Plus, he shares how his holidaying in South-East Asia led to his very own cafe!

Timestamps:
00:01:09 | The Average Day for a Non-Average Business Owner
00:03:14 | Growing Up as a Bay Boy
00:04:37 | Bali, Cafe Owners and More!
00:08:04 | A Peek into Childhood
00:09:16 | A Silver Lining
00:11:00 | The Cost of Living
00:12:33 | The First Ever Property
00:13:23 | A Pause for Europe!
00:16:14 | Multitasking Secrets
00:17:22 | Home At Last
00:19:28 | The Property Journey
00:21:00 | Lessons Learned
00:22:21 | The Sell

 |

00:01:13 | The Big Score
00:03:34 | Delegation
00:04:53 | Embracing the Unexpected
00:06:09 | A New Direction
00:07:06 | The House Reimagined
00:09:23 | Airbnb Advice
00:10:48 | Uncovering Long-term Goals
00:12:48 | A Buyer’s Guide
00:14:50 | Developing the Mindset
00:16:51 | Reading Recommendations
00:17:42 | The Importance of Being Resilient
00:19:31 | A Message to Himself
00:20:58 | Luck or Not?

Resources and Links:

[00:14:45] I think I just wanted to enter the market and start, you know, getting a foot in the door in the property market so I could, you know, start leveraging. I knew that it was the stepping stones to creating something bigger for myself. 

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 of Property Investory we’re speaking with Jack Freestone, the founder of Buyers Collective. Parental divorce, a sharehouse and leaving at the young age of 17, Freestone shows us anything is possible. Now, he has five properties in his portfolio and a company to his name, inspiring fellow investors along the way. 

Growing up with a skateboard in one hand and a paintbrush in the other, Jack Freestone rolled his way from childhood filled with renovating experience to full-fledged property management. Eager to share his words of wisdom, he gets straight into introducing himself. And, he shares a little overview of what his average day might look like!

[00:00:27]  I am the founder of a company called Buyers Collective. We’re a property buyer's agency based in Brisbane, and we serve as the inner city within a 10 kilometer radius, and we also have buyer's agents on the Gold Coast, and down in Byron Bay, servicing those locations as well.

[00:01:05] Typical day I wake up, I usually go for a run along the river, do a bit of a workout, come back, coach our coffee, and get stuck into, you know, the top priority things that I put out, I tend to as a business owner, emails, calls, clients, and basically to do lists for the day, with property inspections, and, you know, other other checks on the market. You know, that's sort of my day in a nutshell. 

[00:01:36] And at the end of the day, I usually journal and reflect on the small wins of the day. And you know, what I've got to prepare for the following day.

This practice of self-reflection is one Freestone encourages listeners to pick up. Thankfully, he shares how he got into it himself. 

[00:02:02] Basically, just through listening to different podcasts, reading books, you know, different people that were, you know, business owners or successful in their own right. So, you know, I just figured, you know, success leaves clues. And if you want to, you know, be successful and, you know, be a little bit different than the everyday person, you've got to start, you know, picking up habits that what everyone does every single day. 

[00:02:29] So, yeah, I feel like I'm a lot more productive. I've got a lot more energy. And you know, you have to be very careful with your time management. As a business owner. 

While many who are interested in property found it as an unexpected turn in life, Freestone was raised on the property path. 

[00:02:59] Yeah, so I grew up in Byron Bay, [in a] little beach side town. I'm sure most people know what Byron Bay is on the east coast here. So that's where I grew up. For most of my life, I grew up on a lifestyle property there with my family.  

[00:03:16] My parents were into property. And my mother actually did a lot of property developments and renovations. And I just sort of picked up from that as well, she obviously influenced a bit on my life. 

[00:03:34] So I started off with purchasing my first property when I was just before my 21st birthday, actually, everyone was telling me, you know, ‘don't do it, Jack, there's a housing bubble, you know, the markets gonna crash, you know, it's not a good thing to do’. And I had to sort of block out all that white noise and dive in, and purchase my first property. 

[00:03:56] And I've held that property ever since. And just had long term tenants in it. And I haven't actually made any improvements to the property yet. And it's, it's basically tripled in value since that first purchase. 

With an active childhood peppered with random hobbies, a multitude of sports and a move to Bali, Freestone managed to start up several successful and surprisingly varied businesses early on. 

[00:04:48] I was really active as a young boy. You know, we had motorbikes, you know, four wheelers and running around, you know, [a] bit of a farm life sort of scenario. Uh, I did play you know, a little bit of football and soccer and all those, you know, different things that you try out when you're a kid surfing, skateboarding, all those sorts of things and you know, a bit more heavy on the skateboarding side of things, and the surfboard supporting as a young guy. 

[00:05:20] But then, you know, I moved out of home at a very young age and, and started living in Melbourne, I moved down to Melbourne when I was about 17. Wow, and lived at home and, and lived with some friends down there and worked in various different jobs and in sales, and, and then I actually eventually moved to Bali. And I ended up living in Bali for about five years, and started a few businesses over there, a few successful cafes and invested in a hostel and an IV company as well. 

[00:05:55] And, you know, I spent five years over there, I had my ex-partner at the time, and moved back over a couple years before COVID. And instead of living in Melbourne for probably another 12 months before I went over to New Zealand, where my mum's side of the family is.

[00:06:15]  And basically, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. But I just knew I didn't want to work for anyone, I sort of sold out of a lot of my businesses that I had in Bali. And I was in New Zealand, just visiting family and I met this couple, and I was always interested in property and property development. And I just didn't really know enough about it. 

[00:06:37] So when I was over there, I had a lot of free time. And I just started teaching myself about it and learning self self education through online podcasts, Google. And eventually, I met this couple and they wanted to jump into property, but they didn't know how. And we've sort of formed a relationship and presented them with an opportunity to subdivide and move to old houses onto this, two separate blocks of land and renovate them and add on sell them. And that was a really successful development. 

[00:07:08] And we just sort of kept going from there doing renovations and, you know, small scale subdivisions, one in the fours, townhouses, new builds, and had other investors end up joining. And, you know, I ended up spending a few very few years over there doing that, and throughout the COVID period as well. And that was really great, really successful [and I] had a great time doing that over there. 

[00:07:34] And when you know, things started to get, you know, a bit more crazy with the whole COVID lock downs and the borders closing over here. And, you know, family and friends were, you know, sort of asking me to come back. And, you know, I decided to come back over and ended up buying a house on the Gold Coast, and one down near Byron Bay as well. And they were just other renovation projects that I ended up doing. And then, you know, everything sort of calmed down.

For Freestone, it was second nature to dive into renovation. Growing up, Freestone found himself nudged headfirst into property.

[00:08:25] As kids do, you know, you pick up a paintbrush, or, you know, you might be moving bricks or the carton, the wheelbarrow and things like that. So yeah, it's definitely, definitely helping out in that sort of regard.

[00:09:02] It was always, you know, being sort of pushed on me at that young age, because you['re] constantly around it, and you're seeing it all the time. And you might not be learning it to the same degree as if you're an older person or a much more mature adult. But you know, those little things still touch on you in your memory and, you know, plant little seeds. 

[00:09:25] And so then as I got older, you know, those things I would remember and understand and obviously still have further advice from my mother, as you know, I entered the game as well. Yeah. But yeah, it's actually funny. My mom actually was doing lots of renovations and developments, but we never actually did any together for many years. I just worked with other investors, and she just sort of, you know, advice from an outside point.

Sharing specifics, Freestone tells us more about exactly what he was involved in in his youth. Navigating the dynamic of divorced parents, he discloses the reasons behind his move from Byron Bay and the unexpected silver linings along the way.

[00:10:16] My parents split up when I was I think about eight years old. And so you know, sort of you spend 50% of the time with my father. And you know, the other bit of the time with my mother, if you [go] backwards and forwards a lot. And then basically, I just wasn't very keen on schools, a little bit rebellious, and like authority and stuff like that. And I had, I'd already moved out of home, I think was about the age of 15.

[00:10:45] And I was living in sort of like a share house in Byron Bay, with a couple other people. And my mother ended up renting out her property and traveling overseas with her new partner. And, you know, I was just sort of out and fending for myself still going to school and doing all the rest of it. But when it came to the end of year 10, I just decided to not continue.

Thankfully, Freestone found himself developing an invaluable skill: independence. 

[00:11:20] I feel like that was just sort of what I wanted. I didn't, yeah, I didn't really enjoy sitting in a classroom just filling out paperwork. I wasn't really that type of kid, I really liked being out. And, you know, I learn a lot better doing the actual tasks. And that's just sort of how my brain works. So yes, being hands on is my thing. 

[00:11:43] And I just knew that I had to try different stuff and get out there in the world and try different jobs and, and find out what I actually enjoy doing.

Unfortunately, the price of independence is a hefty one— literally. While things began looking up after his move, his journey was not finished. There, in Melbourne, Freestone lands his first full-time job. 

[00:12:10] Most of the time, I was working like other jobs, like odd jobs here and there. And you know, being a dishy or working at a restaurant or, you know, doing hard labor work. For people that are new things like that, obviously, you get a bit of government support as well at that age. And that's just sort of, you know, how I survived for the time being until I ended up moving to Melbourne and working full time.

[00:13:13] Soo I actually worked as an energy broker. So basically, you know, providing people with, you know, energy prices when it came to electricity and gas or, and stuff like that. So that was my first sales role.

[00:13:31] Was that sort of in a more of a corporate setting? Or did you actually go on site? And on about?

[00:13:37] It was more of a corporate setting. Yeah, yeah. So like, in an office, with other people, you know, all day, everyday sort of thing?

[00:13:45] Yeah. Yeah. And how long did you do that for?

[00:13:49] I think I did that for maybe two or three years. Yeah. Calling it up. Yeah, managing a small sales team. They're at a very young age as well. And that's sort of how I was able to save up a bit of money and, and have [the] serviceability to buy my first house before my 21st birthday. 

While many young people at his age found themselves browsing Carsales or scavenging for flight deals to Fiji at the time, Freestone was determined to buy his first property. 

[00:14:45] I think I just wanted to enter the market and start, you know, getting a foot in the door in the property market so I could, you know, start leveraging. I knew that it was the stepping stones to creating something bigger for myself. And I knew that if I didn't do it, then you know, it would be many years until I really didn't do it, I think because I was already planning on going, traveling and, you know, going and seeing the world. And that's what I did. 

[00:15:15] After I purchased the property. I ended up going overseas and traveling Europe and all the rest of it for quite a while. So I feel like I just needed to get it out of the way. Yeah, it's definitely a good choice.

Of course, we can’t be all work and no play! Blessed with travel all around the world, Freestone is keen to share some exciting, worldly stories.

[00:15:50] Bali was the first stop. And from there, I sort of traveled outside of Bali to Europe and those different locations. So yeah, the reason I went to Bali is because I met a girl and she lives there with her family from a very young age. And we basically ended up starting a cafe over there. And the cafe was really successful. And we ended up opening a second location, which was also a really good success. And that's when I sort of started investing in other businesses. 

[00:16:26] And from there, I traveled to Europe, different places in Europe like London. I went to Italy, Paris, Amsterdam, all the usual spots where people are very nice in cities. Yeah, Rome, all those sorts of locations, obviously done quite a fair bit of Southeast Asia as well, like Thailand and northern islands off there. And Malaysia and Singapore and yeah.

[00:16:58] So you've kind of pretty much done the trek around Southeast Asia, and mostly Europe as well, which is really cool. 

[00:17:02] Yeah, a little bit of South America as well. 

[00:17:07] How long did you travel? 40? Do you recall?

[00:17:10] It was like, on and off, like small stints for like a few months, and then come back and then go again, you know, later on in the year for a few more months. 

It is a well-known fact that cafes don’t run themselves. Somebody has to serve the coffee, make the sandwiches, et cetera. Unfortunately, as one cannot run their cafe in Australia while they are holidaying in Bali, Freestone explains how he balanced staying on holiday and managing his business.

[00:17:37] I wasn't we weren't really hands-on [in] management in that rough sort of regard. Like, obviously doing all the operations and managing everything. We ended up getting, I think, about 50 different staff members under us. So we had it pretty organized, and it grew so quickly. 

[00:17:57] But that's yeah, we only were able to take off maybe three, four weeks at a time. But we would sort of coordinate that and hire other expats that were on the island that had Cafe management experience. That was sort of manag[ing] the whole business while we were away.

[00:18:22]  I had never run a cafe as such. My mom had a real food business in Byron Bay that, you know, I knew a bit about and how that sort of function. But no, I've never personally run a business like that.

Of all the businesses to choose, a cafe is certainly an interesting choice. Freestone shares the reasons behind his decision.

[00:18:52] The culture over there that we just found that there wasn't really some sort of place that you could go that did really, really good Australian sort of breakfast. And then it was still at the time where the whole vegan and vegetarian sort of movement was really, you know, kicking off. So we decided to just go vegetarian, and not really branded like that so much. We just called it Cafe organic barley. 

[00:19:21] And that just, you know, sometimes people wouldn't know if it was just vegetarian or not, but we made it in such a way that it didn't really bother the meat eaters, that it was all vegetarian, and then, you know, all the Instagram girls will come and they always sort of promoted on their stories and stuff like that. And that's sort of how it kicked off.

[00:19:59] How is that… five or six years? Yeah, yeah. So it was quite a while.

[00:20:08] Learn[t] lots of good stories, lots of business lessons as well, how to run a business, what, what, what not to do, what to do things over there and barely to run a lot differently then how does work here and in the West? But yeah, great lessons learning how to manage staff and processes and systems.  

[00:20:32] And, you know, it was really a deep dive because the business did just kick off really fast. So we had to learn everything quite quickly. It was sort of just turned into a 24/7 job time.

[00:20:47] I mean, did you enjoy it? That's the thing, because sometimes people buy themselves into a business [and] end up becoming the job again.

Jack Freestone:  

[00:20:54] It was a little bit like that. But you know, we were so young and passionate. And, you know, it was just really fun and exciting at the time, obviously, very stressful at the same time with a young business growing so quickly. And as young 20 year olds, you didn't really know the ins and outs of everything and how to do everything correctly. But yeah.

Alas, Freestone could not travel forever. Having spent 5+ years away, he decided it was finally time to come back home. 

[00:21:36] Well, I wasn't actually planning to come back. Me and my partner split up, we went our separate ways. And I was staying there for quite a while because I still had the other businesses. And then I just sort of, you know, wanted to come back and see family, come back and visit and all the rest of it. And I just decided it was time to come home. 

[00:21:58] And I came back to Melbourne and yeah, as I said, before, I started living in Melbourne for about 12 months, I started, I will actually went into finance and started working with different companies in regards to the Australian stock market, helping, you know, clientele trade, different stocks or currency and things like that.

[00:22:23] Wow, that's very interesting. It's a completely different career path.

[00:22:28] Very different. But it was exciting, that the stock markets are [a] very, you know, high, high paced, fast paced sort of industry, and people make a lot of money, people lose a lot of money. Yeah, after doing that for about, I think it was 12 to 24 months, I decided to go to New Zealand.

[00:22:59] My mom's actually originally from the North Island in New Zealand, and all of her side of the family is over there. Yeah. So I just went over to visit them and, you know, catch up and yeah, I ended up doing just that on property over there. 

Purchasing one's first property at 21 is certainly a phenomenal feat. For Freestone, it did not end there. With already 5 properties in his portfolio, Freestone shares invaluable advice on growing your assets.

[00:23:31] The first property I purchased was in a little beachside suburb near Byron Bay. I haven't actually done any, you know, structural cosmetic renovations to the property at all. I've just had long term tenants in place, ever since I purchased it, you know, planted a few trees and done the gardens and stuff like that. But yeah, that's about it.

Jack Freestone:  

[00:24:14] So it's just grown in value equity wise, yeah, quite considerably more than three times what its original purchase price was. So I've been lucky enough to be able to leverage that property and purchase additional houses from that and to grow a property portfolio.

Jack Freestone: 

[00:24:45] So at the beginning of this year, I had up to five properties in my portfolio, and I have been selling some to free up cash flow and you know, make a difference [since I] sort of moved here in the Brisbane market? Yeah, a lot of my properties were down towards Byron Bay and on the Gold Coast as well.

Naturally, no journey is without its challenges. Freestone shares some of his challenging moments, and the words of wisdom he has developed as a result.

[00:25:26] It's been lots of learning lessons throughout my property journey, basically, you know, I have pretty much all of my property on variable rates, you know, which is really good when interest rates are low. Interest rates have recently gone up quite considerably. 

[00:25:44] Holding those properties, you know, on [a] variable has cost quite a lot to maintain, enter out there, the high interest rate environment. Yes, though, you know, as long as you prepare for those sorts of occasions, then you can weather the storm until you know, things settle. But yeah, like, I've done many different things along my property journey throughout developments. I bought a few townhouses off the plan. 

[00:26:12] And it was with small, but considerable deposits. And the idea was to sell these townhouses before they were complete. Shortly after securing them, was when basically, we had extraordinary floods, over most of the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Byron Bay, to the market took a pretty big turn, you know, people were sort of afraid, they weren't flood affected, and they were out of the flood zone, but lots of the areas around them in different locations. 

[00:26:49] You know, people just had cold feet after that. And then shortly after that, interest rates started rising. So it was quite difficult to offload those properties. But I had them under contract with new buyers prior to the floods happening. And I had around 350,000 profit on each slide prior to the floods, and then the floods happened, and then the contracts fell over. 

[00:27:17] And then yeah, I just came out breaking even on those ones, which was a pretty good learning lesson. But you know, no one can sort of predict a natural disaster like that. And then interest rate environments that we went into. So that was pretty interesting.

[00:27:33] So that learning lesson, no one can predict things. What do you think you would do, looking back in hindsight, you know, anything different? Or would you have actually still been going through the same process?

[00:27:47] At the time, yeah, like, I guess no one could sort of predict a natural disaster like that, and they weren't flood affected. So, you know, I've done all my due diligence and checks. It was more about the sentiment around the market, and then the interest rate environment, maybe, maybe not, instead of getting to at the same time, maybe, you know, minimizing that risk a little bit more and just doing a while and making sure that that was a success. 

[00:28:12] But yeah, but yeah, you know, I originally, I did have both of them under contract with large profits.

[00: 28:28] So yeah, they just pulled out and said, We're not buying the properties. And at the time, they were still within the cooling off period.

[00:28:36] Did you have to put any money into purchasing these properties initially?

[00:28:44] So in regards to the deposit, yes. 

Of course if there is no risk, there is no reward. Despite this, Freestone decides to sell quickly. While it reduced the risk, it certainly tanked his reward. Contemplating the pros and cons of his decision, Freestone imparts unforgettable tips to listeners.

[00:29:02] It took about 12 months afterwards. Yeah. Okay. So I sold them right before completion. Yeah, yeah. Which, you know,

[00:29:11] Could you have held on to them?

[00:29:14] Potentially, you know, looking back on it now, like, maybe I should have just held them, but, you know, the world is in chaos, and everything's happening. And, you know, I was originally wanting to make a bit more of a splash here in Brisbane and buy property up here. But the reason why I ended up buying so much more property down that way was because there were all these border closures between New South Wales and Queensland. 

[00:29:40] And you just weren't sure what was going to happen. And so like a lot of my family's down in Byron Bay, a lot of my properties down that way as well. And yeah, I just wasn't sure you know, where I was gonna really base myself at the time.

Jack Freestone:  

[00:30:03]  And then yeah, Brisbane announced the Olympic Games and you know, there's obviously a huge potential for growth up here now and I think it's a wise move to buy in the inner city up here in Brisbane.

While many remember the successful moment as the moment when they ‘hit it big’ and rolled in the big bucks, Freestone recognises his as the moment he knew property investment was his calling. He thus paints a picture of his first investment property. 

[00:0:32] My first property development was probably my first aha moment when I walked away, I think was around $120,000, after like, nine months of work in my pocket, and I was like, oh, you know, this beats most nine to five jobs that you can do it. And I had fun doing it and learnt so much. 

[00:00:58] And so I was like, ‘Oh, if I can do two or three of these a year, you know, I'm cheering’. So that was definitely an aha moment.

[00:01:16] Basically, it was the first deal that I did, it was in New Zealand, actually. So it was a block of land. And basically, it was like, on the outskirts of this sort of town, and people were unsure if the council would allow you to subdivide it, because it didn't have the correct zoning. 

[00:01:38] And I made a few more inquiries, and discussed that with a town planner, and the council. I went in and met with them. And they assured me that, you know, I shouldn't be able to push it through. And if I, you know, completed these different aspects that they wanted for the property, they would approve it. So I basically engaged [in] all the correct trades, I purchased the property. And I started the process. 

[00:02:09] And I went out to old dairy farmers in, you know, the farmland in New Zealand and brought these old dairy houses. One I purchased, I think, for 25,000. The other one was like 36,000, wow, got some cheap button moves on a truck to each of the sections. And I basically got them connected and set up all the services. 

[00:02:34] And then I started the renovation process, and renovated the first house first and then sold that and then started the second one. And completed that and on sold that I actually sold them both privately as well. So I have money there on real estate fees.

When it came to the renovation, Freestone was more than happy to delegate his tasks. Not keen on tradeswork, he assumes other vital roles: management and sales. Sharing his management strategy, Freestone reveals a valuable lesson to everyone listening: how to bring up the value of a house.

[00:03:04] I hired trades people. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not that keen to jump on the trades or all that skilled for that matter, either.

[00:03:30] Yeah, so typically, what I would do is create an outdoor space like an Alfresco area, I would usually get the house completely put in new kitchens, new bathrooms, new flooring, and paint the inside and the outside new roof if it if it needed to be done. If the roof didn't need to be done, it would just have a new coat of paint. And then basically just a small minor amount of landscaping and, and that'll be about it. 

[00:04:12] Usually, it would be anywhere between 50 and 100 grand on a renovation. So some of them were quite considerable. I have done lots of renovations that were, you know, 30 grand, I think was [the] smallest one I've probably done.

Unfortunately, a renovation is not like a development—there is no fixed cost. Unexpected issues and costs may crop up. 

[00:04:47] It definitely happened quite often with renovations, sort of like Pandora's box. You don't really know what's going to happen until you start opening up walls. And, you know, there were lots of times where there'll be a maybe a small leak in the roof and that had been, you know, leaking in the wall. 

[00:05:04] And then you know, all the studs and framing were rotten within the wall and that [was] replaced or on the floor and different things like that. So, yeah, I definitely encountered quite a few things like that.

Despite this uncertainty, Freestone keeps his passion for renovations. 

[00:05:29] I really like doing renovations, really enjoy it, love doing developments, just, it's [a] really rewarding sort of project to do, because at the end of it, you can be proud of what you've accomplished. And you know, what you've been able to complete and you know, someone else is going to enjoy it.

[00:05:49] But I'd like to, you know, continue to lean more towards the higher end of of houses, new builds, luxury sort of homes is a direction that I'd like to continue working towards,

Of course, one cannot remain stagnant in their career. Having hit his rhythm with renovations and finding a place within the property industry, Freestone shares his future career plans and goals. 

[00:06:11]  The last house I did, it was down towards Byron Bay. And that was more of a luxury renovation, and it was more of that boho whites and woods. And really, that's sort of like a trend at the moment. But yeah, I would love to continue doing that up here as well. 

[00:06:29] My main focus at the moment is the buyer's agency that I've been running. And that's, you know, keeping me going full time. Every single day. I'm working on that business. We're super busy helping homebuyers, investors and developers. But yeah, when I get more free time, or as the business gets bigger and able to employ more people, I will definitely continue on the development side a bit more. 

With his upcoming plans of building a portfolio and shifting into the high-end luxury market, Freestone reminisces on past renovation projects. 

[00:07:30] It was back in 2021. I purchased that one. And it was an old brick 1980s single level home, four bedrooms, two bathrooms, double garage, just on just over 600 square meters. And I decided to fully get the inside of the house and put it in the new bathrooms, new kitchen, huge Alfresco area with, you know, pizza oven and all [the] ceiling and yeah, made it really nice, rented the outside and, and painted it. 

[00:08:08] The property did have a Heritage overlay on it, even though there weren't really any heritage houses in the street. So with council, we had one council member come out and tell us, you know what color we could paint the house and so we painted the house, that color wasn't exactly what we wanted to the color that we wanted to paint the house, but it wasn't too bad. In the end. 

[00:08:34] They wanted us to actually paint the house more of a green color for me but tucking them around to a really, really light gray almost white at the Yeah, yeah. But yeah, that was a really exciting renovation and I've held on to that property and it's on Airbnb and does really well.

[00:08:56] So why did you choose Airbnb rather than go down the traditional path of renting it out?

[00:09:05] The returns on Airbnb are just a lot better. Obviously, you got the insurance with Airbnb, which covers you up to I think a million dollars for damages or lost property. You know, guess what typically stays for a minimum of two nights and a maximum of five. 

[00:09:24] And cleaners would have cleaners go in after and clean the house. So it's constantly being looked after and maintained. Yeah, it just made sense in that regard. And yeah, the returns are huge compared to the long term market there.

Though many listeners may be hesitant to divert from traditional practices when it comes to property investment, Freestone encourages us to take that leap. He shares some reasons why.

[00:09:52] It's more of a streamline sort of system. It's on Airbnb booking.com. And when bookings come, as in, I sort of notify the cleaner, the cleaners are sort of aware of all the bookings, there's a lockbox on the side of the house. And the code for the lockbox gets sent to the guest before they arrive. And so then they can just get the keys and go in and just put them back when they leave. 

[00:10:18] And then the cleaner goes and collects the keys and cleans the house and maintains the property and then puts them back. So I don't really have to be there at all. Right? So that's really convenient for me.

Disclosing further detail, Freestone highlights what information he gives cleaners to be able to prep the property.

[00:10:47] I met them a few times and took them to the property originally, before that we employed them [to] discuss, you know, sort of what I wanted done and how it needed to be done. 

[00:10:58] And, you know, if they could complete, you know, all the bookings that we have, because we're quite busy, and they were able to do it, they were fine with, you know, changing the sheets, we just ended up buying, you know, several sets, so it'd be a lot easier for the cleaners so they wouldn't have to rush throughout the process. And yeah, it's been really smooth sailing.

Continuing to impart his wisdom to listeners, Freestone shares the importance of setting new goals. Having purchased his property in Byron Bay and making the bold move to the Gold Coast, he outlines the next steps in his success plan.

[00:11:58] So personally, I would just like to accumulate maybe another five to 10 properties along the Gold Coast, and mainly in Brisbane City. Basically hold them up until, you know, retirement sort of age. And in the meantime, throughout that process, I would still like to be continuing doing the development side of things. 

[00:12:27] But yeah, like, my main focus in property right now is buying it for other people.

Giving listeners even more advice, Freestone outlines the criteria he looks for when buying, as well as the strategy adapted for clients. 

[00:12:55] Typically, I base a lot of our purchases on location dependent and data driven information, but facing different locations of the demand, the supply, just simple economics, things like that. Here in Brisbane, there's really low stock levels at the moment. And there's still quite a lot of buyer demand. 

[00:13:19] I always, you know, sort of go back to my roots, where I think that purchasing when it comes to property or an investment depends on a client's strategy. But for me, buying a house and just land is the best sort of investment that you can buy. I try to steer most people away from apartments in, you know, high rises and things like that. 

[00:13:41] If people do want to buy, you know, small units and apartments and things like that, we usually try to direct them around to, you know, small five packs to 10-pack sort of scenarios, because you're only showing that the land value with a small number of people compared to big high rises. Yeah, yeah. But typically, in those little locations, people are buying for convenience, and lifestyle.

To elaborate, Freestone reveals the main advantages buyers consider when choosing units, highlighting that it has more to do with convenience than the lower price point.

[00:14:17] Typically, it's lifestyle and convenience for homebuyers. When they want to buy in there, you want to be, you know, close to all the shops, the cafes, the restaurants and, you know, not having to commute so far for work and things like that. 

[00:14:31] So typically, before the rate rises, we saw a lot of buyers, you know, in the city wanting to purchase houses. But since interest rate rises, those people's borrowing capacities diminished, but they're not actually wanting to compromise on the locations. And so instead they'll start buying apartments or townhouses.

Moving away from the more traditional advice, Freestone answers a more pivotal question: Why do this at all? Why invest in a strong portfolio? 

[00:15:47] For me, personally, growing a portfolio is more for freedom. Yeah, I think that's what a lot of people's goal is not necessarily to get rich, or, you know, become wealthy is more about being able to do what you want with your time. That's what I'm more about, I'd love to, you know, be able to, you know, do whatever I want, whenever I want with my time, whether that be traveling or spending it with family and friends. I think that's the main thing. 

[00:16:13] And I think property is a great tool to be able to leverage into a position quite quickly, compared to, you know, different avenues. I understand it quite well, you can, it's tangible, you can see it, you can feel it. You know, for me, I think it's the best tool to get there.

[00:16:33] It's a very good strong vehicle, once again, to get to your goals, or your dreams and whatnot. And ultimately, you don't have to say you love property as much as you should. It's something that just helps you achieve your dreams and goals just like with any business too. And along your journey, you've actually done a lot of things, which is really amazing. 

[00:16:57] Did you have any resources or mentors that you actually approached previously to gain the skills that you had? Or was it all through experience?

[00:17:06] Yeah, I didn't necessarily have any mentors, or people that sort of guided me that much. I just really watched other people that were doing the things that I wanted to do, whether that be on social media, or you know, checking out their websites and seeing different projects that were being completed or done. 

[00:17:25] And I would just, you know, research about them and you know, their story, and you know, how they got there, how they started out lots of podcasts and lots of different things, reading different books and, and stuff like that is really sort of just self education, I guess.

Continuing to help our listeners, Freestone is more than happy to recommend reading materials that helped shape his journey. 

[00:17:52] Different books, there's always the ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’. And that was probably one of the first property sort of books that I ended up reading. I recently read a book, I forget the name of it, but it was about a developer that created the suburb of Springfield lakes. Oh, Brisbane.

[00:18:13] Mohab Combi, I can't pronounce his name. Yeah. Yeah, something like that.

[00:18:16] And that was a really incredible story that that guy did.

[00:18:34] He just didn't stop until he got it done. Yeah, the things he went out and did, and the amount of no’s that he got and roadblocks and, you know, the amount of times that he was about to go bankrupt. And so, you know, pushed through and, and made it happen. So amazing.

[00:18:50] His vision was so big, that, you know, it was something that he was so strong and passionate about, if that drove him to be able to achieve that. Because if he didn't, you know, there wouldn't be a Springfield as we speak today, unfortunately. 

[00:19:02] Yeah, exactly. Yeah. 

[00:19:04] So what did you learn from that book, but in particular, what was the point that you or anything that you took away from it?

[00:19:12] Just read the pure resilience, I guess, that that guy had, and just that drive to really just reach his goal, and, you know, not let all the nose and the roadblocks you know, getting down and you know, just he basically takes the perspective of every know that you get is closer to a yes, that you're chasing. So just sort of try to adapt to that mindset and get really comfortable with getting rejected or getting nose and yeah, just focus on the goal.

[00:21:02] There's so many different stories like that, where someone's, you know, created a billion dollar business, but prior to that, they got so many no’s and got rejected so many times. 

[00:21:14] On top of that, they almost [went] bankrupt as well. And it's like that scary moment. Do you keep going? Or do you give up and move on to something else?

[00:21:24] Yeah, because I feel like that's what happens to a lot of people throughout, you know, entrepreneurship and starting your own businesses that, you know, there are a lot of scary moments, you don't know, if you're gonna make it through or, you know, be successful. And I feel like a lot of people just give up when they get that that fear. And they sort of pivot back into a nine to five or whatever it is. 

[00:21:47] But yeah, if you sort of just persevere through it, I think feel like, eventually, you sort of come up with a solution or find a way to make it work, because there's not really any other option.

Having shared a multitude of advice to listeners, Freestone takes a new approach this time. He tells us what he would say to his younger self, 10 years ago.

[00:22:11] What I say to myself, 10 years ago, probably go harder, take more risk. Submerge myself in industry a lot more and get really good at discipline and saying no, to other outside influences.

[00:22:34] I totally resonate with that as well, too. Sometimes just hindsight [is] always good, in some sense to be able to help you push forward, because you can always make changes now rather than wait for later.

Jack Freestone:  

[00:22:46] Yeah, exactly. Right. And when you're younger, you know, you always feel like you're missing out or, you know, you always want to go on that next adventure, or what your friends are doing. And, you know, it's really hard to say no to, you know, catching up or doing this and, you know, you sort of want to be focusing on your goals or other aspects of your life.

[00:23:06] Yeah, totally. And then looking forward to the future. What are you most excited about, in, say, the next five years?

[00:23:14] Just growing in the industry, you know, creating something really great for myself here. And, yeah, I would really enjoy helping other people make the right decisions in the property market as well. That's, you know, something that I love to do. I'm really passionate about that. And continuing on with, with property.

[00:23:35] Jack, you've achieved quite a lot in in such a short period of time, you know, you've grown a portfolio, you've also got successful businesses that you've ran, and also running a business now as well. How much of that success do you think has been due to skill, intelligence and hard work? And how much do you think has been due to luck?

[00:23:55] I think you sort of create your own luck, I think I've created it just from you know, getting out there and having a go and, you know, learning from other people that you know, more advanced than myself and that have more experience. That's really helped guide me, but I think the main thing is just to get in there and start.  

Thank you to Jack Freestone, our guest on this episode of Property Investory.