I know many many investors who think that they are smarter than the system; they think they can fluke it again when the next boom comes around. They beleive that they can buy pratically anything and it will go up and they will be making hard decisions like what cocktail to drink on their next holiday or cruise.

I constantly stay in touch with people related to my properties and make sure there are no surprises or if there are any issues we need to discuss/solve.

But buying property the lazy way has paid off for some people in that boom we just went through, so why not try and do it again?

Listing what resources I use would be a range of property investing sites, real estate sites, council websites and mapping sites. I have found that the lazier I am the more leverage I can sometimes get.

I do work hard, but why not get a few things straight:

• Just use realestate.com.au as a resource to start enqueries with agents. Ask the questions I list in my “Questions for Agents” blog. Get some more pictures. Just tell them you are only interested in going there after you sort out your offer and it is accepted.
• Follow up with sites like Residex or valuers’ sites for property growth patterns.
• Head back to realestate.com.au type sites, to check out rental returns.
• Look at investor type sites, to see what others are buying close by.
• Get onto RPData or government sites, to see what others have been paying recently for houses in the area of choice.
• Go to Google Earth or government mapping websites to see what the block looks like from the air and to see if you have potential for; further subdivision, adding a pool, or to do landscaping etc.
• You can even get land development data from some councils to see what is coming to the area in the way of development approvals.

You will get a great idea of the growth, aspect and potential of properties from doing the above points, as you have access to a whole bunch of professionals that, a little while ago, investors never had.

I regularly do these points, to get moving on buying houses - before I even leave my sofa. Call it lazy, but I can leverage my time much better and I save on petrol. Why not even get the sellers/vendor to come and meet you in your office or cafe to discuss the house. Especially now you know everything about it, inside and out.

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