Think you’re too old to become a property developer?
Think again.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s never too late to become a property developer. Age is not a barrier to starting a property development journey. For those of us who have celebrated the magnificent milestone of 50 years, life often throws up one of two key challenges.
Either we’re thinking we don’t have enough money to retire comfortably, or we’re pretty comfortable and don’t want to put that existing level of comfort at risk for something better.
But here’s what I say to those who are “pretty comfortable”: the thing that stops a great life is a good life. Only you can decide if you’re willing to push for more than you already have.
Of course, once you hit your 50s, traditional borrowing gets harder.
The banks look at 20 and 30 year loan terms and worry that borrowers aged 50+ don’t have that long left in their working life. That means the bank has to assess you based on whether you can pay back a loan in only 5 to 10 years. The lending criteria gets super hard to the point where a bank will just say, nope, don’t think so. The stupidity of this position is that many older borrowers will go onto a pension which is guaranteed money, but the bank doesn’t care about that.
So certainly, over and above the traditional challenges you have with doing property development deals, age can be an additional obstacle.
But anyone who knows me will be familiar with my approach to most obstacles: it’s time to get creative.
Let’s take a look at the most common excuses that come up in the 50+ camp.
I’ve got no money
This excuse is not limited to the 50+ camp – people of all ages worry that a lack of money will stop them from pursuing their development dreams. There are lots of ways you can get creative on the money front, starting with your acquisition strategies.
One of the first things you can do is get familiar with low or no money down approaches to doing a development.
From securing vendor finance or doing a joint venture to getting a commercial loan there’s a surprising number of ways to get into the market without spending much of your own money. Low deposit property development strategies are especially useful for older developers.
I’ve got no experience, and commercial lenders want experience
While it’s true that a commerical lender will be assessing you on the deal and your capabilities (rather than on your serviceability) you can shore up your lack of experience by going into a deal with a sponsor. This would be someone with a background in development who effectively becomes the guarantor for your commercial loan.
You probably won’t need a sponsor if you’re doing a small-scale project, but if you’re tackling something like a six-pack of townhouses, having someone with development experience in your corner will not only help secure development finance, it will also give you a brains trust to tap into as your deal progresses.
There are plenty of seasoned developers who will happily take a 10 to 20% cut to be on your bank documents if they can see you’ve got a good deal going. Partnering with experienced developers can improve access to development finance.
I won’t know what to do
Anyone considering a late-life career change needs to get educated first. There are loads of books, magazines and online tutorials to get you started and there’s nothing like talking to a developer first hand to get an understanding of what you can expect when you start out on your development journey.
There are also programs like ours you can sign up to which will take you step by step through the residential development process. Property development education reduces risk for new developers.
Our Property Development Formula course was specifically designed to guide beginners through strategy selection, deal analysis and project delivery, even if you're starting later in life.
Still not convinced?
Read about Phil
Phil was 59 when he was unexpectedly made redundant.
He figured he still had a few years left in his working life, but nobody wanted to employ him because he was too qualified and too close to retirement.
With $100,000 in the bank he didn’t have enough money to comfortably retire, and he also felt like he hadn’t kicked the goals he should have by his age.
After much soul-searching, Phil signed up to do our Property Development Formula program. He started out on smaller projects and he’s now on track to make $1 million this year. You won’t be surprised to hear he’s loving life!
And Phil’s not alone.
Deborah is in her 60s. She was down to her last $10,000 and living with her mum. After getting educated she kicked off her property development journey and will soon cash in $500,000 profit from her deal.
Another student in our program is in her 70s and down to her last $100,000 and she’s getting ready to jump into property development.
I understand that sometimes you’re too afraid to move forward. As you get older, especially if you’ve got limited resources and you’re working through to your retirement, you want to make sure your resources go as far as possible in the most efficient way possible.
But age doesn’t need to be a barrier to financial freedom. In fact, age can actually become your secret weapon, because if you’ve got to a position where you’ve got nothing left to lose, you’re going to work twice as hard as everyone else to find success. Plus, experience and life skills can be powerful advantages in property development.
Are you too old? Or just scared?
Knowledge is power folks.
And with the right knowledge and the right mindset, it’s never too late to start your property development journey.
Think again.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s never too late to become a property developer. Age is not a barrier to starting a property development journey. For those of us who have celebrated the magnificent milestone of 50 years, life often throws up one of two key challenges.
Either we’re thinking we don’t have enough money to retire comfortably, or we’re pretty comfortable and don’t want to put that existing level of comfort at risk for something better.
But here’s what I say to those who are “pretty comfortable”: the thing that stops a great life is a good life. Only you can decide if you’re willing to push for more than you already have.
Of course, once you hit your 50s, traditional borrowing gets harder.
The banks look at 20 and 30 year loan terms and worry that borrowers aged 50+ don’t have that long left in their working life. That means the bank has to assess you based on whether you can pay back a loan in only 5 to 10 years. The lending criteria gets super hard to the point where a bank will just say, nope, don’t think so. The stupidity of this position is that many older borrowers will go onto a pension which is guaranteed money, but the bank doesn’t care about that.
So certainly, over and above the traditional challenges you have with doing property development deals, age can be an additional obstacle.
But anyone who knows me will be familiar with my approach to most obstacles: it’s time to get creative.
Let’s take a look at the most common excuses that come up in the 50+ camp.
I’ve got no money
This excuse is not limited to the 50+ camp – people of all ages worry that a lack of money will stop them from pursuing their development dreams. There are lots of ways you can get creative on the money front, starting with your acquisition strategies.
One of the first things you can do is get familiar with low or no money down approaches to doing a development.
From securing vendor finance or doing a joint venture to getting a commercial loan there’s a surprising number of ways to get into the market without spending much of your own money. Low deposit property development strategies are especially useful for older developers.
I’ve got no experience, and commercial lenders want experience
While it’s true that a commerical lender will be assessing you on the deal and your capabilities (rather than on your serviceability) you can shore up your lack of experience by going into a deal with a sponsor. This would be someone with a background in development who effectively becomes the guarantor for your commercial loan.
You probably won’t need a sponsor if you’re doing a small-scale project, but if you’re tackling something like a six-pack of townhouses, having someone with development experience in your corner will not only help secure development finance, it will also give you a brains trust to tap into as your deal progresses.
There are plenty of seasoned developers who will happily take a 10 to 20% cut to be on your bank documents if they can see you’ve got a good deal going. Partnering with experienced developers can improve access to development finance.
I won’t know what to do
Anyone considering a late-life career change needs to get educated first. There are loads of books, magazines and online tutorials to get you started and there’s nothing like talking to a developer first hand to get an understanding of what you can expect when you start out on your development journey.
There are also programs like ours you can sign up to which will take you step by step through the residential development process. Property development education reduces risk for new developers.
Our Property Development Formula course was specifically designed to guide beginners through strategy selection, deal analysis and project delivery, even if you're starting later in life.
Still not convinced?
Read about Phil
Phil was 59 when he was unexpectedly made redundant.
He figured he still had a few years left in his working life, but nobody wanted to employ him because he was too qualified and too close to retirement.With $100,000 in the bank he didn’t have enough money to comfortably retire, and he also felt like he hadn’t kicked the goals he should have by his age.
After much soul-searching, Phil signed up to do our Property Development Formula program. He started out on smaller projects and he’s now on track to make $1 million this year. You won’t be surprised to hear he’s loving life!
And Phil’s not alone.
Deborah is in her 60s. She was down to her last $10,000 and living with her mum. After getting educated she kicked off her property development journey and will soon cash in $500,000 profit from her deal.
Another student in our program is in her 70s and down to her last $100,000 and she’s getting ready to jump into property development.
I understand that sometimes you’re too afraid to move forward. As you get older, especially if you’ve got limited resources and you’re working through to your retirement, you want to make sure your resources go as far as possible in the most efficient way possible.
But age doesn’t need to be a barrier to financial freedom. In fact, age can actually become your secret weapon, because if you’ve got to a position where you’ve got nothing left to lose, you’re going to work twice as hard as everyone else to find success. Plus, experience and life skills can be powerful advantages in property development.
Are you too old? Or just scared?
Knowledge is power folks.
And with the right knowledge and the right mindset, it’s never too late to start your property development journey.
