Property Investment
8 min read
Thinking about investing through Opes Partners? We’re the first to tell you to ask the hard questions.
In fact, you should ask the hard questions about any financial adviser that you’re trusting with your financial future.
Questions like:
These aren’t cynical. They’re smart.
Property investing is a big decision. It involves real money, real risk, and long-term consequences. So, before you go any further, you deserve straight answers.
In this article, I’m going to answer 10 hard questions you might have (but were too scared to ask).
Don’t trust any financial adviser blindly – including us. Ask how they get paid, understand the risks, check their track record, and make sure their strategy fits your goals.
Yes. We’ve worked with clients who have built substantial wealth over the last 13 years our doors have been open. Some have retired early. Others have built enough passive income to support the lifestyle they wanted in retirement.
Lynne and Darren are a pair of motorsport-loving adventurers. They made $660,000 by buying 3 Opes Partners-recommended properties.
Sophie and James made $101,000 in just under 2 years through a property Opes recommended (though this is not typical).
Every Sunday, we share case studies on the Property Academy Podcast. Some of these are Opes clients. That way, you can hear real examples of how different investors have approached it.
But here’s the important part: nobody becomes a millionaire overnight.
Property investing is usually slow, boring, and long-term. The results come from buying well and holding over time.
No. And that’s an important distinction.
Opes Partners is a Financial Advice Provider. So when you meet with our team you’ll meet with a financial adviser (who is on the official government register).
If you decide to buy an investment property through our process, you’ll also work with a real estate agent from Opes Property. We legally need to, because to help investors buy properties, we need a real estate licence.
However, looking at specific properties comes later in our process.
First, investors work with a financial adviser to build a plan. That means before you look at any property, you:
Only then do we recommend properties that fit the plan.
That’s different from the way many property companies operate. A lot of businesses sell first and justify later. We plan first and recommend second.
Yes. We recommend properties where we receive a fee from the developer if you decide to invest.
It’s important not to dance around that.
But that doesn’t mean developers hand us any property and tell us what to push. The Opes Property team go out looking for properties that meet our agreed investment criteria.
That team says no to developments that we don’t think stack up. Why? Because if we recommend poor investment properties, we damage our clients’ trust and our own reputation.
And in a business like ours, reputation matters more than any one-off commission.
No. At Opes, we recommend:
However, we generally don’t recommend existing properties.
This is because New Builds come with some benefits (like lower deposits) that existing properties don’t. Here is the full breakdown of New Builds vs existing properties.
Yes. We continue to help clients invest whether house prices are up, down or stay the same. This is because, over the long term, property prices tend to rise.
Some investors see an opportunity in a falling market. After all, when prices drop, some people panic sell, which may mean investors can get a sharper deal.
That said, a falling market doesn’t automatically make every property a bargain. You still need the right property, the right plan, and enough financial buffer to hold through the downturn.
Over the long term, property values have historically trended upward. But in the short term, prices can absolutely fall, and investors need to be prepared for that.
Most investors do not pay a fee to work with Opes Partners.
Instead, we get paid if you decide to invest in a property that we recommend. This fee comes from the developer.
There are some small exceptions where you may pay us a fee. For instance if you want to work with Andrew Nicol, there is a $199 fee to book with him.
But, remember, if you invest, there are still costs like:
There are also ongoing costs of owning the property. So, things like rates, insurance, and property management fees.
So while you might not pay a direct fee for our advice, investing in property does come with costs.
There is a risk that you want to sell your property in the future, and you struggle to find a buyer.
Almost any property can be sold. The real question is: at what price, and how quickly?
If the market is weak, you may have to sell for less than you hoped. You may also need to wait longer to find the right buyer.
That’s one reason we focus on long-term investing. This is because the longer you hold, the more likely it is that the property has gone up in value.
Liquidity risk is real. Property is not as easy to sell as shares or cashing out a savings account. That’s why investors need to go in with the expectation that this is a long-term game.
When you work with Opes Partners, your financial adviser will create a Wealth Plan. This is a written document that contains projections about how your wealth may grow.
Life will almost certainly not play out exactly as shown in the Wealth Plan.
That’s true of any financial projection. Because property prices (and all asset prices) don’t go up smoothly in life as they do in a spreadsheet.
That’s why it’s important to stress-test your plan and understand its assumptions.
One of the tools we use is called a Monte Carlo simulation. In simple terms, that means we run thousands of potential scenarios to estimate the likelihood that you hit your financial goal.
So instead of saying, “Here’s a projection”, we’re really asking a better question: “How likely is it that this plan gets you to your goal?”
If you want a guarantee, investing may not be for you.
But the alternative is simply saving money and avoiding investment risk. But that comes with its own downside too. Inflation quietly eats away at what your money can buy over time.
Maybe you shouldn’t.
Honestly, you shouldn’t trust any adviser blindly.
What we try to do differently is make our thinking visible.
We publish hundreds of hours of free articles, podcasts and videos. We explain how we think. We talk through our assumptions. We share reviews and client stories.
That way, you can get a feel for how we work before you ever decide whether to work with us to grow your property portfolio.
Ultimately, trust is earned. It’s not demanded.
And whether you choose Opes Partners or someone else, that’s the standard you should expect.
Because a mortgage-free home gives you security, but it doesn’t automatically give you income in retirement.
To put it bluntly: you can’t eat your house.
Someone who spends 20 years focused only on paying off their mortgage might reach retirement with:
That can leave you asset-rich, but cash-poor.
Many investors choose a middle ground instead. They pay down their mortgage steadily while also building investments on the side.
That way, they’re not just reducing debt. They’re also building assets that can generate income later in life.
For a lot of people, that’s the real goal, not just owning a home outright, but creating financial freedom.
You don’t need to trust Opes Partners just because we say the right things on a website.
You should question us. Compare us with other advisers. Look at our content. Read our reviews. Listen to the podcast. Then decide for yourself whether the way we work makes sense for you.
Because good investing isn’t built on blind trust. It’s built on:
We won’t be the right fit for everyone.
But if you want a long-term plan, clear explanations, and a team willing to answer uncomfortable questions, then we may be worth considering.
Resident Economist, with a GradDipEcon and over five years at Opes Partners, is a trusted contributor to NZ Property Investor, Informed Investor, Stuff, Business Desk, and OneRoof.
Ed, our Resident Economist, is equipped with a GradDipEcon, a GradCertStratMgmt, BMus, and over five years of experience as Opes Partners' economist. His expertise in economics has led him to contribute articles to reputable publications like NZ Property Investor, Informed Investor, OneRoof, Stuff, and Business Desk. You might have also seen him share his insights on television programs such as The Project and Breakfast.
This article is for your general information. It’s not financial advice. See here for details about our Financial Advice Provider Disclosure. So Opes isn’t telling you what to do with your own money.
We’ve made every effort to make sure the information is accurate. But we occasionally get the odd fact wrong. Make sure you do your own research or talk to a financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
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