Most tradies have the income, the work ethic, and the discipline to build serious wealth through property. What they often lack is the right information and the right team around them.

In this episode, Nic sits down with Joel Pritchett from The Property Tradies, a former plumber who started his first business during COVID, bought his first investment property at 22, and now runs Property Tradies, a buyer’s agency built specifically to help tradies and FIFO workers build property portfolios.

Joel’s story is one a lot of tradies will relate to. He was working 60 to 70 hour weeks on the tools, running a side business with his mate on weekends, and using every spare moment to educate himself through podcasts. That led him to property investing, and by the time he had his first two properties settled, he had used every cent he had saved. He was still living at home. And he had no regrets about any of it.

The conversation covers a lot of ground, but one of the strongest themes is this: location does 80 to 90 percent of the heavy lifting. Joel sees tradies make the same mistake over and over, buying in their own backyard because they know the area or can do the renos themselves, without doing the research to know whether that market actually has room to grow. With over 15,000 suburbs across Australia, the best opportunity is rarely in your own postcode.

Joel also breaks down what to look for when researching a market, including affordability for locals, a diversified economy, low unemployment, and limited recent growth. He flags Perth and Brisbane as markets that have already run hard and warns that once affordability becomes stretched, growth stalls no matter how strong the broader story sounds.

For business owners specifically, Joel recommends getting at least 12 months of solid financials in place before approaching lenders. Buying too early means a low doc loan at a higher interest rate, which eats into your returns before you have even started. Get your finances in order first, build a buffer, and then move.

The other big takeaway is the importance of treating your property portfolio like a business. That means knowing your end goal, having the right team around you including a mortgage broker, accountant, and a buyer’s agent who invests across all Australian markets, and making decisions based on data rather than emotion or gut feel.

Connect with Joel & learn more about The Property Tradies:
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