Gen Y PI's, Please Tell Us Your Story.

[James Allen]

I'm 24

I have 2 properties in Brisbane valued at 770k (combined) with loans of 485k one is IP that rents for $350 p/w other is ppor.

On the other side of investments I have 295k (not geared) in about 10 diff shares and 210k in capital notes/bonds in NZ (not geared) returning only 9% as they are a few years old and due to mature in a couple of years, and around 60k in term deposit that I haven't decided what to use it for.

I have a good job for my age and have worked hard, I recently changed jobs and was offered a state sales managers role at nearly 100k but turned it down for another role paying 70k (less than I was on) that allowed me more freedom and less stress.

I haven't forgone any so called luxuries either, I have a brand new car (novated lease paid by work), I went overseas to the states and NZ in the last 12 months. I have the large TV, new furniture, nice food, eat out and so on, but I don't waste money.

On the property front I am taking the wait and see approach as I'm not confident that the timing is right to buy, but I do have plenty of capital/equity for when I feel the time has come.

It's good to see there are other's of similar age taking a proactive approach to financial freedom as I don't have a single friend that does.

 

[Belu]

Hi James, can I ask how you saved enough for a deposit on 2 properties, $60k in savings, $210k in bonds and $295k in shares? Very good numbers at 24!

 

[farmilor]

Wow!
farmilor:

You did really well, was there no way you could refinance and hold onto them, if not one?

Weren't you going to keep your unit? Or did you decide not to. Don't forget you can fill out a Pay Witholding Variation Form, and put more money in your pocket instead of paying tax.

Regards Jo

Hi Jo

Had already refinanced the Woy Woy property and the Hornsby unit to buy the development block in Hornsby. We really had no plans to develop or rent out this new block. The house was too old to do up enough to make safe for renting, and we didn;t have the cash flow or time to put into developing it, so sold it off for a large, quick profit.

I'm keen on keeping the unit, as currently it is almost cf neutral, and will only get better. Has had minimal growth in the time we've had it, not surprising though looking at when we bought it. Wife wants to sell it though and buy some better performing properties closer to the city.

Other option is to refinance to get $30K equity out to use for next property, but that will have obvious impacts on cf.

What to do, what to do ???

 

[DavidMc]

What's so special/clever about being in your 20s and having a few IP's that are negatively geared overall...??

Ahhh GSJ/JIT... why do you write such negative stuff? What's bugging you?

Such a minute % of Australians have more than 1 IP. We've got a whole bunch of them under 30 that own several. That's pretty cool in my books.

BTW I made $83k on bank valuations in 10 months on that 'stupid' BA assisted purchase I made, you know, that one that I'd be waiting a long time to see growth on.

Maybe you're on the wrong forum?

 

[James Allen]

Belu, I have had shares since I was about 14, the first shares I ever brought were $3000 in the Warehouse at the float they ended up returning about 400% a couple of years later. I then put all that into a company called BestFoods, this was then taken over a few months later with the accepted bid 50% over what I had paid. My dad was a business analyst for some of the largest companies in NZ and let me know what I should be doing. We owned a orchid and I used to sell the non export fruit to local markets and shops and my parents would let me keep the money, they always took the approach that if I was enterprising enough to come up with the idea they would let me reap the reward, they were a bit suprised when i told them I was making around $800 a week they stopped giving me lunch money after that. I just built from there, I didn't finish high school as I found it so boring I only went to uni for one year and also found that boring then started my own business. I moved to Australia from NZ around 4 years ago.

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

Hi James,

What a marvelous achievement, absolutely marvelous.

Mark

 

[BayView]

What's so special/clever about being in your 20s and having a few IP's that are negatively geared overall...??

I'd say in this day and age - with the pressure on via tv/radio/mags/movies to be a consumer and max out the cards - it's a very special/clever effort.

I certainly wasn't one of them.

 

[yieldmatters]

Maybe you're on the wrong forum?

But JIT got kicked off the other one ....

 

[JIT]

BTW I made $83k on bank valuations in 10 months on that 'stupid' BA assisted purchase I made

Can you show/PM me the thread where I called you/your purchase 'stupid'??

 

[yieldmatters]

I'm 24

I have 2 properties in Brisbane valued at 770k (combined) with loans of 485k one is IP that rents for $350 p/w other is ppor.

On the other side of investments I have 295k (not geared) in about 10 diff shares and 210k in capital notes/bonds in NZ (not geared) returning only 9% as they are a few years old and due to mature in a couple of years, and around 60k in term deposit that I haven't decided what to use it for.

I have a good job for my age and have worked hard, I recently changed jobs and was offered a state sales managers role at nearly 100k but turned it down for another role paying 70k (less than I was on) that allowed me more freedom and less stress.

People will just call me negative but assuming you started earning at 18 and assuming you earned somewhere less than $70K from 18 to 14 it is mathematically impossible for you to get to that level of wealth under your own steam with regular share / bond / property returns.

You've struck it lucky on some speculative punt, won the lotto, or inherited it.

Nevertheless, good for you - wherever it came from.

 

[Andrew_A]

People will just call me negative but assuming you started earning at 18 and assuming you earned somewhere less than $70K from 18 to 14 it is mathematically impossible for you to get to that level of wealth under your own steam with regular share / bond / property returns.

You've struck it lucky on some speculative punt, won the lotto, or inherited it.

Nevertheless, good for you - wherever it came from.

If you include the one extra word ..'business'.. in there then that can change the whole equation in my view, hard to kick many goals in a short time just on a salary I agree.

 

[Andrew_A]

If I was your parent I would have been seeking to become a passive investor in any future business pursuits .. Say for a healthy equity share.. I would also have stopped your lunch money as well.

Belu, I have had shares since I was about 14, the first shares I ever brought were $3000 in the Warehouse at the float they ended up returning about 400% a couple of years later. I then put all that into a company called BestFoods, this was then taken over a few months later with the accepted bid 50% over what I had paid. My dad was a business analyst for some of the largest companies in NZ and let me know what I should be doing. We owned a orchid and I used to sell the non export fruit to local markets and shops and my parents would let me keep the money, they always took the approach that if I was enterprising enough to come up with the idea they would let me reap the reward, they were a bit suprised when i told them I was making around $800 a week they stopped giving me lunch money after that. I just built from there, I didn't finish high school as I found it so boring I only went to uni for one year and also found that boring then started my own business. I moved to Australia from NZ around 4 years ago.

 

[James Allen]

I inherited around 80k nzd after my parents passed away when I was 17, I also have another trust fund from my grandmother I didn't list as I'm not due to get this until I'm 30.

I also only listed property I currently have.

My life has been far from normal to say the least.

I'm not going to go into every transaction that has lead me to where I am on a forum but I would be happy to come along to the next lunch/get together that is in Brisbane.

 

[yieldmatters]

I also only listed property I currently have.

Considering you only had $NZ80K and somewhere south of $70K a year to work with then whatever you did simple maths tells me you achieved incredibly high returns. Therefore it would be an interesting story but not something most would be wise to try and replicate.

 

[Old Mate]

Howdy all,

I'm 18 but not much to speak of yet. I have about $15,000 in shares currently and and another 3 grand in the bank. I'm just working and saving almost all of what I earn at the moment. Hoping to get into property when i can afford it but for the time being I like being involved in shares even though they aren't going that well

 

[natecv8]

Wow, some amazing and inspiring stuff here. I'm blown away by what some of my peers have achieved. While it's true that age isn't the whole story, there is a level of emotional and financial maturity in some of the stories here that I just haven't seen in most of my peers and I'm happy for those who benefit from it.

I'm 26 and own a couple of IPs. 1 in Canberra, bought 2001 for $145K, now worth $350K.. I spent the next 4 years ******* my money up the wall and getting into all kinds of trouble. I did however get to travel around the world, and fell in love with Europe.

I met an amazing girl and settled down. She had a 2 year old daughter from a previous (abusive) relationship. We've been together for 2 years now, I bought a place in Melbourne in 2007 for $320K which we now owe $270K on, we moved in, and in 2008 I've bought a further 2 IPs in Melbourne for $215K and $240K.

It took the responsibility of a family to straighten my priorities out. I love them to death and quickly got a second job to save up for the deposit for the place we moved to. We're lucky to have everything we need in life.

I've been working now for 8 years, and have been doing 2 part time uni degrees for the last 3 years, in my 'spare' time. I'm disappointed that I don't get as much family time as possible, but I'm motivated to build us a future, and I'm proud of where we are. Neither of us came from wealthy or privileged backgrounds, and while that's hardly the mark of a man, it's been a big ride for us.

I'm far from finished in property - with around 300K equity all up I'm spending my time working hard and considering my next move. I have a pretty straightforward goal of adding another 1M to my portfolio (in value, not in equity) by the time I'm 31. I don't expect miracles but I look forward to being able to choose when and where I work, and spend more time with my family. Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm also looking forward to a few more kids around the house.

Most of all, I'm 100% happy and comfortable in my goals. I don't want to be rich, I just want to be one of the enlightened individuals that have the means to make their own life decisions. There's nothing better than the feeling that I'm slowly extracting myself from the corporate culture that I despise.

 

[Frogger]

Hi

I'm really enjoying this thread and am finding it pretty amazing to read what people have achieved before their 30's, it also makes me feel a bit ordinary that i have no where near anything close to any of these achievements or any knowledge of what it takes to get to that level, i don't even know what's involved on how to go about purchasing property....

I'm pretty new to these forums and I've entered the phase in my life where i realize the benefits of investing in property, which is what bought me here, so i have been reading as much as i can on the topic and trying to learn what i can before jumping in blindly - it seems pretty daunting at the moment.

i spent my early 20's overseas traveling and living in other countries, i would work 3 jobs and save as much as i could and then live/work and travel like a hermit and make my money last as long as i could before repeating the process. I just had no interest in investing for the future back then.

Being 33 now, i certainly feel a little left behind when it comes to what you have all achieved so young in life, but i guess looking back it was the best times of my life so far so i wouldn't change it if i could.

Things are moving now though, my goals and saving habits have changed a lot and i can really see the benefits of investing. Have now got the good job, a financial adviser, managed funds, chunkocash in the bank and next.....is some property, just got to work out how to do it....hopefully I'll be able to catch up with you all soon

thanks for the inspiration.

 

[Dazz]

Most of all, I'm 100% happy and comfortable in my goals. I don't want to be rich, I just want to be one of the enlightened individuals that have the means to make their own life decisions.

Thank you for your story natecv8. That was a most enjoyable read.


My heartiest congratulations on your current position and your noble goal moving forward. I should very much like to meet you, you seem to have a wise head on your youthful shoulders.


Good luck in your future endeavours sir.

 

[natecv8]

Good luck in your future endeavours sir.

Thanks Dazz, I really appreciate the kind words. I have been meaning to turn up to a Somersoft meet one day in Melbourne and meet the many interesting people on here. I'm not sure if you're a Melbournite or not, but if you're in town and feel like a beer/coffee, drop me a line!

 

[Belu]

Nate, why don't you come down to the next MIG? it isnt far away and would be good to catch up.

Unfortunately Dazz is over in WA - but if you are up for a trip Dazz we would love to have you at MIG?