That's a great question. 15 years ago, I had three properties in regional New South Wales because I was not very clear on my reasonings, why, and strategy.

I ended up short selling it probably four years out. And when I recommend to clients to hold on to real estate for at least 10 years. And the reason I sold out is because I thought they were a bad investment. And the reason I thought it was a bad investment is because of other people's opinions, which is always a problem. Those three properties. properties were bought for $100,000 each. I only needed $10,000 deposit back then. Now I look back, those properties are worth $400,000. And so it's not about,

Yeah, it's only $400,000. It comes back to the return on investment. I only put $10,000 in to get a nearly $300,000 return. So that's changed my view on regional properties. The most migration that's happening in Australia right now is in regional areas for, you know, migrants or skill. workers to get their permanent residencies, et cetera. So yes, I would buy in regional areas.

It depends on where you're buying, what's behind it, doing your research, what's driving it, the industries, the towns, the jobs, resources, and look into that. Once you're sure that there's long-term growth or historic growth that's come behind it, plus there are tenants that have been there for a while, or you've got a minimum 12-month lease, I don't have an issue buying in regional areas. areas and in the last few years we bought in regional areas and my clients have already done well from those properties.

Zaki Ameer says : " Well, it depends on the person. Some financial freedom might be earning $50,000; another might be earning half a million.

For somebody else, it could be $2 million. So, financial freedom is dependent on the actual individual. My challenge with this is that most, in my experience of, say, the last 15 years being in property, is that people think that it's based on somebody else's goals and achievements, and they're trying to achieve that. So I've got a lot of clients that have made millions in real estate, thankfully through DDP, in equity, et cetera. And they come to me and still, after 11, 12 years, being a client, saying, "Zaki, can you help me "buy my next property?" The question to them is why?

Why do you need another property? It'd be great to have another client, but is that the right thing to do? Is it the most ethical thing to do? To ask the question, why do you want to go buy another property? And this is-- the missing part is that people need to take the time to understand what they want, why they want it, and what financial freedom means. Once you're very clear on what you want, buying property is extremely easy. When they're unclear about why and what they want to become financially free, they shortcut their goal."

And they probably give up too early because they're not clear. On why they got in the first place

How did you start DDP and why?

DDP was started basically to help others get ahead in real estate. This is because I found a need in my late 20s that property investing is not just about buying property.

You've got to get your finances sorted, which is a massive hurdle. You've got to find the right property nowhere to look, get a lawyer who knows how to read the contracts, a property manager who knows how to rent the property out, and renovators if you're doing renovation works. So I found a massive gap. in the marketplace and that gap still exists, that people need guidance about buying property. And most think it's just about the property.

But what I find that's still missing, more than that is the strategy behind it. And what we're great at is building strategy. So before we just get into, let's just go and buy a property here, be it in Brisbane or Perth, Sydney, et cetera, it's more about what is it that you truly want, and why you want it. when you want to achieve it by, and then guiding them through that process and having all our partners involved, getting them to buy property.