Insights & Resources

Investment Insights

Expert analysis, market trends, and practical advice for property investors

2025

24 articles
I Rented to the Wrong Tenant Once. Never Again. Here's My 20-Point Screening System.
Yan ZhuProperty Management

I Rented to the Wrong Tenant Once. Never Again. Here's My 20-Point Screening System.

My first investment property in Melbourne taught me the most expensive lesson of my career. I rented to a couple who seemed perfectly fine at the inspection. Two years later, I found five different na

Oct 2112 min read
We Turned a $800K House Into Three Units at $1,200 a Week. Here's Every Detail.
Joey DonRenovation & Development

We Turned a $800K House Into Three Units at $1,200 a Week. Here's Every Detail.

This house looked like nothing special from the street. Standard brick veneer, 700 square metres, corner block. Six months later it was worth $92,000 more than we paid and generating $1,200 a week in

Oct 2012 min read
I've Lived in Melbourne for 14 Years. Here Are 9 Things Nobody Warns You About.
Yan ZhuGuides

I've Lived in Melbourne for 14 Years. Here Are 9 Things Nobody Warns You About.

Melbourne just got ranked the world's most liveable city. Again. My Shanghai friends are impressed. But only Melburnians know the full story — the weather tantrums, the suburb pecking order, and the h

Oct 1912 min read
26 Applications Before We Even Opened the Door. That's Melbourne's Southeast Right Now.
Joey DonSuburb Analysis

26 Applications Before We Even Opened the Door. That's Melbourne's Southeast Right Now.

Christmas Eve. Three property managers on site. Cars lining the entire street. The neighbours came out to ask if we were holding an auction. We weren't. We were renting out a house for $1,300 a week.

Oct 1811 min read
Threw Away These 6 Documents After Buying? You'll Pay Thousands Extra in CGT.
Yan ZhuFinance & Tax

Threw Away These 6 Documents After Buying? You'll Pay Thousands Extra in CGT.

Most people buy a property, grab the keys, pop champagne, and shove the paperwork in a drawer. Ten years later they sell and discover they're paying tens of thousands more in capital gains tax than th

Oct 1710 min read
I Put Six Figures Into Stocks, Crypto, and Property. Only One Made Me Rich.
Joey DonInvestment Strategy

I Put Six Figures Into Stocks, Crypto, and Property. Only One Made Me Rich.

I've owned Qantas shares, NASDAQ index funds, 16 Ethereum, and a knockdown house on 600 square metres of Melbourne dirt. The results weren't even close.

Oct 1612 min read
I've Read Over 1,000 Property Listings. These Phrases Are Lies.
Yan ZhuScam / Warning

I've Read Over 1,000 Property Listings. These Phrases Are Lies.

Every listing on realestate.com.au sounds like paradise. Sun-drenched living, development potential, stone's throw from everything. After 150+ purchases, I can decode every single one of these euphemi

Oct 1511 min read
5 Tasmania Property Traps I See in 2024 (And the $0 Growth Trap)
Joey DonMarket Analysis

5 Tasmania Property Traps I See in 2024 (And the $0 Growth Trap)

Every few months someone sends me a Domain article about Hobart's property boom and asks whether they should buy there. My answer hasn't changed in five years: no. Let me show you why the numbers don'

Oct 1412 min read
Landlord Insurance Won't Save You (Unless You Avoid These Three Traps)
Yan ZhuProperty Management

Landlord Insurance Won't Save You (Unless You Avoid These Three Traps)

Most landlords treat insurance as a safety net. It's not. It's a last resort with conditions attached — conditions that insurers are very good at enforcing and landlords are very bad at reading.

Oct 1311 min read
Second Rooming House: $880K In, $1,500 a Week Out (Plus a Warning)
Joey DonRenovation & Development

Second Rooming House: $880K In, $1,500 a Week Out (Plus a Warning)

Remember the $820K rooming house I wrote about? The one producing $1,200 a week? This one beats it. Different property, bigger block, better numbers. But I'm also going to tell you about the four clie

Oct 1213 min read
Australia's $2 Trillion Mortgage Pile Meets AI: Who Loses First?
Yan ZhuGuides

Australia's $2 Trillion Mortgage Pile Meets AI: Who Loses First?

Australia carries $2 trillion in outstanding mortgage debt. That figure represents 112% of GDP — second only to Switzerland. The question nobody in property circles is asking yet: what happens when AI

Oct 1112 min read
Doncaster vs Doncaster East: $200K Equity Stakes for Investors
Joey DonSuburb Analysis

Doncaster vs Doncaster East: $200K Equity Stakes for Investors

Most people treat Doncaster and Doncaster East as the same suburb with a different suffix. They couldn't be more wrong. One is being bulldozed into a high-density urban centre. The other is quietly mi

Oct 1013 min read
Every Tax You'll Pay on a Victorian Investment Property (And the Ones You Won't)
Yan ZhuFinance & Tax

Every Tax You'll Pay on a Victorian Investment Property (And the Ones You Won't)

Victoria has a reputation for taxing property investors harder than any other state. The reputation is partly earned and partly mythology. Let me separate the facts from the fear.

Oct 912 min read
The Two-Property Retirement: How $400K Today Becomes $220K Per Year Forever
Joey DonInvestment Strategy

The Two-Property Retirement: How $400K Today Becomes $220K Per Year Forever

The average Australian retires with $292,000 in super. That generates $20K a year and runs out at 82. Two investment properties bought at 35 generate $220K a year forever. I'm going to show you both n

Oct 812 min read
Five Solar Panel Traps That Cost Australian Homeowners Thousands
Yan ZhuScam / Warning

Five Solar Panel Traps That Cost Australian Homeowners Thousands

Yes, solar can save you money. But the industry is riddled with traps designed to make installers rich and homeowners confused. After seeing dozens of investment properties hit with unexpected solar c

Oct 79 min read
Cash Is Melting. Here's How Property Investors Become the Winners.
Joey DonMarket Analysis

Cash Is Melting. Here's How Property Investors Become the Winners.

Your savings account isn't saving anything. While you earn 4% interest, your purchasing power drops 6%. The people getting richer in this environment are the ones who understood one thing early: infla

Oct 611 min read
Five Things We Check Before Approving a Single Tenant (And What Landlords Get Wrong)
Yan ZhuProperty Management

Five Things We Check Before Approving a Single Tenant (And What Landlords Get Wrong)

A bad tenant will cost you more than a bad property. After managing 300 properties across Melbourne, our screening process is blunt, methodical, and designed to keep problem tenants off your books bef

Oct 510 min read
We Bought a House for $820K and Turned It Into $1,200 a Week
Joey DonRenovation & Development

We Bought a House for $820K and Turned It Into $1,200 a Week

I'm going to walk you through a deal that my accountant called 'obscene.' Not because it was risky — because the numbers were almost too good. An $820,000 house producing $1,200 a week in rent. Let me

Oct 413 min read
Eight Things I Check in the First Ten Minutes of Every Property Inspection
Yan ZhuGuides

Eight Things I Check in the First Ten Minutes of Every Property Inspection

A $550 building inspection is the best money you'll ever spend on a property. But you don't need a report to spot the warning signs. Here's what my team and I look for before the inspector even turns

Oct 314 min read
I've Bought 30 Properties in Hampton Park. Here's Why the Numbers Still Stack Up.
Joey DonSuburb Analysis

I've Bought 30 Properties in Hampton Park. Here's Why the Numbers Still Stack Up.

Mate, I've driven every street in this suburb. I've inspected houses with rising damp, houses with illegal extensions, houses where the vendor's agent couldn't find the front door key. And I keep comi

Oct 212 min read
Three Tax Levers That Make or Break Your Property Portfolio
Yan ZhuFinance & Tax

Three Tax Levers That Make or Break Your Property Portfolio

Most investors can explain negative gearing in one sentence. Very few can explain why their accountant structured their third property in a discretionary trust instead of their personal name. That gap

Oct 111 min read
Australia's Housing Crisis Is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Smart Investors
Joey DonInvestment Strategy

Australia's Housing Crisis Is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Smart Investors

Everyone's talking about how Australia can't house its people. They're right. And if you understand what's actually driving this crisis, you'll see why it's the single greatest wealth-building window

Sep 3013 min read
The Due Diligence Checklist We Run on Every Single Property (And You Should Too)
Joey DonGuides

The Due Diligence Checklist We Run on Every Single Property (And You Should Too)

We spend eight hours on due diligence for every property we buy. Eight. Most investors spend less than eight minutes reading the listing description. Here's the full checklist.

Sep 2914 min read
One Number Tells You If a Suburb Will Boom or Flatline for a Decade
Yan ZhuMarket Analysis

One Number Tells You If a Suburb Will Boom or Flatline for a Decade

There's a single data point that predicted Glen Waverley's stagnation, Box Hill's decline, and Hampton Park's outperformance. It takes three minutes to calculate.

Sep 289 min read

Page 9 of 20 · 478 articles total

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