The Process
How we buy, start to settlement
Seven steps. One blueprint. Zero guesswork.
Buying an investment property is a big decision made of a hundred small ones. Here is exactly how Baker Advocates takes you through it, and the Foundation8 framework we test every property against before it reaches your shortlist.
The buying process
From where you stand now, to keys in hand.
We use data at every stage and take care of the parts most buyers find overwhelming: the searching, the paperwork, the due diligence and the negotiation.
Current State & Desired State
We start with an honest picture of where you are today, income, equity, timeline, risk appetite, and where you actually want to end up. Every step after this is built to close that gap.
Financial Position
We work alongside your broker or lender to confirm borrowing power, budget and loan structure, so the search is grounded in what you can genuinely afford, not what you hope you can.
Strategy
Your brief becomes a strategy: property type, price point, land or building split, and the role this purchase plays in your wider portfolio. This is where Foundation8 starts shaping the search.
Foundation8 applied from hereWe Locate the Suburb Fit
Every suburb in the running is stress tested against market cycle position, supply and demand, economic strength and demographics before it is allowed near your brief.
We Search for the Property
We search the open market and our off market network, roughly three in ten properties we secure for clients never reach a public listing. Every contender lands in your private property portal to review and shortlist with us.
Inspection, Negotiate, Secure
We complete all of the due diligence, building, pest, title, contract review, before you ever sign. Then we negotiate as if it were our own money on the table, because in every way that matters to you, it is.
Settlement
We stay hands on through finance, conveyancing and final inspection, coordinating every party involved so nothing slips between "under contract" and "yours".
You bring the goals. We handle the rest: the data, the due diligence and the negotiation, from the first conversation to the day you get the keys.
Start with a discovery callThe framework behind every recommendation
The Foundation8 Blueprint.
Most investors don't stall for lack of money. They stall from too much noise, conflicting advice and no clear framework tied to their goals, which shows up as hesitation, missed opportunities or an underperforming asset. Foundation8 is our eight pillar answer: a repeatable, data led test every property has to pass before it reaches you.
/1
Buying in the wrong location
/2
Chasing short term yield over long term growth
/3
Entering the market at the wrong point in the cycle
/4
Making an emotional decision under pressure
Emotion is expensive. Structure isn't. That's what Foundation8 replaces it with.
Pillars 1 & 2 — Market timing & supply
Buy in the right market, at the right time.
Lower downside risk and stronger long term growth potential, by knowing exactly where a market sits before we buy into it.
- /1
Understanding where each market sits in the property cycle
- /2
Avoiding overheated or speculative locations
- /3
Targeting areas with constrained supply and strong demand
Every market moves through the same 18.6 year property cycle. Knowing where a market sits right now is half the decision.
Find out where we are in the property cyclePillars 3 & 4 — Economic strength & demographics
Growth follows people and money.
More resilient markets that keep performing across cycles, not just in the good years.
- /1
Employment diversity and income growth
- /2
Owner occupier demand
- /3
Infrastructure spending
- /4
Population trends and household composition
Pillars 5 & 6 — Livability & education
People drive prices.
Stronger owner occupier demand underpins capital growth, so lifestyle and schooling carry real weight in the assessment.
- /1
Walkable neighbourhoods
- /2
Lifestyle amenities
- /3
Proximity to high performing school zones
Pillars 7 & 8 — Scarcity & financial performance
Great assets are rare, and sustainable.
We want assets that are easier to hold, easier to resell, and stronger long term performers.
- /1
Land value and true scarcity
- /2
Ability to add value over time
- /3
Cash flow balance and tax efficiency
What you no longer worry about
- Guessing where to buy
- Chasing headlines
- Second guessing your decision
- Acting without clarity
- Emotional, pressured purchases
What Foundation8 delivers
- A clear strategy aligned to your goals
- Data led decisions, not opinions
- A repeatable process for future purchases
- Confidence through every stage of the journey
What it looks like in practice
A few client briefs.
Real briefs, real budgets, run through the same seven steps and the same eight pillars above.
$148k growth / 13 months
Young professional couple in Sydney, buying their first investment before having a baby. Chasing $150k to $160k of future passive income for retirement.
$105k growth / 12 months
Couple with two kids in their late 30s, building a three property portfolio toward roughly $3.5m for retirement. Based in Geelong.
$97k growth / 10 months
Two school teachers in their early 30s, buying investments to help pay down the mortgage on their own home. Based in Melbourne.
"Without action, there can be no outcome."
Think. Plan. Execute.
Property investing doesn't need to feel overwhelming.
With the right blueprint, it becomes simple, strategic and repeatable. Book a no pressure discovery call and we'll talk through how Foundation8 applies to your situation.
Book a discovery call