The 8 Rules Every Property in My $7.2M Portfolio Follows

As someone who has built a $7.2M investment portfolio over the last few years and purchased more than 50 properties for clients

I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty.

The properties that perform the best over time all share similar traits.

These criteria come from real experience, not theory, and they help avoid 90 percent of the mistakes most people make when buying.

Every property in my 7.2M portfolio share similar traits.

Here’s what I buy to avoid 90% of the mistakes most people make:

1. Built in the ‘ties (70s, 80s or 90s)

2. a) Houses: Min. 500–600 sqm blocks in the suburbs
   b) Apartments: very small “walk-up” blocks of 6-12, high land value suburbs in LOW density pockets

3. No weird, super-irregular block shapes

4. No blocks that slope downhill from the street

5. In the wise words of Justin Merendino: “brick and tile makes me smile” (weatherboard can be ok)

6. Buy in owner-occupier dominated areas

7. Value-add potential

8. No busy roads. That includes buying too close to schools

P.S. These are my rules. There are sometimes exceptions to the rules.

P.P.S. Did you know? Did you know the “tile” in “brick and tile” actually refers to the ROOF tiles. Not the floor tiles inside the house.

That is all.

Additional context for readers

These rules may look simple, but they come from years of observing what actually drives capital growth.

Older established homes tend to sit on better land, in better streets, in suburbs where owner occupiers make up the majority of buyers.

Properties with strong land value, simple layouts, solid construction and value-add potential consistently outperform flashier, renovated options on smaller blocks.

This is the exact framework I use with clients and in my own portfolio because it works.

Author

Written by JP Ghabriel

Founder and Buyer’s Agent at Investr

7.2M personal portfolio

50+ client purchases

Specialising in fundamentals-first residential property strategy