Ultimate Coach – Feasibility Made Simple – 5th November 2025

In this session, Ultimate coach Michael May breaks down feasibility in a simple, practical way so investors can confidently answer the most important question in property: Will this deal actually make money? He demystifies the numbers, explains where to find them, and shows how to turn “scary spreadsheets” into a straightforward decision-making tool.

Why Feasibility Matters

Michael starts by stressing that feasibility is the single most important skill for an investor to master. A good deal can look great emotionally, but only the numbers will tell you whether it’s truly profitable or quietly leaking money. He encourages students to be brutally honest: don’t fudge figures to “make it work,” don’t fall in love with the property, and always be able to show where every number came from so that you (and future JV partners or financiers) can verify the assumptions.

He emphasises that a feasibility should be easy to read at a glance. You should be able to see: what you’re doing, what it costs, what it sells for, and what’s left over.

The Three Stages of Every Feasibility

Michael explains that every project really has three feasibilities:

1. Rough feasibility – A quick “rule of thumb” estimate using simple ratios and ballpark costs. This is the initial go/no-go filter.
2. Quoted feasibility – Once you have a deal under control, you update the numbers with real quotes from builders, trades and consultants.
3. Actual feasibility – As the project runs, you replace estimates with actual invoices and payments. That final set of figures then becomes the “rough Feaso” template for your next deal.

Over time, as you do more deals, your early-stage feasibilities become more accurate because you’re working from your own real-world data, not guesses.

Tools, Software and Where to Start

Rather than obsessing about the “perfect” software, Michael says the real priority is understanding the principles. Pen and paper, a basic spreadsheet, or a recognised feasibility app can all work—as long as you know what the numbers mean.

He suggests beginners:

• Start with simple spreadsheets or the member training tools in the Academy.
• Learn the structure of a feasibility before upgrading to more advanced software.
• If bank funding will be involved, eventually become familiar with formats lenders recognise (such as commercial feasibility tools used by brokers), but not let that become an excuse to delay starting.

The key message: just start putting numbers down. Even a rough Feaso is better than no Feaso.

Core Components of a Feasibility

Michael walks through the main ingredients that should appear in almost every feasibility:

• Purchase price – What you pay for the property, and sometimes what you should pay, based on a target profit. He introduces the idea of a reverse feasibility: start with the likely sale price and desired profit margin, work backwards to find the maximum you can pay and still hit your target. This is especially useful for auctions and spotting deals for developers.
• Purchase costs – Stamp duty, legal fees, buyer’s agent fees, building and pest inspections, loan setup costs, and any upfront reports or consultant fees (such as soil tests, arborist reports, flood checks or town planning advice). He encourages students to use state revenue websites, quotes from professionals, and vendor statements to populate these figures.
• Strategy and strategy costs – Michael suggests always naming your core strategy at the top of the feasibility (for example, subdivision vs renovation). That keeps your thinking aligned with what really drives value. Each strategy then has its own cost set: renovation materials and trades, styling, landscaping; or subdivision items like town planner, surveyor, engineer, civil works, council fees, demolition, utility connections and driveways. Being a “strategy expert” means knowing the full list of steps and costs for your chosen approach.
• Holding costs – Insurance, council and water rates, land tax, strata/body corporate levies, interest on loans, and any mandatory inspections or compliance checks. These can often be found in vendor statements, body corporate reports, or via the agent and council.
• Sale price and comparables – Michael spends time on the importance of solid comparable sales. You should rely mainly on sold data, not just asking prices, and compare “apples with apples” in product type, quality, zoning and location. If there are no true comparables, that’s a warning sign—you may be pioneering an untested product and should proceed cautiously or walk away.
• Sale costs – Legal fees, agent commission, marketing and advertising, required reports for buyers, plus any GST obligations depending on strategy. He warns that GST can turn a seemingly great profit into a marginal deal if not accounted for upfront.
• Profit and return on investment – A dollar profit figure is not enough on its own. Michael encourages students to also calculate percentage return on investment to compare deals properly. A $200,000 profit on a $500,000 spend is very different from $200,000 profit on a $20 million project.

Price per Square Metre and Land Value

To help compare different land sizes and subdivisions, Michael explains how to convert sale prices into a rate per square metre. This allows you to compare blocks of different sizes, assess value across estates, and estimate what a future smaller lot might sell for. He notes that zoning and land use (for example, farm land vs growth-zone residential) will greatly affect this rate, so area expertise still matters.

Estimating Civil Works and Build Costs

Civil and construction costs can be a major line item, especially in larger subdivisions. Michael suggests:

• Researching local civil engineers online and studying their project case studies to see indicative project values.
• Dividing total project cost by number of lots or units to get a rough per-lot figure.
• Calling those firms directly to clarify what their quoted amounts included or excluded.

For smaller projects (such as one-into-two or one-into-three subdivisions), he notes that civil works are often bundled inside a builder’s turnkey quote, and you should confirm what is and isn’t included.

Becoming an Area and Strategy Expert

A recurring theme is constant data collection. Michael recommends that students:

• Attend open homes regularly and study renovated versus unrenovated properties.
• Take measurements, photos and notes so they can later specify scope of works accurately.
• Walk local industrial areas to discover trades and suppliers who may not appear online.
• Capture photos of trade vehicles and site signage to build a contact database.

This habit builds a library of real prices for local materials, trades and build types, which feeds back into more accurate future feasibilities.

Getting Quotes Efficiently

Michael outlines a practical system for obtaining quotes:

• Build a simple spreadsheet with business names, contact details and notes.
• Prepare a short, clear scope of works that can be read in one or two minutes.
• Email multiple trades at once (using blind copy), with the scope in the body of the email and supporting photos attached.
• Track who responds, how helpful they are, and their pricing, so you can quickly identify good operators for future jobs.

Over time, this not only improves your numbers but also your network, making each new project easier to cost and execute.

Q&A Highlights: Insurance, Regulations and Risk

In the Q&A, Michael touches on:

• Renovation thresholds and insurance – How different states treat owner works, building warranty insurance and what counts as “building works” versus cosmetic repairs. He emphasises checking with the relevant building authority and a good lawyer so you know what evidence and certificates you’ll need at resale.
• Vacant property insurance – Many insurers dislike vacant properties, so an experienced insurance broker is vital to structure cover correctly and comply with any conditions, such as regular inspection logs.
• Town planners and consultants – For early projects, he suggests using firms that have town planners, surveyors and engineers under one roof to simplify coordination and speed up approvals.

He encourages students to ask regulators, lawyers and professionals for clear definitions and boundaries so they avoid expensive compliance mistakes.

Key Takeaway

Michael closes by reminding everyone that feasibility is not about perfection—it’s about disciplined, honest decision-making. Start with simple tools, refine your numbers as you go, and treat each finished project as a data goldmine for the next one. When you understand your strategy, your area and your numbers, you stop guessing and start investing like a professional.