In this episode he details the steps he nearly took early on that woud have led him down a very different path, and how his tendency to ask the hard questions was his biggest asset. Now, those assets include a property he never thought he’d buy, a substantial uplift, and the knowledge and skills to do it all again. The only question is: How quickly can he do it?

Timestamps:
00:01 | Ask Away
02:20 | Do Your Homework
08:57 | The Importance of Teamwork
15:13 | Filtering Through
16:51 | Take Two
20:56 | Shifting Focus
25:11 | Hey You, Get Going
30:21 | Going the Extra Mile

Resources and Links:

[00:05:02] The experience was, I'd say honestly, really, really positive. Obviously, coming into our first purchase, we were so anxious. We were about to spend a quite a substantial amount of money. And so we were really anxious but we we stuck to that principle of looking for that property with a good capital growth, but also with something that had options. 

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 back with Alex Jeloudev, the social worker who dreams of a house by the sea. Thanks to his buyer’s agent and the trusty team they’ve created together, Jeloudev is well on his way to achieving his investment goals. With some renovations and well-stacked numbers behind him, he can practically smell the salt air already.

Tyrone Shum:   

Jeloudev and his wife quickly came to realise that property is a team sport. After setting their goals and getting comfortable with their new strategy, they agreed together to dip into their equity on their home. And while they hit the jackpot with Dragan Dimovski, that’s not to say they didn’t encounter others along their journey to find him.

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:00:01] We did a little bit of research. And we did meet with other providers as well in the same space. 

  

[00:00:10] One provider we met with, and it was all nice, lovely, and glossy on the website, and all the promotional videos were fantastic. And we wanted to book a strategy session with them. And we booked— I'm not going to say the area, because it'll probably give away who it is. 

  

[00:00:28] But basically, we met with a gentleman, and we were there for probably about two hours or so. And we just didn't click. We didn't have a good vibe with him. And we just felt that we had to justify to that person why we were there and why should they pretty much bother working with us. It just didn't feel balanced. It should be really more an interview for them, not why they're the provider for us. 

  

[00:00:59] So it was a bit of arrogance, unfortunately. And my wife and I, we like to forward plan. We like to have clarity before walking into anything. And we just had a basic question around fees, we had a basic question of engagement, how that would look like. And we just felt that the conversation that we had with this individual was really salesy. 

[00:01:27] And we alluded to, 'Hey, before we get into the nuts and bolts of things, can we just understand, what's it going to cost us so that we can assess whether that particular service is worth investing our money into?' And it upset the guy. And I just felt that the conversations weren't genuine. And we just didn't feel comfortable with the approach. So we we had a few of those unfortunate experiences before we [came] across Dragan.

Tyrone Shum:   

They felt that these types of conversations didn’t have the authenticity they were looking for. They went through the process several times, proving how important due diligence is.

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:02:20] We asked tonnes of questions. And we're glad that we did. And the alarm bells and red flags come up when you ask questions, the person gets more agitated, like, 'Okay, what's going on here?' And we just didn't feel quite right. 

 

[00:02:35] So we took our time, we probably took at least three to six months, at least, to find somebody that we were comfortable with. Once we found [or] bumped into Dragan at the expo, we felt an instant connection with him and felt really comfortable.

Tyrone Shum:    

As for his first investment, the strategy behind it focused on capital growth and having long-term prospects over the next one to two decades.

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:03:48] We had a set budget, obviously, only being able to pull equity out of the property. So we started, we gave Dragan a brief in terms of our budget, in terms of what we could afford for our first investment property, based on those fundamentals of looking for a property that had that capital growth, that was an upcoming area where it had a good ratio between renters and owners in the property. 

  

[00:04:14] Dragan went through quite a few different suburbs with us, which was really fantastic to see, and gave us a detailed report and information on all those profiles and the reasoning behind, taking into consideration those particular areas. 

  

[00:04:29] So that's where it landed us into southeast Queensland. And probably about 25 [to] 30 minutes southeast of Brisbane, I'm sure you could probably draw the dots there. That's the area where we've bought our first property.

  

[00:05:02] The experience was, I'd say honestly, really, really positive. Obviously, coming into our first purchase, we were so anxious. We were about to spend a quite a substantial amount of money. And so we were really anxious but we we stuck to that principle of looking for that property with a good capital growth, but also with something that had options. 

  

[00:05:31] So not just a normal two or three bedder on a on a small piece of land. We went straight for a property. So we looked at a three bedder with the potential for a granny flat at the back. So we looked at something above 800 square metres, with dual access on both sides. So that was really the profile that we were looking for in the suburb. 

  

[00:05:56] So we passed up a lot of properties. Dragan pretty much just told [us] whatever met our criteria. And that was really, really good, because it was so emotional. So it really helped us stick to the brief for that particular property. 

  

[00:06:12] So we did go for a three bed, one bath, open plan, living, dining, and it does have quite a large shed in the back. So it does give us that extra little bit of rental income for having that bonus two car shed at the back at the moment. So at the moment, we're just about to finish our renovations on the property.

  

[00:06:39] We were able to get more value in this particular property and have a good value add, which was fantastic. 

Tyrone Shum:   

The property had been well-maintained by the previous owner who lived there for 30 years, but hadn’t done any renovations in that time. While it was dated, it wasn’t a dealbreaker.

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:07:06] It had all the original kitchen, bathroom cabinetry, but Dragan was able to help us see past all that, which is really, really good. 

 

[00:07:16] So we were able to look at a bit of a budget in terms of redoing the kitchen. So we've stripped out the kitchen pretty much, new cabinets, benchtops, sinks, tapware, new rangehood, so basically really uplifting the kitchen. 

  

[00:07:36] We also did a fresh lick at paint through the whole house. So ceilings and walls, architraves, skirtings, such and such. [We] also did new flooring throughout, so new laminate timber flooring through the house, new carpets through all the bedrooms, and just resurfacing and re-spraying up and putting new cabinets in the bathrooms and laundry. So it's pretty much a full gut out.

Tyrone Shum:   

He’s thankful for the comprehensive service which involved sourcing quotes and coordinating directly with the builder. As a result, the Sydneysiders felt a lot of their anxiety dissipate and were able to build a trustworthy team.

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:08:57] We've got a good team of mortgage brokers. They really, really help us get our house valued. They've coordinated all that for us, which has been amazing. And we've had a few sessions with them to start evaluating and looking at what lenders are going to give us the best deal at the end of the day, with interest rates rising through the roof at the moment. So that's been really stressful for us. But we've put some measures in place to really factor in those rises, which is a really smart thing to do at the moment. 

  

[00:09:36] So basically, they've helped us shop around and find the best deal that's going to give us the flexibility and the best interest rate. So that team has really helped. Dragan's also given some suggestions and points in the right direction, to to engage other areas that we needed to engage. So in terms of property managers, given us some options to consider in the area because for us, we've got no clue. 

[00:10:06] We're from Sydney. So it's really, really given us a good idea in terms of the opportunities out there, the different types of people that are out there, help us look at the ratings for these different agents and really kind of helped us guide us. 

  

[00:10:19] And at the end of the day, we've made the decision, but it really, really helped us and opened our eyes up to, 'Hey, there's actually quite a lot to do from a property manager perspective'. So it's helped us open our eyes up to that area as well.

Tyrone Shum:   

He’s equal parts excited and nervous for the renovations to be complete and all that will come after that.

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:10:43] The renovations will probably finish within the next fortnight. And hopefully probably a fortnight after or so, we should have some tenants in there.

  

[00:10:54] I've got some nervous energy, to be honest. We're excited. I'm excited to see all the updates on renovations to the property. The before and after shots have been pretty amazing, so the transformation in itself has been really, really good. And not just for rent value, but for capital value as well. So it's [enabled] us to have a good value add to the property. So hopefully over the next, say, two to four weeks, we should have some some tenants in there. So it's just that nervous energy.

Tyrone Shum:   

[00:11:29] [Do you] mind if I ask you then, how much did you purchase this property for as well? 

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:11:33] We purchased it at $500,000.

Tyrone Shum:   

[00:11:36] And how much do you think there would be in uplift, roughly? Because we don't know until you get a valuation. But what do you think? 

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:11:43] It's hard to say. The uplift after the renos will be probably upwards of $50,000. 

 

[00:11:59] And I guess the bonus to that is using Buyer's Agency Australia, and using Dragan, we were able to get a really good deal. And we got [it for] well below the market value as well. And that's something that gave us the edge. 

  

[00:12:13] So comparative [properties] in this particular suburb were selling between $560,000 to $580,000. So we got a really good under market value purchase plus then the value add of the renovation on top of that. So I'm keen to get the valuation when it comes in. 

Tyrone Shum:   

In terms of properties and asset values, he doesn’t have a set number in mind as of yet and calls it a work in progress.

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:13:07] It's going to be tricky one, because there'll be a period where we'll still have to sell off some assets to be able to purchase that waterfront property. So we're probably going to need anywhere between three to four properties, and give them some time for that capital growth to come in to be able to sell for this waterfront property. 

  

[00:13:29] But then from there, we'll then have the goal of that passive income as well. So once the property is purchased, and we go back to investing additional properties, we'll probably look... our strategy now is looking at a house and a granny flat kind of a combo, just to have the extra cash flow, the extra income coming through, just to help that protection, that cash flow. 

  

[00:13:53] So it could be anywhere between four to five properties in that particular category, where it's on an 800 plus square metre block with with a three to four bedder on the front, whether that's some capital works done or not, and also a granny flat at the back. So that's kind of probably where we'll be sitting pretty. 

  

[00:14:12] If you look at the market value at the moment, if you look at what [the] potential value will be in the next five to 10 years in terms of rent for those properties, and we're looking at the outright value of those rent, that that will be coming in. So if you look at it, probably about four to five properties paid off with a house and granny flat will probably get us there after we purchase this waterfront property.

Tyrone Shum:   

Jeloudev, with his buyers agent’s assistance, has come to realise that buying undervalued properties and adding his own value on top is the way to go. However, it’s not the only key.

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:15:13] Part of Dragan's service as well is finding those key areas. So looking at areas with really, really low vacancy rates, really high demand. And that's some of the information that he and Buyer's Agency Australia have really, really pushed and really kind of opened our eyes up. 

  

[00:15:28] So it really has helped us sift through and identify those pockets to invest in so that there's always going to be a solid amount of rental properties that are scarce. And that value for that rental property is going to stay there. So we've been really strategic in terms of where we're buying for that reason. So that gives us that guarantee. Well, it's never guaranteed. But all the stats are kind of in your favour.

   

[00:16:23] There's only two guarantees in life, death and taxes. Only guarantee you've got.

Coming up after the break, he divulges what his knowledge consisted of pre-Dimovski…

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:17:39] [My knowledge was] really patchy, to be honest. A lot of knowledge Dragan has really given us along the journey. 

The current debate in the Jeloudev household…

[00:24:33] It's big money. So we're kind of tossing up whether we hold off for a bit, give it six months.

He explains just why Dimovski has been such a godsend for him in terms of practicality as well as emotionally.

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:31:48] So that was something that we couldn't do ourselves, particularly being interstate. 

And that’s next. I’m Tyrone Shum and you’re listening to Property Investory.

INSERT BUYERS AGENCY AUSTRALIA MIDROLL

Tyrone Shum:   

When it comes to his next step, Jeloudev has all the planning in place and is ready and raring to go again.

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:16:51] We've just got in the process with our brokers, we're just getting pre approval now. So once we get pre approval, we'll go again. We'll probably go again, using the equity in our primary residence again. And then probably, within the next couple of months, we should probably be able to secure our second one before Christmas. That's what we're aiming for. 

  

[00:17:13] And then hopefully, in the new year, we can get our first one revalued and look at what equity gains we've got in there. And potentially pull the equity out of that property and go through it again.

Tyrone Shum:   

[00:17:32] From your perspective, have you learnt all this through this journey right now? Or did you know some of this knowledge beforehand?

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:17:39] [My knowledge was] really patchy, to be honest. A lot of knowledge Dragan has really given us along the journey. And explained the strategies and explained from his 10 [or] 15 [or] 20 years of experience, you know, what he's experienced. We watched a few resources online again, but everyone's telling you different things. So different resources will tell you different strategies. And I guess it's looking at a strategy that you feel comfortable with, you feel safe with. And that's what we found with Dragan.

Tyrone Shum:   

As well as watching videos online, he found a classic book that helped to change his mindset significantly.

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:18:29] I think a classic one that a lot of people probably would have heard of is Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I listened to the audio book at the start of this year, and it just clicked. Just the mentality and the approach to life, and to property, and to assets that really helped my wife and I really just click into gear and say, 'Right, we're gonna make it happen this year'. Because we [had been] putting it off due to the anxiety of the unknown. And that really helped us shift the way we think about property. Or any asset class, really.

 

[00:19:20] For many years, you listen to comments or feedback from your internal circles. So whether it's a family member at a family gathering or a catch up with friends, you always hear the negative side or the horror stories, but you don't hear the success. Which is sad, because you focus on the 99% of the negative. And there's just so much more success out there that people don't really communicate. 

  

[00:19:52] So, we've had friends that went out on their own. They were going blind, they didn't have any support of a buyer's agent, they didn't use some of the data or metrics that really used to find a fundamental property. And they went out and pretty much picked a spot on the map— 'Here you go, that'll do,'— and bought a couple of properties. And it didn't work out very well. 

  

[00:20:18] They had problematic tenants, they had really high vacancy rates, they just didn't do their research. And you're listening to people from those circles tell you their stories, when you find out they didn't actually do too much research themselves. They didn't look into it. They didn't do their due diligence that they should have before they got into the property market. 

Due to the experiences of people in his circles, he kept putting property off for one year after another. That is, until the year that changed everything for everybody came along.

Alex Jeloudev: 

[00:20:56] And then it got to a point where where COVID [came] by and hit. And we were working from home, and it gave us time to really reflect on life in terms of what are we actually doing? We're following our same routines, we're just really predictable. We're really bad creatures of habit. Drive to work, drive home, drive out to work, go home. And I just felt it was just really, you're stuck in a rat race, pretty much. 

  

[00:21:26] And that was something that COVID, although it was a very, very hard period for a lot of people, it actually gave us time to reflect in terms of us as people, reflect on what we want in life. We were isolated for months on end away from people, it really gave us that time to think. 

  

[00:21:47] From that point, we started reading books, and Rich Dad, Poor Dad was a book that we came across and was recommended on YouTube. [I] was like, 'Okay, I'll give it a go. People keep talking about this book. Alright. Let's have a read’. 

  

[00:22:02] And there were so many points in there that really struck home. Around the poor dad being highly educated, versus the rich dad, not having an education but had street smarts, had a good outlook in terms of assets. That really, really changed our viewpoint.

  

[00:22:26] And reading that book, and doing some research of our own and bumping into Dragan at the expo really kind of clicked us into gear and said, 'Right, we're gonna do it'. And with the property market as it was rolling at that point, we were like, 'This is the best time'. We were tossing up whether to sell our property and upgrade the family home. But we chose not to, and to pull the equity out of the house to to invest in other places. And that was a suitable strategy for us at the time.

Tyrone Shum:   

[00:22:58] And you never know, you might even hold on to this current property using this investment and then buy your dream home. 

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:23:04] That's another option. And rent vesting, for example, is definitely an option we're looking at at the moment. And I dragged Cat from the Shire. So we've got to get back on the water soon. And look, I share that dream. I love being on the water and having that water view. There's just something about it when you come home from work, you've had a really crappy day. And you walk out the back and it just all melts away. So we love that connection to the seaside. So we've got that goal. 

  

[00:23:35] So we are actively looking at the moment to look at a rental property that's worth moving as a rent vest property for the next couple of years to at least start enjoying that lifestyle. Whilst this primary home turns into an investment for us. 

  

[00:23:55] One of our strategies for this home is to also look at dropping a granny flat in the back as well, and just really inject a bit more cash flow from this particular rental property. So that's kind of what we're looking at. We're getting quotes for for granny flats. I'll tell you what, COVID pricing on everything at the moment! With the inflation of prices of a granny flat I nearly fell off my chair.

  

[00:24:33] It's big money. So we're kind of tossing up whether we hold off for a bit, give it six months and see what the building industry does, whether inflation comes down, whether the pricing comes down. I don't know what will happen, but we're actively looking for property on the water here in Gosford. 

  

[00:24:51] So pretty much whenever a good property comes in that's comfortable, we'll probably look at that and move out and go into here and use it as an investment property to leverage off this a bit more.

Tyrone Shum:   

[00:25:11] If you could actually go back and meet yourself 10 years ago, what do you think you would have said to him?

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:25:17] Oh, wow, that's [a] really tough question. Get into property quicker. I'll definitely look at that, and slap myself and just stop myself buying that stupid something. I wouldn't waste my money on the little things. If I would have just bought one or two properties 10 years ago, the position that you'd potentially be in today would be remarkably different to what we are now. 

  

[00:25:46] So by the forefront then, in terms of what we know now and the team that I've got around us with with Dragan from Buyer's Agency Australia, if we had that 10 years ago, we could have done some real serious damage. We'll do damage now, don't worry about that. But imagine if we had that 10 years ago. A completely different scenario.

Tyrone Shum:   

With his long-term goals set in stone, he can envision them clearly and keeps his eye on them at all times.

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:26:26] I'm really looking forward to having that financial freedom. That's what we're really gearing up for. And it means different things to different people. For someone that might be completely getting out of the rat race, quitting work, and iving off your investment property income, that's fine for some people. 

  

[00:26:45] For me, I think I'd still get bored, I'd still want to keep busy. So I'd still love working in the disability space, there's so much meaning behind that, and there's so much reward. I probably look into more more volunteer roles, to provide support and expertise in different areas, I'd still want to be working. For me, that's what I'd love to do. 

  

[00:27:08] So I'd love to be in a position where I didn't have to worry about that bill coming through. I didn't have to worry about when am I going to pay the next rates [bill] or when am I going to pay the next water bill. I want to have that freedom to continue working in an area that I love working in without having to worry about those bills coming through. I want to be able to say, 'Hey, let's go on a holiday'. 

  

[00:27:28] I want to have that flexibility, freedom to pick up and say, 'Right, where should we go this year? Where should we go this time?' And not have to worry about what is it we can afford. It's actually having a life. We're working to live and flipping that around. 

 

[00:27:46] It's really about an individual's quality of life. What do they want out of life? And to me, I think I'd get bored. If I were completely retired early, I'd still want to be working, but at least it gives me options, I've got the option to do that. Whereas unfortunately, a lot of people don't have that ability to do that and make that decision.

Tyrone Shum:   

[00:28:28] How much of your success currently is due to skill, intelligence, and hard work? And how much do you think has been because of luck?

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:28:37] In terms of skill and intelligence, from a skill perspective, I really didn't have too much of an insight into property investing, probably say, six [to] 12 months ago. And look, that's been a big journey with Dragan and Buyer's Agency Australia. He actually spent a lot of time with us, quite a few sessions getting us up to speed in terms of what that journey would look like. 

  

[00:28:59] So he did a lot of fundamental work with us prior to putting down any deposit. And that was the awesome thing with Dragan, he spent a lot of time before we committed, and so it was really a learning journey. 

  

[00:29:12] So a lot of what we know now has come directly from Dragan. So for us, that's been a massive godsend, and a massive reassur[ance] for us. 

  

[00:29:23] Luck? I'll tell you in five years. There's no luck. There's a lot of strategy in where we're purchasing. We've got the Brisbane Olympic Games coming up. There's so much infrastructure happening in the areas that we're buying. So there's a lot of strategy behind the recommendations from Dragan. And we're listening to him. And, again, we'll tell you in five years.

Tyrone Shum:   

He’s happy to recommend Dragan Dimovski from Buyers Agency Australia to anybody and everybody who asks. Thanks to the positive support he offers, his personal experiences have been nothing short of fantastic.

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:30:21] I think it comes down to personal touch. And Dragan was someone that would take the time to sit with you both and really understand your goals, really understand what is it that you want to achieve. And he was really realistic. You know, is it realistic or not? 

  

[00:30:39] And that was something we really appreciated. We really appreciate the honesty. We went through a saga of sales-driven buyers agencies, and investment groups that promised the world, but when you asked the hard questions there was smoke and mirrors, so we didn't feel that we had a genuine kind of feel with those particular providers.

  

[00:31:03] Whereas with Dragan, what you can expect is, from what we've experienced, really, really transparent advice, really, really transparent feedback. He will take the time. We probably met at least half a dozen [or] eight times, and they will probably one to two hour blocks, at least, just to help us through the journey and help him understand the profile of what we were looking for and what our strategy is. 

  

[00:31:29] So from a strategy component, there was a lot of work done. And so that was something that Dragan committed to us when it came to identifying and shortlisting locations, areas, streets, properties. He really held our hand the whole way through, which were really amazing. 

  

[00:31:48] So that was something that we couldn't do ourselves, particularly being interstate. So that transparency and that genuineness was something that really, really attracted us to Dragan. 

 

[00:31:59] And like I said, we walked through the expo [and] there was just so much going on. It was so salesy, there was so many things going on. We had a lot of conversations with people, but Dragan really had that connectedness that we were all looking for. He got our position, he understood where we were coming from, and didn't try and shove something down our throat. So he didn't try to sell product in our throat. 

  

[00:32:23] It felt like he was really interested in terms of what our goals are, wanted to hear what we wanted to achieve, and how we could help us get there. So that's something we really did appreciate with Dragan.

Tyrone Shum:   

He’s dedicated to dedication in that he found the right person and is planning to stick with him. By laying this foundation together, Jeloudev has formed a tight team thanks to Dimovski.

Alex Jeloudev:   

[00:32:51] There may be some critics out there in terms of is a buyer's agency worth it or not. I absolutely can say it is. It is absolutely worth it. We would have no idea in terms of the metrics, in terms of how to locate a good investment property. 

  

[00:33:09] So, he took us on that journey, and helped us understand. We've learnt so much in the last six months. So I can definitely say it's well worth your money. Going with Dragan at Buyer's Agency Australia, we've got a property really significantly under market value in a good, good growing area, with good capital growth and good rental yield. So that one off fee for that particular property has paid itself off five times already.. 

  

[00:33:58] We're both busy in our full time roles. So we've got quite a few things on, we're really busy, we're in meetings all the time. We don't have the time to go and search, we don't have the time to conduct research, to talk to agents, to make things happen. Whereas Dragan's in the background, we're on the search, I'll get phone calls, I'll get updates, I'll get constant emails, so I'm always kept in the loop and all that. 

  

[00:34:22] So he's doing all the hard yards. He's running, working weekends. I'm even getting calls at 10 [or] 11 at night. Don't expect that all the time. But that's the commitment that we got from Dragan. Every time he found something worth really looking at [he was] straight on the phone, [saying], 'Hey, we've got this going'. Going through all the details, going through all the stats, using that data, using [those] metrics to locate that property. And that was something we really appreciated.

Thank you to Alex Jeloudev, our guest on this episode of Property Investory.