I’ve spent the evening writing Christmas cards to all the people in my builder’s office. I wanted to make sure each person was acknowledged for all their hard work on our projects this year.

But what I didn’t realise was just how much hard work they’d done.

Funny, but it’s taken until now, Christmas card writing, for me to have the time to tally up the projects we’ve completed construction on, commenced construction and started preliminary work on and put into the pipeline this year.

For those of you who follow my writings (I am grateful), you may be aware that I started my property journey 14 years ago.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on what’s happened over that time. It’s nice to allow time to remember because life can be so hectic.

14 years ago I purchased my first investment property. I had purchased two homes (principal places of residence – PPRs) before then but one of them hardly counts.

Property developing can throw many different challenges at you and one thing I have learnt after managing over one hundred developments is that there is always a solution to a problem.

The trick is to understand what possible issues could arise and preparing yourself for them.

You see, the development process is not an exact science because every development site is different.

I used to love the show and I’m always yelling ‘take the deal!’ as I vigorously rub the tips of my fingers together (this may sound weird if you haven’t seen the show).  My pleads directed at the TV get louder as the odds get slimmer.  I realised from playing this game even though I’m a property developer, I don’t like to take too much of a risk if it means losing money.

This threw me a bit as I always thought of myself as a risk taker.  Then I worked out that I do like risk, but only calculated risk.

This week I sat around a table with a group of very important people. What made them so important?

Well, with input from these particular people we could make a massive difference in the result of this property development.

We were meeting to brainstorm the best way to plan, design and build six villas on a 2000sqm block of land that I had sourced for my client.

This week I listened in to a coaching call. It was a prominent company who have been selling their coaching/mentoring program for a while and I was curious to see what they offered.

It took me back to when I started my investment journey 15 years ago. I knew very little about property investing and all the different strategies you can use to grow your wealth.

With the help of hindsight, I reflected on just how I got going on my journey. I reduced it down to 3 important piece.

When it comes to developing, we have all heard about the Development Application (DA) and the Construction Certificate (CC), but how and what exactly is involved with each council approval?  It is important to understand this process before you start developing.    

When we receive a client’s Development Application (DA) Consent it’s always an exciting time.

Receiving council approval is one of the major milestones of a property development and it should be celebrated. But the champagne and toasts can wait because there is one thing you must do immediately. 

After we find a development site for our client, one of the most important processes is to negotiate not only the purchase price, but the terms of the purchase.

Terms are the conditions you want to use when purchasing the property - and using terms can help put you in a powerful negotiating position.

Whilst there has been so much commentary this week on the Federal Budget, I thought we could talk about a different type of Budget - one that’s just as important to property developers as the Budget is to the politicians. Budgeting well for your building or construction works is crucial to the success (or not) of your development.

Whilst property developing is mostly all about numbers, if you don’t have the right mindset then you may find it hard to succeed. This goes for most things in life really.

The building estimate you start with will nearly always be different to the one you end with. When pricing a development, it is important to know that your building estimate is an organic creature.

Today I met with two of my lovely clients to celebrate the completion of their dual occupancy project.  Friends Karen and Katie decided to do a joint venture (JV) with the goal of each ending up with a villa after subdivision.

We receive lots of calls from property investors wanting to talk to us about developing. During our initial chat we discuss their goals and achievements to date with property. Usually we find that most people have at least one investment property, some have several. Some have built a house before but most haven’t. Then we discuss what property developing is like as an experience to see if they think it may suit them.

A fairly simple development strategy for a first time developer wanting to boost their property portfolio is a dual occupancy project.

Housing diversity in property development in response to changes in the housing market driven by demographics, affordability and lifestyle trends.

The Australian Property Institute publish a 395 page long document on valuation standards. That's how complicated the valuation process can be.

OK, here we go again. 2016 has well and truly kicked in and before we know it January will be gone. Struth, it's Australia Day next week!