BUY CHEAP AND FLIP ’ EM

SELF- MADE businessman Brad Webb says the key to profiting from property is patience and knowing how to make money at the bottom of the market.

Mr Webb, who heads up BM Webb Industrial Property, is considered one of North Queensland’s most successful investment identities.

He came from humble beginnings and grew up in Wulguru before becoming a diesel mechanic.

He then started investing in residential property, and expanded to commercial property before making his fortune in his industrial estate, which now forms his core business.

Mr Webb’s no- nonsense approach to finance has paid big dividends and he says despite the negativity in Townsville, there is still plenty of money to be made from property.

“I think 40 years of gut- busting has probably made me money, and consistency, staying with one thing and taking little steps,” he said.

“If you’re going to be in property you have to be good at every level of the market and I think there is a lot of money to be made, perhaps even more in bad times than there is good times.

“Boom times are the worst and that’s why these times are the best.”

Mr Webb said savings were key, as well as a hefty deposit of between 20 to 30 per cent and people just starting out in property investment should begin with residential.

“Everyone starting off should go residential and low- cost residential,” he said.

“You have to have a substantial deposit and don’t tell me you’ve got no savings but you’re good at making repayments because if you can’t save a deposit you might pay the payments but you’re never going to save the money to pay the debt quickly enough to get the equity to get the return out of it to invest in the second property.

“Don’t pay too much for stuff, don’t be greedy, and most of all, the key is patience.”

Mr Webb, who has now been in the industrial property industry for more than 30 years, has seen numerous economic cycles in Townsville and says times will get better.

“Townsville is not dead. There is too much good stuff here,” he said.

“We’ve got agriculture, the port, manufacturing, the army and education.

“I think we need to take more pride in what we do and we certainly need water.” metal PROPERTY flipper Sam Browning is successfully turning a profit by buying houses dirt cheap, renovating them and selling.

Mr Browning owns Avenue Developments with his business partner Alexander Goldfinch.

He was briefly a lawyer before trying his hand at real estate, which led him to property investment and he has now renovated eight different homes. Mr Browning hasn’t been deterred by Townsville’s soft residential market.

“Due to my time in the real estate industry I do know I’m renovating in a declining market so the budgets have to be tight and wherever you can save money you need to,” he said.

“If you need a hole dug then dig it yourself because you learn what over capitalising means really quickly. It’s also about trying to use the materials you have left on site.”

Mr Browning said he had made mistakes along the way, especially when renovating his first property at 63 First Avenue in South Townsville, which hit the market at the same time Queensland Nickel collapsed. “That was the one I learnt the most from,” he said.

“I bought it at the right price but I overcapitalised on it because I wanted it to look schmick.

“I moved the utilities during the project and if you move a whole kitchen you then have to redo all the plumbing underneath. It rented out straight away so I just held on to that one as an equity slinger.”

Mr Browning said he always bought homes in city fringe suburbs that had g good floor plans.pl He is renovating a property at 46 Morris St, West End, which he hopes to have finished in about three weeks before listing it for sale. He said knowing his tradesmen well and making sure they were looked after had proven vital to his success.

“I know every single one of my contractors,” he said.

“A lot of people want to know how to do this but you need at least 14 different trades to start off with.

“You have to get three quotes for everything but don’t always go with the cheapest because you want to pay for quality. Everything gets insured for seven years so you have to make sure you’re using top- notch contractors.

“You also have to know the market conditions and read the paper so you know what’s going on around the place and just speak with people.” AT HOME WITH CARO, KINGI AND HALIA