#44: Why Property Development Is Riskier Than You Think - Jo Natoli

In this episode, Steve sits down with Jo Natoli, a property manager, developer, and business broker who has seen the industry from just about every angle. Jo grew up around property investing in Wollongong, started her own property management agency at 22, and graduated into mid-to-large-scale development alongside her husband, a builder.

Their projects scaled from a six-unit build on a site so narrow the architect designed it as a joke, through to a 35-unit, eight-storey mixed-use tower on Crown Street in Wollongong CBD. That final project was meant to be their last. It was fully leased on the commercial side, with strong pre-sales and record-setting rents. 

Then the Global Financial Crisis hit, the banks slashed their valuation by 40%, and the financier pulled the pin. Jo and her husband walked away with $60,000, their cars, and their clothes. 

This conversation covers the full arc of a development career, the mechanics of how deals are structured, and the uncomfortable reality that you can do everything right and still lose.

What We Cover

• How growing up around property investing in Wollongong shaped Jo's approach to development, and how she fell into real estate through a traineeship she almost missed.
• Starting a property management agency at 22 as the first Sydney firm to specialise exclusively in residential property management.
• The transition from property management into development, teaming up with her husband (a builder) and why their complementary skill sets made the partnership work.
• Four development projects in detail: a six-unit build on a 2.5-metre-wide site in Hurstville, a 12-unit-plus-retail conversion of an old bank in Wanoona, 22 units and a shop on Victoria Street, and the 35-unit Crown Street tower.
• Why Jo never negotiated on price but always negotiated on terms, and how a two-year put-and-call option gave her the time to design, approve, and fund the Crown Street project without putting significant money down.
• The DA process, subject-to-DA contracts, and what happens when community backlash doubles your approval timeline from 12 months to 24.
• The Global Financial Crisis hitting one week after project completion, wiping out all pre-sales, and how the bank slashed the valuation by 40% before eventually forcing administration.
• Why incorrect structuring (no special purpose vehicles, no siloed entities) meant Jo and her husband lost everything they had accumulated across four projects.
• Walking away with $60,000, picking up a small building contract within two months, and slowly rebuilding from there.

HOSTED BY:
Steve Palise
Ph: 0403 878 497
Email: steve@paliseproperty.com

LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/steve-palise

CONNECT WITH JO NATOLI

LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/jonatoli 

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