Zaki Ameer – Founder of DDP Property and a Real Estate Mastermind
The real estate industry is rather turbulent, and not many know how to navigate its murky waters. But Zaki Ameer, the Sri Lankan-Australian founder of Dream Design Real Estate (DDP), has persisted, becoming a self-made millionaire through his real estate venture.
It all started with Ameer arriving in Australia with a dream to make it big in a foreign land. While enrolled in the Bachelor of Business, Information Systems degree at Western Sydney University, Ameer found himself surrounded by an alien culture with no income and no friends.
His setbacks were made worse due to tuition debts from his international university education. But none of that stopped him from becoming one of the leading names in the Australian real estate market.
Early Employment
After finishing his degree, Ameer started working as a settlement officer at AMP, where he was employed for two years and seven months. His role involved data entry, assisting the claims manager, processing accounts, and contacting claimants.
The skills he acquired from this job allowed him to secure the position of team leader of loan assessments at Macquarie Bank, where he worked for a little over a year. Then came his longest employment period as a project manager at Westpac, where he stayed for a decade.
Post-Retirement Venture
After retiring from banking, Ameer took the plunge into the real estate industry. With his experience and expertise in banking, he saw an opportunity to use his knowledge of the finance market and leverage his resources to provide a service to investors.
He started DDP property in 2011 as a wealth-creation, mentoring, and property investment organisation. The company’s business model took Australia by storm in its initial stages, attracting clients from all over the country.
Since 2012, Ameer and his company have assisted nearly 1,800 clients in purchasing more than 2,000 properties. Starting with one staff member and generating a revenue of AED 75,000 in its first year, DDP expanded to become a multi-employee company with an AED 38 million annual turnover just six years later.
DDP Property’s first office was based in Sydney, Australia. But Ameer later established a company office in Dubai, UAE, offering the same exceptional services to Middle Eastern clients.
Since then, the company has formed offices in Florida, USA, and Rwanda, Africa. During this time, he also penned a book titled, ‘Dream Design Do,’ which explains people’s mistakes that keep them from becoming wealthy and the best ways to achieve financial freedom.
Today, Ameer is considered a master of the real estate industry due to his success with DDP. He continues to serve his venture as the CEO and provides services to clients from across the globe.
Overview of DDP Property
DDP Property is a multi-service property investment consultancy that uses proven strategies proposed and implemented by a team of experts to help clients build their property portfolios. The company has helped people enter the market by financing their first property and then rolling them to their fifth and sixth properties without selling anything from their portfolios.
DDP also makes loan applications easier due to its association with all major lenders. The company handles everything from investment strategy and design to property rental management and renovation.
Based on his expertise and knowledge, Ameer quickly realised that people make poor investment decisions because they overlook many stages of the property-buying journey. That’s why he curated a seamless property purchasing process for DDP’s clients.
The company maps out its clients’ goals, checks their financial capabilities, and determines which entities they should purchase. DDP’s team of experts also helps clients appoint a legal team and manage rentals while providing post-purchase support to ensure they stay on track to achieve their desired property portfolio.
DDP’s Unique Services
DDP offers an exclusive off-market developer stock to clients who have failed to find a property they like. The stock includes developer-owned real estate properties not advertised elsewhere.
Another notable service the company offers is Kickstart, an affordable investment program for Gen Y to buy their first home. The program also provides financial literacy to young adults who don’t have access to the right resources.
To date, 85% of DDP’s clients have purchased more than one property through the company. Meanwhile, 90% are happy with their purchase, and 95% managed to secure a property under market value.
The numbers speak for themselves, indicating that Ameer and his company have been successful in helping clients achieve their goals.
DDP’s Success Formula
DDP’s success is partly due to Ameer’s direct involvement in its operation and progression. Ameer is passionate about mentoring, which drives him to advise his team on their personal career development.
His mentorship has helped many of his team members create personal investment portfolios, with one individual going from zero to ten properties in just two years.
Ameer’s long-term vision for the company is to create innovative strategies for clients and become a world-leading wealth-creation real estate investment company. With the company’s current business model and ever-growing client base, this goal is not far from becoming a reality.