Come with us as we discuss his background from starting in India and making his way to Australia, deciding to change his career from being an engineer to getting into the property industry, how his property investing journey began, hear some amazing stories about his first property deals, what he had to do to learn about property and who he learnt from and much much more!

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We walked onto the property further down in Bathurst and I said, you know what, this time I'm going to apply all the strategies, I'll buy a property, I will renovate it and then I'll convert into a cash cow.

This is Property Investory where we talk to successful property investors to find out more about their stories, mindset and strategies.

 

I’m Tyrone Shum and in this episode we’re speaking with property buyer’s agent, Sanjeev Sah. We delve into his background and where his journey started in his homeland of India, why he wanted to move from his first career in engineering into the property world, hear some amazing stories about the first properties that he bought and much much more!

We dive right in and Sah walks us through a detailed account of what he does on a typical day.

01:03          Generally I wake up around 5:30-6:00 and the first thing I do is go to my treadmill, run for say 20 to 30 minutes and then have my tea. And then I go and check my emails and prioritise my day, okay, what are my top priorities for the day? And that's where I quickly see what's on because when the day starts it’s pretty much full on and it just continues. Then I get ready around 8:30, me and my wife and my daughter will have breakfast together. So that’s daily pretty much, we might miss one or two days in a month, but pretty much we'll have breakfast. And then my daughter’s school is pretty much two minutes walk from my house and my wife would drop or sometimes I drop her off, my daughter chooses who's going to drop her off.

02:04          And luckily my wife works from home actually. So it's very flexible. Then look at emails and then start work where I’m either researching the property for my clients or I'm talking to my clients or talking to the agents. And then negotiating the deals. And then towards the end of the day, in between I'm taking a break doing maybe some reading or something like that or just going for some personal meetings or something like that, talking to my team. And then in the evening talk to a couple of people because once they're back to work then I might have a couple of calls and then pretty much 9:00-10:00 back to bed. 

03:00          You mentioned your wife works from home too. What does she do?

03:03          She is with Westpac and she is a senior risk analyst and she been there for the last five years. But in the last year she has gotten the opportunity to work from home and she goes to the office but maybe once or twice in a month just for a team meeting or something like that. And her office is not far, it’s like half an hour from where we live so it's not that bad, but it's still a good opportunity to work from home.

The importance of family for Sah is fundamental, allowing him to have the flexibility to pursue a career path he really enjoys.

03:54          That was the driving force of all my actions. I was in an IT job for close to 15 years before I get into property full time and that was my driving force. That's where it helped me to push me to really go hard in the property world and build a portfolio and passive income so that one day I can quit the job and really spend time with my daughter.

04:33          Spend time with my wife or my parents in India. So I think time is the biggest asset because when parents are growing old, they don't need your money, it's your time. Once you have time you can't give anyone anything and that was my top priority, which was non-negotiable. That's where it really pushed me to get a lot of education in the property world. Without having any fear which is part of life. Even though I had to feel, but then when you have a really strong why and bigger goals, then you don't hear the 90% of the population saying, you know what, that's going to be part of the process. But you're always looking at your other side, which is your goals. 

We delve into his background and learn more about what made him become the person he is today.

05:43          I come from India. I grew up in Ranchi, it's the capital of one of the states back in India called Jharkhand. Dhoni, who is a famous cricket player, comes from my city. So a lot of people know Ranchi from his name, M.S. Dhoni. So growing up there I studied in private schools and all those things. And until class 12th, after that I went to another side of India, which is on the south side for my higher education to do my engineering, computer science. So that was another four years. And pretty much after that I think I got an IT job because I did engineering, computer science. So I think that time, I think it was interesting that IT was moving and I'm not sure what to do. And like I was good in maths and science, but in India you’re either a doctor, accountant, or an engineer, especially when I was growing up at that time and that's why I chose IT, even not knowing what it is.

07:03          Even though I had a cousin who did engineering and moved to the US. So I think as always, it's a good opportunity to maybe get into a good job. It was a good salary and you might go overseas. So did engineering and got a good job. So I worked for two and half years in India. And soon after I got the opportunity to come to Melbourne. They sent me to Melbourne saying, we have a project for six months. I was a Java developer at that time and I come to Melbourne. I was working with senses, which was part of Telstra at that time. So we were building a website on eCommerce, similar to eBay and that six months become two and a half years and I was pretty much absorbed with the local market.

08:06          And I got a local job also. So I think a lot of other leadership team from last company asked if I wanted to join the company. And it was a good opportunity for me because from 457 I was getting a local 457, that's the visa. So that's a work visa that time. And that's where I got a job and luckily here in Australia back in 2009 and then moved to Sydney and that time I got married. So in 2010, my wife joined me in Sydney and from 2010 I'm pretty much in Sydney.

Sah talks to us about the story of how he met his wife and the whole process of how that came about. 

09:07          One of my mentors, he introduces me in his events when sometimes I get opportunities to talk about and people laugh. So I was in Australia and what happened is that my parents were looking for me because in India we have a different culture like you get time to marry and they’ll say, Oh, I will look for you and all those things. And I said, okay, you two look. And I will also help with that. So given I was overseas in Australia, they said you’re not getting married to anyone in India or Australia. It’s their mindset because they have never been overseas or anything. I said okay to keep my parents happy and I wasn't happy in a relationship anyways. So I joined a matrimonial service back in India and that's where I started looking and talking to a couple of people also. And that's where I met my wife too. So we started chatting and then I said, okay, you know what, before, if we want to get married then both of our families have to meet and luckily everything went okay and then my wife joined me in Australia. 

11:34          That's an amazing story. Wow, I love that. And then from there, obviously you guys came to Sydney. How did that all happen? Because he said, you're in Melbourne working in Melbourne with census, and then you moved into another company. Was that company specifically in Sydney? And that's why you moved to Sydney.

11:50          They're French, it's a huge, very big consulting firm. It's called Capgemini. So they're everywhere. They had a rule, because when you join a company, they need to have a rule. So they say, you know what, best practice of applying, they have a big rule in Sydney, would you like to move? And I was an immigrant anyways, right. So I'm like, okay, Sydney is bigger. So I said, okay, I'll move. 

So since then you moved into Sydney and what happened from there? 

12:31          We got married and moved to Sydney. In 2010, what happened is I met someone on the train and they asked me what I do and I said I’m in IT. They really talked highly of it like saying how it was a good job and was smart and good. And they say, you know what, we have an event where we look for like minded people and why don't you come to meet us? And at that time, because my wife had moved and I was new to Sydney, I was looking for more networking people and I was very open, I think it was on a Monday evening and I went there and they were talking about financial freedom and how we should work for something like a passive income. And they were talking about like what job is good but it's one of the wrong strategy to make money because you're trading your time for money. I was like, Oh my God, I heard about those things at first. Actually I was close to 30, I think 29-30 years old.

13:44          I spoke to my wife and she says, these words were like from [inaudible] if you know. And they said, would you like to sign up? And so I said, okay, let's get it started. So I bought $400 worth of product because you buy a product and that's what you see. And that's the first time in my life I read something, I started buying books, how to think and grow rich, how to win, those kind of books, and this was my first time reading them. So I started buying like $20 books and I was like, Oh my God, there's a different world. Because I thought like work, getting a good education, work hard is the only way to make money.

14:45          And then once you're really good at the job, you have money and then you may go and open your business. Someone who has got really good amount of money and that's what you start a small business or a big business. Even though I was coming from a business background, my parents had a business but it was more the traditional business. You go open the shop everyday, you make some money and if you don't go, you don't make money. So that's opened my mind in 2010 and fully gone aggressive in that for one year that I learned so much and talking to people. And then somehow I said all this is something not for me because then I'm relying on other people to go and implant them and grow my business.

We find out more about the short time after Sah decided to change his career course in another direction. 

15:35         I realized that even though it's good, it was not something that I was liking. And that was my turning moment. But then I picked a stop at that point. And that was my turning point because before that I used to ask the question like, okay, how do the rich people, the wealthy people have the big cars, big houses and all the money and the time also. Why after having such a good education and a good job, why do I not have those things. Because when I look at the leadership in my company like they have decent income. So then it was not inspiring me. But when I went to [inaudible], that's like my turning point.

16:26          So that's where it is all about talking about the passive income and creating another stream of income. I went there for one year and I said, okay, what can I do and that's where for another one, two years I was looking for opportunity but was not sure where. And in the meantime what was happening is I was buying property in India. So like I bought my first property back in India in 2016 before coming to Australia in 2017.

17:07          So in between I, what I was doing was paying off my first residential property in India and then I bought another property in 2011 a commercial property in India because I was in Australia and making good income. My wife also got a job and we were saving money and I was buying commercial and then I bought another commercial and that also was paid off by 2013 actually. 

Working in Australia on a good income was advantageous for Sah as he was able to pay off his properties back in India at a faster rate. 

17:47          I was doing that because when I was living in Sydney, the rental in [inaudible], when I look at the market, you buy for like 600, the rent is 400. Why would you invest. And that's why I was not buying, I was not investing here. I was doing well in my job, but then I got introduced to [inaudible] and that's when I started. And then now if passive income is the way having none of this opportunity, what are the way people are making it happen for them other than [inaudible]. And then I was like asking those questions but not understanding. And I was not knowing what would the way, like even the people who are talking like you need to have a mentor, but where do you find a mentor and what do I need? So then one of my friends contacted me and then, and it was through the [inaudible] conversation that he also did in India. And then what happened? He says, you're good in technology, I'm in good technology. We both have a strong desire to make another stream of income.

19:02          So I sent that to because that was really good thinking and then we opened that also. And then I was in consulting, so I was traveling like sometimes I'll travel to like Queensland, Melbourne for the projects and I might be living for four, five, six months, a year in the hotel and then we can all be flying back. So while you’re getting distracted having the corporate parties and all those things in between, the focus was losing. And then also I lived for close to more than a year with my friend. 

Sah’s parents have played a major role in his life and he tells us the story of when they came to visit him and his wife and what happened next...

19:48         She was staying with me because she had a local job. She was also growing because she came and didn't have the work experience. She was also like growing in her job. And so after that I was losing interest. And that time my parents came to Australia and it was 2013 and it was the first time they came to see us. And then I asked them like how they liked Australia as a country and they say it is really a good country. And I said, what do you think, should we settle down here? Should we have kids here and settle down yet. And they said, you definitely should have kids settle down, even buy a property, buy your home because you have a decent income while you're ready. 

20:47          But then I saw some pain in their eyes. And that was that even you said to make sure that you try to come back to our country and see us. That really struck me. And I said, okay, no problem. And I bought my first property, I think, in 2014 and it was a house and land package, which we got in 2015. And that's where I saw that the prices were going up. Then what happened is I bought a unit also in the place that I'm living because I was knowing the area. So I said, you know what, I'll buy off the plan unit and it was the first release and so forth. And I use credit card balance transfer and all. And I'm like, even though I didn't have the money and what happened is that time when I bought the off the plan unit, after six months, that price, I bought for $350k and the prices went and the same unit was worth $420k after six months.

21:48          That was the boom period. So you'd timed everything quite well, that was good timing for you.

21:54          We had a little bit of luck. But at the same time I was hungry from the last four, five years. Looking for my answer to the passive income. And that's what I said. Oh my God, my house prices are going up, the unit I bought, I don't know what happened because I didn't even know what's happening. Because I knew that I bought in the first release of a very big development and they're selling it for presales, for the bank to take the loan. And that's where they were testing the market. So, and that's where I said, you know what the properties [inaudible] and people talk about the property world and all those things and it's like collectively it boosted me and that's what I don't know where I can get the education because I can see that $70,000 is on the paper. Even I can’t take it right. As I started talking to people who had got couple of properties and they say, you know why, what are the property events but don't buy education because everyone is selling the education just to get the free information. I think that's enough. I said, okay, that's good because this is coming from people who has bought four or five properties. 

23:16          Just to understand and then just sort of unpack it. So basically around about that 2014-15 you started your first investment journey or your property journey I guess you say, cause you bought your home, which was the house and land package plus an off the plan unit as well too. And you can say that they’re pretty much the investment properties as well too because they've gone up in value. And then at the same time you said people have said to you, just go and get some education but don't buy any of the education. Just learn from them. And that's kind of around about 2016 is that right? Or 2015?.

23:53          That's where in 2015 we moved to our house and my wife was also due at the end of 2015, we actually expecting our first baby. Then I went to, I was looking on Facebook and that's where I've [inaudible]. And she was promoting one day free event and I said, Oh good, maybe I'll go and get some free education. And I went there and literally [inaudible] because she was talking a lot of the strategy and there's so much value out of it. And I was [inaudible] and pretty much I bought a thousand of education on that day.

Property provides you with so many opportunities and if you take the time to learn from others, investing in property can really change your life. 

25:09          So there were like 5,000 plan and 10,000 plan. And like I said, because I didn't have the money to pay on the credit card, I'll be paying $500 every month. And I said, you know what, if she's wrong, I'll think that I haven't got no income at my job for one year, I was finding a way because I had not invested much. So I bought it, I spoke to my wife and she was open to it because she also understands the [inaudible] and all those things and she supported me. If you think it is all good, then let's do it. Because we had 30 days to cancel that. And that's where after two months, I think it was two months and I was like a small baby loving everything because everything was new to me.

26:12          Even though I'm buying two properties. But that was just sign paperwork. That's where I learn about how to talk to the council, talk about the real estate, everything. Like the mindset around the property and even if you don't have money, you can still go ahead and it's about a mindset. And that was my huge turning point because that's what I understood from Amway and this is where, okay, also it is not about the money because when I was literally younger, you have to have a lot of money and that's how you open a big business. So it was all clarifying those things. And then it was 2015. So it was in October, I think, completed the bootcamp and that's where I started going because he taught me that property investing is a number game.

27:10          And you look at what is your number and what is your serviceability limit and that's where you go and find those opportunities. Because no point waiting for the money because it's not going to come right. I looked at my pocket and by the time I took out some [inaudible] from my own PPR, which is my own house. So I had like $20,000. And I said, you know what, I'll move with that and find the deeds. And it started going [inaudible] from Sydney that time you could have gone to those properties. And I started learning those empty, really the opportunity that had actually, and I was like so pumped up. And then what happened is initially it took me like two, three months because you get education, but then there's a lot to learn by doing things, understanding. So I started paying the consultant so that I can grab more education, ask the right questions and learn from them.

We continue to dive into Sah’s property investing journey as we learn about some of the deals he made and what he was able to learn along the way from making deals.

28:19          I invested some money and maybe looked at hundred properties, a hundred contracts. And that's what happened. There were a couple of good properties and others had problems. But I learned everything, like what is good and what is bad and why one thing is worse. And I wasn't missing a lot of opportunities also because I would take more time to understand and really understand the opportunity. And by the time we had a baby, so what happened is then my wife was a contractor at that time then that [inaudible] also become zero. So I was left with $20,000. But I said, you know what? I've spent about three months time on the road in the council area where I'm going and everything. This was in the Lidcombe area, so it was like not far from Sydney. And that's where I said, you know what? Now I have the education and even though you have no money, you can do the deals.

29:18          And I was really fascinated. So I said, you know what, I'll buy something, a smaller land and I'll do maybe do a joint venture with someone. So I started getting the confidence and the energy and that's where I did my first deal after six months of doing the boot camp. And it was, I bought a land for $85,000 but I could have subdivided the land and made maybe $20,000 or something like that. But my whole goal was to do the deal, to prove to myself that I can do it without having money because I can attract the joint venture of friend. And I can do a subdivision and learn the process. Because when I did the bootcamp last year, I was like, people are doing in three years, four years, five years, seven years. If these people can do it, I can do two and let's set a goal and I set a goal that in next five years I want to be in a position where I should be able to quit my job. How it's going to happen. I don't know, but I will go and implement. I looked at all the answers. And that's where in 2016, this property with with one of my friends at a workplace and he said, I have got the cash and you can put in whatever you have. And we bought the land for $85,000. It was 1200 square metre and we were able to subdivide very cheap because it has a subdivision in the past and we all have to reinitiate the older.

Sah talks us through the process of going through the local councils to get his subdivision approved and because it was a splitter block, it happened a lot quicker than most. 

31:22          You go to the council and go to the title office. So when I look at the contract, because I've become a sort of an expert in that area. If the opportunity is there, you just buy them. And that's what I say. You know what? If that is true, then I'm going to make more money. But even though I have to subdivide that I still am going to make some money, but at least I will learn the process and I can prove myself that I can do it. And that's what I'm doing. I took three quotes and all this stuff. I've gotten bigger quotes and all, and people say it’s a usual process we will do. But then one local guy literally called, we can finish it.

32:08          And if that happens then it'll be done for like pretty much for $2,000. Because then you'll just have to work with the title office and the council, and that's what happened. And in one year time, like with the holding costs, the stamp duty cost us a total of $100K and after subdivision it was $150K. That one piece of land, it belongs to my joint venture who sold for 25% and another piece was like mine, which I kept it. And I said, when my wife goes back to work, then I'll build a house. And that gives me the full confidence that it really works. The ones that have been learned and you have to take action, understand and trust yourself, the mentor and follow the process. And I think that changed my whole perception and after that I said, okay, so subdivision works.

Learning about different strategies that you can apply to your purchases is a fantastic way to make money even if you don’t have a lot to spend.

33:11          And then by the time it nine months happened, my wife was tired of going back to work. And then what happened is that we walked onto the property further down in Bathurst and I said, you know what, this time I'm going to apply all the strategies, I'll buy a property, I will renovate it and then I'll convert into a cash cow, maybe run Airbnb or room by room rent and try those things. So what happened is when the subdivision happening in between, because I've got so much confidence, so I said, this time I can't, I didn't have the [inaudible] so let's look into other education. So I said, okay, I'll go to Sherry Butler, the renovation, learn about the renovation. 

33:58          Then learned about all the cash flow strategies. After that I joined a lot of property development calls, Bob Anderson, even in commercial, Helen Tarrant. Because I saw that I spent $20,000 and it changed my life. I knew that this is the way to go. I've set goals for five years and so I have to do it. It would be really good if I buy one property, because I didn't have a lot of cash.

34:50          You buy a property and apply multiple strategies so that you have less risk because if something happens like something gets delayed by the development application or something. I was a low risk profile guy and I said, you know what, I don't have time and I want [inaudible]. So I'll apply multiple strategies and that's where I bought in Bathurst for $300K in the peak of the market in 2017 where I didn't negotiate a single dollar, but I was knowing that it is a good opportunity and right in the centre of the town. Four bedroom house, did a good renovation, spend about $50,000 on that. And you know what? Now it is renting for $450 per week. 

Did you have to go there and do the renovation or did you get tradespeople to help you?

35:40          All the trade people were doing it, but you still have to go and manage the tradies. And again, the mindset was to learn the process because my goal was that I wanted to go full time in the property world. That means I need to really learn and do and understand the strategy and just say, okay, I'll just give to a project manager somewhat because my intention was different. 

How long did that project take to complete? 

36:07          It took me two months. So again, the credit goes to Cherie Barber because it’s such a good process. And the mindset are on my risk and everything. So I said now I can do the same project in five weeks. But of course I was working a full time job so I had to manage everything. So the good thing was like my credit is saying, you’re like so professional. I was like saving money. And I think when I look back, I learnt a couple of lessons, but it went really well, actually. Just because of the education and taking action. 

Tyrone Shum:        

We start off by delving into what was one of the lowest points in Sah’s property investing journey and how that impacted him.

00:23          In my property journey I really did do well and all the credit goes to all the education, but the worst was like I started investing back in 2006 back in India and until 2013. So that five years I bought two properties. One residential and one commercial, but I didn't like all the schools where I'm like trying to pay off. And I did take a loan actually. So I consider this is one of the properties where it's full of leverage. You can pay 10-20% from your side and the bank pays the rest. Five years had gone and all I had was two properties but it's paid off. But I could have done much better. Look at the opportunity costs. It was huge because at that time, if I could have one in Australia I would have been in a much better position but at the same time, and I look back, if I would have invested in Australia without education, maybe I would have gone back. So that's one of my things is like not costs but I'm glad that I invested in education and changed my game here.

We find out more about the current state of his property portfolio and he shares with us on how many he currently holds. 

02:18          All together I bought like seven properties back in India, five in Australia. With these five properties, now I'm building another three properties.

02:32          These are lands that you bought and you're going to develop on these?

02:37          These are not land, these are in these five properties, like one of the property where I can build another house on the back and the subdivision is approved as well. So we'll be just putting another house, which I'm planning to build towards the end of this year. And it's the positive cashflow property. This is another where I have renovated and we are going to build another house. And there's another property which I bought last year before I quit my job and got into the full time property world, the property is a neutral property and I can build under the two properties on the same so it is sitting on a three title. So all I have to do is a boundary adjustment and I'm getting two lands for free. So all subdivided, of course there is a bit of expense in doing all of those processes, but then pretty much you're getting the land for free and the holding cost is zero for me because there is a rent coming from the existing house. I think when the market was down, and again this is near Sydney, so I thought, Oh my God because it can build two boxes, two houses on that. And if you sell everything, you are looking at around $250K of profit or if you hold it you're looking at around $20,000 positive cashflow. 

With such an amazing outcome we hear more about how he was able to find profitable properties.

04:16          This is again based on I think what I learned in the properties like in the property world, property is the last thing. Sounds weird but it's all about people and building the rapport and trust and the relationship with the real estate agent and the people in the property world. So these are the suburbs where I have originally gone and spoken to the real estate agent in a professional manner. Build that rapport, trust, and show that I'm a genuine guy. I don't laugh around, I provide the right feedback. So what happens is, good news comes to me because I have clearly told my agent, send me the positive cash flow properties or I'm looking where I can utilise my strategies. Not because I can just subdivide. 

05:14          If you find something, give me a call, I will definitely buy. And if I can't buy I will find someone, either my friend that is now in the property world. But in business, yes I know a lot of property there will be capital by just letting me know. And that's where a lot of, and especially when the market is soft. They know there are not many buyers, you don't have fear and someone is desperate to sell and then they call me. And if it is, it's a done deal. I can sign the paperwork in two days and that's what happened with that property. They call me and you know, said, what if it is a good deal, I was in Fiji actually, I was attending the Tony Robbins, one of his Wealth and Health mastery event and I got an email that they had such a good property, I think it’s definitely for you, have a look and I look at the contract as well. Then I came back to Sydney and then went to look at the property, the same day I went to the council, had a simple conversation to see everything's fine and next day I signed a contract after negotiating it.

Building these business and personal relationships within the industry is a way of providing various opportunities.

06:48          The key thing you see when we start doing things and build a rapport and trust is that because you want to sell it, this guy will understand that opportunity because the opportunity is obviously in front of us but we are not ready. We don't understand opportunity. I'll give them feedback and tell them that it looks like a good opportunity but there are certain problems and I'm not willing to take that risk. So let's renegotiate the price or what I want on it. Otherwise I'm not taking that one and that's where I get the upper hand. 

Sah has been on a long journey to get to where he is currently and with so much experience we hear about the one moment in which he realised that he was on the right track.

07:55          When I did my first deal with zero stability and all I had was $20,000 and I could find a joint venture partner. Not because I was in the job but because of my energy, that I was showing that I'm talking about the property and how passionate I am talking about it. And you still go and do a deal and make money from, and that was the aha moment, because before that I had no knowledge even what the council does. From there to go 800 kilometres away from where I lived and talk to the agents and exploiting that council. And if we were to find a deal, even without talking to [inaudible] at that deal, right before that, I was spoken to my planners. That was a game changer for me and make money. That was like, Oh my God. Because that was my first thing where I had seen moneymaking out of my job. Because off the plan prices going up, there was like a plug. Because I didn't know it could have gone down also.  And that's what happens with apartments. That gave me the whole belief like I can do it. It's not rocket science. And that's where people are becoming successful and the rest is history.

Sah educated himself on many different concepts and bought different properties. We get to hear more about the strategy he uses when buying investment properties.

09:54          I look for like three strategies. So like say my others, when I look at the property, I look at my regular strategy, at the same time I ask two questions, how can I add more value to make it a positive cash flow property and once I’ve done this, will it give me enough equity to go and buy the next property. Because the property could be just positive cash flow. It could have just [inaudible] but I need to know what the things you should align. And if it doesn't fit positive cash flow, it doesn't have to be 100% equity for the next bite. But even if they give me 50-60%, I'm happy. So they are my initial questions. And then the strategy was like, okay, how can I add value by renovation? Or there's a good floor plan where I can add a room or maybe just add another bathroom because of the layout changes not as structure. And then of course subdivide and build under the house or at least for the grant.

10:59          At the same time in between I was doing room by room rental also for a good cash flow strategy and Airbnb also. And I really did well on that because my strategies were more aligned to getting out of the job in the next five years. So what that means is that I need to really have a good cash flow so that I can get out of the job. Otherwise, how can you get out of your job? So my whole thing was positive cash flow and at the same time gaining equity so that you keep buying because just buying one or two properties is not going to help you get out of the job.

The Airbnb strategy is an interesting one and Sah shares more details on how it works.

11:53          My whole thing using property, I do everything so that just to test and learn from the experience and then I choose what I love or not. I did Airbnb on one of my properties for a very short time. I think four months. And I had two employees from Sydney living for long term and it was a good thing. Again, it was more of a team building exercise for me. It was like, okay, I get the inquiry. I can confirm, I can look at the profile. So it doesn’t take much time, I had to just text the cleaner saying can you go. I was looking for people who can stay for three or four days. So if you want to stay for one day then I'm not giving the booking. So it has to be a minimum of three days. And again it was to learn and test the thing how it works and it was working. I said, you know what, let's leverage and just go for a long term rental and let the agents manage. So I did it for a long time.

Sah previously shared about why he wanted to get into property, but after some time, he discovered a new source of motivation.

13:54          I think what happened is when my parents came back in 2013 I saw that there was a pain and of course I was more attached to my mum. Of course I love my dad also. And when they're like that, I realise that they're getting older and my job also, I'm doing good. But if I'm growing, then I was, as you can see that I was getting really time poor and I had that pain that my parents had. If they need my one or two months time I learned to give it because I might have the property but you need that family priority. You need that income for your everyday expenses. That's when I got into the property education, that's where people talk about writing your why and again, what happened is then when my daughter was born and 2016 was when we started putting her in daycare, she was crying.

15:02          She would be sick and you still have to drop her off. And that's when my pain become like real pain. And as a priority also because now I can see things because my parents are back in India so I couldn't see them. So that pain was not that clear but when I dropped my daughter off and seeing her, I said this is not negotiable. And that's what I said. My why is that I want to get out of my job, not because I don't want to work or something like that because I knew that passive income, and I know the legal laws, so that is property because I was not willing to answer how to get there. I'm saying I'm not listening, I have my own world where it was me, my wife, my daughter, and all my mentors and this property community. And I said, you know what, I’m going hard on that and I have money or I don't have money. I'm doing it for my big why and that [inaudible] thing become [inaudible]. So I started in 2015 and in 2018 I was invited by [inaudible] community to share my journey. I was one of the finalists to share my journey, the success stories and I was sharing my journey in front of 800 people in Melbourne. I shared my portfolio just to inspire and show that it's all possible. And I said, given my progress and everything, maybe by the end of 2019, I'm looking to quit my job

16:42          In 2019 in January. I was sticking to [inaudible] And that's when I was helping friends and noticing and that's where I'd say, because there's a lot of fear around buying property, even though it's one of the best vehicles to help people. And that's where I opened my buyer’s agent company in March and then I quit my job earlier because I had a passive income of around $65,000. And I said, now I can really go full time and help people by giving them the mindset, buying the right properties, helping them with the renovation, the subdivision, anything they want. That was my why and and that's helped me to push through because property is a vehicle but without the why and having that education I wouldn’t be where I am. 

Many of the people that mentored him and taught him about the various facets of property investing have had a huge impact on his life. We find out who these mentors are. 

18:40          Everyone is successful in their own strategy and what they preach and teach. Mindset is an ongoing process. It's an everyday thing because you can’t say, Oh, I now learned everything and my mindset is 100% because it just changes every day. So I think all the mentors and they specialise in particular strategies and I just keep learning and say, okay, so it was all on my mentors and I think they have one thing in common. They talk about the risk profile, having big goals, but they start small and the persistency and consistency is the key. So I think it's the last four years for me in my property journey and employers, I think I have spent more than a $100K off of my investors education.

19:38          I'm part of the Tony Robbins group also and so now it's become a very good addiction to invest in myself and just keep learning and get the mindset and pushing myself. And of course you get surrounded by a lot of other like minded people. And you go like, okay, now I need someone to discuss in commercial and I know who I need to call. If I need advice on property renovation I know who to call. So it's like you just taking this course and that's when I met Ben Handler, in 2019 I didn’t know I’ll have a business and I'll be a buyer’s agent. But when I saw the opportunity, I said, okay, what are the things here? What is the opportunity? The opportunity is to really help the people because people are buying their own products. They're not clear on the strategy. A lot of people are getting the education but there's still a lot of fear in their life where they need to leverage the right thing. So it was a big value I can give, at the same time, it's like I can help them with the renovation and so forth.

As a buyer’s agent he is providing more than just a service of finding properties but rather looking for value in the property that will work in favour of his clients. 

21:16          I saw like a lot of people last year, I think in six months time I bought around 14 properties. All my clients and a lot of people are like, they're not interested in property, but they're learning the property and were interested in the passive income property. That's where they really need the help and even people at education, getting an education, a lot of people invest on self education, but unfortunately only 10% of the people go and take action. That's the number I know. It's still 90% of the people that need that help and it's fine because it's all leverage again. Say if I'm constructing, I'm not going in building it. So if I need a solid sticker or a content, it's purely limited stream. So it's like that's where I saw a good opportunity to really help.

Sah is really big on education and always in the mode of learning. He provides us with some of the books that have helped him learn about property and getting the right mindset.

22:27          I think starting with, ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’. I think definitely get an account on www.audible.com and keep getting at least one book a month. Listen to those books, ‘Think and Grow Rich’. That is another favourite book. I think, ‘How To Win Friends and Influence People’. I think these are the few. I go to a job, a business, it's all about people, managing people. And that's what people don't understand. And I see a lot of failure or people getting the challenge because of this thing. So it's important to understand it's all about people. So we need to master that. And of course I'm also learning.

23:22          So there's every day I'm learning on the property journey. With my mindset also, even I get fear, a lot of fear. Joining this community, talking to like minded people and reading and listening to these books helped me overcome those things. I'm learning a lot about business because in my buyer’s agency, property is the easiest part for me. But then there is lots to learn about building more great relationships and how to grow the business and so forth. At the same time, it's flexible for me because then I choose how many clients I want to work on, what kind of clients I want to work with. That was my why, so that I know like when I choose to work I have the flexibility that I can help my parents or play with my daughter.

Sah shares with us some of his personal habits that may have contributed to his success.

24:52          My main game changer has been in the last five years off of like investing in education. And that's why I talk to all my clients and my social media message is that before you invest in anything like property or business, get educated and find mentors, because that really helped me. And the biggest thing was like making those decisions fast. I think it really helps me because when I look back, I would have gone to, this is all rubbish. They’re just trying to sell the product. I took action and joined the product and did it. And then I realised that there's something I'm not liking. It's not the action. And same thing when I went to [inaudible] a three day event, I took that decision action and paid $12,000 and you know what, I’m going for it. I think that's really helped me actually. So I think these are a few of the ingredients I would say. Because sometime you have a very good opportunity but you don't decide. So I think sometimes you have to just say, okay, it is a low risk. Experience it. 

There are always moments throughout our lives that we wish we could change and we learn about those moments in his life.

26:48          When I look back, when I see people that age of 20-25 and they’re successful, and I know that they have been because they have got this mindset and the education and the system of taking action other than me. So generally I have no regrets, I think, but I say like, okay, I could have gone into self education much earlier rather than the age of 25, I could have gone earlier. I'm happy that I'm now becoming that example where I can, my daughter is seeing me and she is talking about property and so forth. Because it just comes in the family and now I'm helping my entire family where my sister and brother and they have children as well. So they are seeing us and they know that there are better things coming in the future rather than just a job or anything. So that's where I'm setting the example and I'm feeling grateful to myself.

The future is only looking brighter for Sah and we hear about what he is expecting to accomplish in the near future. 

28:17          My goal setting is around my passive income that goes out on that freedom and flexibility of time. So like my goal is like having a passive income of $150K in the next three years time. I'm halfway through already and then around $300K of passive income in the next six years. So because it initially takes time, but then as you grow it takes exponential [inaudible]. It's all about building my buyer’s agent business and helping all my clients at the same time doing the same thing that I’m helping my clients with, buying properties using multiple strategies and I'm doing being very big development or something on my personal thing is like, just keep buying with multiple strategies, have cash flow properties and move onto the next one. And just take it easy, enjoy life and have fun on the way.

There is always space for luck to play a role in your career but ultimately it comes down to you and what you are willing to do to make things happen. 

29:39          It came more from the hunger and knowing what I need because unless we know what we need, you don't go and get it. So I think it was more of taking those decisions, getting into education. And then of course I see that luck also came in my life. Because going to those events and spending money and having the trust from other people. So I would say luck has been part, but it was more of taking action and that ability to understand the opportunity. And then I think even the Gods say, you know what, if you want to be a millionaire just buy a lottery ticket. Luck is a bit of a part, but I think more of that taking action and going forward and trusting the system and understanding that there is a way to bring things back to them. 

If you want to reach out to Sah after the podcast he provides the details on how to do so. 

30:53          They can go to my website at www.investorsdream.com.au or they can find me on Facebook, LinkedIn. My phone number is 0413543734.

Thank you to Sanjeev Sah, our guest on this episode of Property Investory.