How long did you take?

I would be interseted to hear your answers to the above.

Byronent
Adelaide SA

Good to see young people having a go. My story is not greatly exceptional as it has taken me quite a few years but here goes.

I started investing around 30 years ago in the early 70’s.

Finance was extremely hard to get in those days and a friendly bank manager was a necessity to get any sort of bank money. Unlike my peers at the time I saved my money and soon was able to purchase my first PPOR, a unit in Kogarah for around 20K, I think. I managed to save enough to buy another one brand new in 1978 for 37K. I’d never do that these days unless I could get a good deal on it. This one had water views over the bay and as luck would have it we had a property boom similar to the one we just had.

This more than doubled the value of my places and I leveraged into some apartments and houses in the Sutherland shire. I think I paid 65K for the houses. Not great houses but in good locations. We then had a property slump for a few years, 83 on and you could pick up properties cheap again. I then started to buy run down houses in and around the Eastwood, Carlingford area.

I was still only in my 30s so did a lot of the work myself to renovate them. Then a big problem happened, high interest rates hit in the late 80’s. I had to drop a couple of places to stay above water. Real estate didn’t do too much for a number of years and if I remember rightly around 1994-5 it reached its nadir. I started to buy up in Noosa at this time. There were for sale signs everywhere and it was easy to knock 30 to 40% off the asking price. Noosa Waters land was sub 200k and average 3 bedders could be bought for 130k. Higher end places were 200 to 300k. It took a few years but another boom happened and the rest is history. In the 30 years I have been in the game it has been ever thus…boom, bust or stagnation then boom again and the cycle repeats.

My equity in property is about 15 million I think at the present.

Looking back it is interesting to look at what happened to my peers from school. At a recent reunion I discovered the Dux of my year rented his whole life and had plenty of “if only stories” to tell. That new Torana he bought on HP back in 1974 didn’t make him too much money. This is one reason why most end up on the pension. They have to have it all now. I still drive just an ordinary Toyota but I must admit cars never really did anything for me. I’m only in my early 50s and retired from my job in 1998.

The things I’ve learned along the way is make sure you have good asset protection. Once you are wealthy someone will want to take it off you. Make sure you have an exit strategy if things go pear shaped, ie high rates, falling asset values. But above all do something. These forums are full of people who will never do anything. Successful people do what the majority are not prepared to do. It is far easier to become wealthy in this country today than at any other time in my opinion.

I wouldn’t clasify myself as successful yet, and this is probably not going to be very inspiring as it has taken me about a decade to build up my equity.

At what age did you start investing in property?
24
What difficulties did you have in doing this?
i had to save for a deposit
Was your first property an IP or PPOR?
PPOR
How long did it take you to back up your first purchase with another?
3 years
How long did it take to acquire 10, 20, 30 or more properties?
i have 3 properties atm, PPR (no debt) and 2 commercial (40% owing). My philosophy (and other people may disagree) : just the act of buying property or stock doesn’t make you money. Any fool could go out and buy a whole load of stock or property.
What are your plans for the future, ie. how many properties will get you to where you want to be financially?
I don’t have a target number of proeprties. I would like to double my net worth to 4m in the next 7 years.

What I have learnt : saving is an essential habit, capital preservation is important, sometimes you will lose – learn from that and get back on the horse.

Ok, let me have a go at this one…

At what age did you start investing in property?
25 (nearly 26)

What difficulties did you have in doing this?
Waiting the 6 months required employment after coming back from stint overseas.

Was your first property an IP or PPOR?
PPOR that we are renovating to be an IP in about a years time.

How long did it take you to back up your first purchase with another?
6 months. We have just bought our first IP. A huge 5×2 house that will house our future us and our future kiddies quite happily. But for the moment it will be rented out as it gets way more rent than the house we are currently living in. (Plus it isn’t finished yet!)

How long did it take to acquire 10, 20, 30 or more properties? Not applicable yet, but hopefully the goal is to have 15 properties by the time I am thirty. So 3 and 1/2 years to go.

What are your plans for the future, ie. how many properties will get you to where you want to be financially?
We haven’t quite worked out our exact plan yet, but are currently working on it. Maybe looking into lease options and do some investigating about wraps a little later on.

So we have only just started but we have time on our side and we already have what we want in life. Each other… Awwww so friggin sappy, I know…

Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.

I’m almost embarrassed to add a post here. I am 32 and have only my PPOR (Val 460K, owe 300K) and 100K in shares.

I should add though that I have also been investing quite heavily in my business for a few years now, by way of forgoing wages and dividends. This has placed me in a position where I have a strong and growing income (though not passive). I am now looking to consolidate my work into lasting wealth and passive income through property and further share investing. I’m actually looking at my first IP at the moment.

If you like the idea of working for yourself, your own business is another area where you can invest. In my working life I worked for somebody else (in terms of full time employment) for a grand total of 3 months.

I would also like to say that while I have always spent less than what I earn, I have travelled overseas quite a number of times and have spent liberally on my social life. As a 19 year old, you should recognise that these things are also important. You may travel and go out when you’re older, but the experiences will be different (most probably a lot less wild). On one of my many nights out I met my beautiful wife, so I have no regrets on spending money in this way.

Regards
Alistair

Hi Destined,

To answer your question I live in Sydney but I spend a fair bit of time in my place at Noosa.

I don’t post too much but I have followed your investing path Brenda. Well done. Your attitude and approach to investing really is exceptional. For what it is worth I think that in the current market your stance is also very prudent.

Wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2005.

Oldtimer

Good luck female.

My hubby trying to get out of cabinet making coz there is no money in it. All very hard work for very little.

He wants to help out others but the way he feel he can with his trade is to help train up and coming apprentices through tafe, so he is going to look at that avenue.

If you can make it work though, excellent!
Good luck again.
STeph.

Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.

Great contributions everyone. Really impressed with “Old timer’s” and “Brenda’s” replies. Just imagine if we could tap into all that knowledge that is obviously out there in the community. I remember a famous quote by an elderly chap worth a few billion who still is running his show – who said “You can’t teach a new dog old tricks”. I’d like to learn some of the older techniques.

Anyway…..here goes;

Bought first prop (IP) with wife just after getting married at 24. Very -CF. Big thing was scrapping up the 10% deposit. Got shafted royally by the finance broker. Haven’t used one since.

Bought second prop (IP) two years after that. Very -CF. Got shafted by white ants – despite an inspection. Tenants eventually destroyed this one.

Bought third prop (PPOR) – paid cash for our PPOR. It was nothing flash (3×1 B/T) but suited us at that time. Made no mistakes with this one. Learning curve starting to plateau.

Bought fourth prop (IP) – a big step for us at the time…posh suburb…very -CF.

Bought fifth prop (~IP, beach shack)…not really for investment…mainly for fun…very -CF.

Sold Props 1&2…very good move – pumped it into equities – no tenant hassles or ongoing costs.

Bought sixth prop (IP)…extremely -CF. Definitely worst house in the best street scenario….lotsa work and no cashflow. Ended up being our current PPOR. Paid off now.

Bought seventh prop (IP)…riverfront but extremely -CF, so much so, vowed never to buy another residential prop. Getting crushed at this stage by interest payments. The goal of giving up work and retiring was moving further and further away !!!

Bought eigth prop (first IIP)…big +CF, much better…eased the tension heaps. Nothing to do and costs us nothing

Settling on ninth prop now (2nd IIP)…big +CF, and cashflows are looking better all the time.

Despite the -CF outpouring over the years, the growth has gone through the roof, which was our aim. We’ve gone from 10K equity to controlling 8MM. Bank has just approved another 3MM so we are currently on the hunt for props that have the ability to replace my job/ income.

There is a heavy expectation to retire in 2 years and 4 months at the age of 37. Retire from working that is, not buying IIP’s.

Would love to hear some of the other older investors tales.

Cheers,

Dazzling

“Go hard or go home”

Hi[biggrin]
I’m new at these posts but I find reading them very interesting.

I have enjoyed the stories, and the way you have asked the questions Destined.
Thanks.

I am 32 and have only seriously looked at property investing in the last year, after reading Steve’s book.
This is the year for me to really make IP work.
My plan is to retire (from working hard) on my 40th birthday and have enough cashflow from my IP.
I have always travelled around, been self employed which I wouldn’t have done it any other way.
But I never really looked at the future until I hit my thirty’s and thought WOW I have to do something, so I have choosen this way. As my husband has choosen the stock market.

If only I had started in my 20’s, but no point thinking what if.
I beleive it’s never too late (hopefully) your just gotta keep trying and simply just do it.

Thanks again to all those people out their with your stories as it does help knowing it can be done.

Snowy[cap]