars and, if absolutely necessary, speaks to the professionals that handles his portfolio.

“I’ve got an Excel sheet and a calendar to keep track. Since I know when my rents and mortgages are due, I just go and fill out the sheet with the right numbers. It takes half an hour a month. That’s all I need.”

“It’s basically managing by default rather than being an active manager,” Mr Gray concluded.

Tune in to Chris Gray's episode on The Smart Property Investment Show to know more about building a multi-property portfolio in today's property market.

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