A Four Year Case Study

When we meet with new clients we often field the all-important question... "What are your results?"

It's a totally relevant question and we can cite past sales or point people towards past clients who are happy to be interviewed. Standing by a series of results is valuable though, and a recent purchase triggered me asking permission from my client to share his Victorian property purchase history, along with appraised values and rents.

It's with pleasure that we share this exciting, intense and very trusting journey we've had so far.

I have had the privilege of purchasing seven VIctorian properties for this client. Here is his Victorian portfolio story so far.....

Trent* made contact with me in early 2012. He was not Melbourne-based and was busy running a business locally. His desire to come down to Melbourne was minimal, and we quickly clicked. I was as surprised to work on a "client-sight-unseen" basis as he was to purchase in a suburb he'd never heard of.

Our first acquisition was only a month later in Melbourne's inner-west. I was introduced to an off-market sale in Seddon, just 6km west of the CBD and some 5 train stops from the city.


This double-fronted Victorian was a good buy at $620,000, and it marked the start of an ongoing business relationship with Trent.

The following purchase was in nearby Kensington and this time, the purchase was driven by a need to attract a higher rental yield. I targeted a three-story, three bedroom townhouse in an aggressive move to capitalise on the strong blend of capital growth prospects and strong rental yield. The dated 80's style townhouse had been refurbished and I secured it in the buyer's market during late 2012 for $506,000. 

Little was my client to know that he'd almost perfectly timed the bottom of the Melbourne house price slump.

By this stage, Trent had an appetite for more Melbourne properties and I chose to diversify him into the South-East. 

I located an off-market three bedroom renovated villa unit in a block of just three. The property was stuck in 1982 but had a great floorplan, an ensuite, two generously proportioned courtyards and a lockup garage with additional space in front for a second car. At $580,000 in late 2013, (well after Melbourne's property market was in recovery), this was undoubtedly not only a great buy, but a property poised for great potential.

The portfolio continued to roll out, and with a combination of four off-markets, two post-auction buys and one pre-auction buy, our happy client now has a sizeable property portfolio which is predominately made up of Victorian-based assets. 



Most interestingly though, when he calculated his ~$4.6M investment vs rental return and capital growth, his calculated equity gain of ~$1.2M was quite compelling.

If I can single out some of Trent's best decisions, they were to take cashflow calculations seriously, seek good advice on purchasing entities, and to trust a property professional when the right opportunity presented itself.

What I've really enjoyed about working with Trent is that he holds me accountable for the critical steps behind each purchase, he believes in the strategy and values our recommendations. He's consistently had a great property manager and he's not afraid to take on our advice throughout his journey in relation to how he managers his tenancies.

Trent's latest purchase was a proud one for us and we've featured it below with another "Off-Market Property for July."

Cate Bakos property celebrates it's second birthday today... two exciting, fulfilling and wonderful years! We want to thank our lovely clients, past and present, and especially our loyal supporters and industry friends. 

We're particularly excited to welcome our newest extended team member, Kate Bond. Kate brings a professional career of art and Melbourne lifestyle to us where #artandpropertycollide.

We love this sketch of our crazy little office.

And lastly... Cate's book is due to come out within the next month. After revisions, corrections and lots of input from loved ones, it's finally ready.

Special thanks to Tim Patterson from @digimediacreations, Des Dowling and the team.
To find out more or register interest for Cate's book click on the link.

Three proud July results are captured below.....