Reviewed by: Brian Cordiner

Paul Do is a successful Australian investor in both the stock market and in real estate. This is his first book, developed over 10 years, and it reflects his practical experience in investing in real estate over different real estate cycles and in various Australian states. He has “been there — done that” with purchasing and selling established properties as well as acting as the developer when the situation warrants.

The book is suitable for first home buyers and also experienced real estate investors. There are five parts to the book covering: the real estate basics; his SYSTEM T decision making process; detailed information on the buying process; managing your properties and finally — the part of most interest to people with reasonable knowledge of real estate — making money in real estate. The author provides a step-by-step guide to the buying process that he advocates and includes a live example of the decision making process applied to the purchase of a Sydney property in 2007, including how he selected the property to bid on, from the 10 potential candidates he identified in his research.

The buying process that Paul utilises involves a “value” approach to real estate investing with substantial desk research rather than numerous property inspections. He researches the real estate cycle using a top-down approach starting nationally, then by state, by city within the state and even down to the suburbs within the cities to find buying “windows” (or selling opportunities). He strongly recommends the accumulate strategy and only contemplates selling if it is absolutely necessary or to take profits to fund a new acquisition. If property prices are outside his “buying zone” he recommends waiting on the sidelines or investing in other assets until the cycle swings your way again.

Utilising graphical trends and applying his technical analysis to the real estate cycle, and having determined the intrinsic value of the property (from net present value of future cash flows), he finds the “buying zone” which may be a few months or years in duration. Features of the book include a comprehensive glossary, index and reference list as well as a listing of resources to assist the reader. He references his own website www.ibhb.com.au which is a useful resource for potential investors.

In summary, the author shares with us his substantial experience in selecting, purchasing and managing real estate investments and is a value read for any serious real estate investor.

Brian Cordiner is a member of the AIA.