Not enough bragging........come on and share your success stories

After reading a post from Sea Change regarding having "the edge" to buy drastically under market value I thought that there isnt enough people here sharing their succcess stories for others on the forum. It doesnt matter how big or small the acheivement, as long as you gained personal satisfaction from it and it was a positive step in the right direction towards financial freedom. I'll start the ball rolling. I took my $8000 in the bank and transfered it over to a home share trading account I started and then bought 9500 shares in Stuart Petroleum for $0.82 each. These appreciated to $1.03 each which I sold 4500 of the shares at. This equated to about a 25% return. I made roughly $2000 out of the trade and am very pleased. I know its only $2000, but its probably more than I made out of my day job during that period of time and it was a positive experience. Now for you guys.......im particually interested in hearing the stories of those elusive 3 forumites who apparently have bought 30-50% under market value and how they found and negotiated such excellent deals.

By the way, the longer the success story and the more detail in it, the better :)
 
qazwsx said:
there isnt enough people here sharing their succcess stories for others on the forum. It doesnt matter how big or small the acheivement, as long as you gained personal satisfaction from it and it was a positive step in the right direction towards financial freedom.
I found 5 cents under the couch cushion last night. Does that qualify ? :D

Sadly, that's probably all I can contribute to this thread :( No tales of making property purchases 30-50% under market value here I'm afraid.
Although I'd love to hear how to make it happen :)
 
The Big Brag....

I suppose the big risk with a brag is that you might make your self look like an absolute w#@$#r :D

However, it might make interesting reading for someone (goodness knows who! :confused: ) so here goes......

I think the biggest success financially in my life was.... that I got married. Not to some mere mortal, but to an accountant (long story!). Anyway, up until this time, I was of the "spend everything you earn" mould, with a great percentage of my fairly generous income going into what Peter Spann has recently described as "converting fossil fuels into speed". So it was rare to see more than a few hundred dollars in the bank account unless I was saving up for an engine rebuild or something.

Anyway, the "New" Love of my Life insisted I spend less attention on my Love of my Life on 4 Wheels, and concentrate a bit more on our financial future (what the...?)

It took a lot of convincing, some major debates, but at the end of the day she managed to convince me that it could be a fun exercise (hmm.......).

Thus it was that I took to diverting all of the car budget (which was quite significant relevant to my pay - anyone who does club events on racetracks would know.....) to our "investing budget".

At this stage (back in 1997), neither of us had anything but a vague idea on investing, however my wife thought real estate was the way to go (and who was I to argue with She Who Must Be Obeyed?). To cut a long story short, we ended up signing the dotted line on an "inner city off the plan development" :eek:

Now, this project was due to complete in 2000. It cost $300k, but we soon discovered that the banks were very vague on what they would be willing to lend us "without seeing the building complete". As a result of this assesment, we sort of went into panic mode, and did everything to build up a "safe" amount of deposit to be able to settle. I figured 50% would be a pretty safe bet (don't laugh!), so that was the target - save $150k in 3 years.

Looking back on it now, it was pretty amazing. Both of us worked 2 jobs, just about every day of the week. We budgeted down to the cent. Anything to spare got put in towards the deposit.

By April 2000, we had actually saved $180k.

About this time, the Melbourne property market was really taking off, and we discovered that it was EASY to get 90% LVR on our first deal :D . That left us with a whole lot of spare cash..... which became the basis of another 10 properties over the ensuing 2 and a half years. :)


Cheers,

The Y-man
 
Well this may not be very exciting for some but it made my day.

When I was 15 I made a promise to myself that by the time I was 30 I would either earn $xx/yr, or have my own company. I had no idea what the company would be for, but that was my criteria.

Well 2 yrs early and I had met both goals....yeah for me.....I always love it when you meet a life goal b'cos it's a big step and a cause for celebration.

The problem was, no one else around me thought it was a momentous occassion so I had a quiet celebration with a bottle of bubbly on my balcony watching the sunset with a smug smile on my face.

Onwards and upwards

Ecogirl
 
Lurker from way back.

Hi IP forumites,
My thinking is that most of the forum people who have done well out of IP and have retired or semi retired have moved on from here or reduced there hours reading and replying. Maybe sitting on thier yacht drinking pina coladas, not much internet access out on the water. :cool:

My Story:
I for one was one of the original 20 starters in this forum, check the archives for AntC.
I am now working part time, and my wife is about to as well. Its been a hard slog but I started by reading jans first book back in 1997, and it took me two years to get a "normal" job so the bank would give me a loan to buy my first IP. :confused:

Then I met my future wife and from 2000-2003 inclusive we bought two properties every year, and only with Jan's simple buy and hold strategy. No real bargains when we bought, just average houses with averages prices in average areas. Started with three in Melbourne, then a couple in brisbane, one in hobart then back in Melbourne. Sydney was always a bit two expensive for us. :(
During that time I lost money on the Dot com crash, about enough for a deposit for a house. It swayed me to stick to property and not be frightened to handeling large sums of money, losing, investing, gaining. i also learnt that shares required a large learning curve.
First six properties have at least doubled in value, so presently in total we have just under two million in debt, and over one million in equity. Everything sitting around cashflow neutral. :eek:
Our Financial adviser from the forum has pretty much told us to retire, but its hard bungee jumping from security to living off equity. :eek:

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the people in here to submitting great points of view and info, especially the ones that have been in here for a while. Most of all i'd like to thank my wife, who has sometimes said stick the property portfolio where the sun don't shine, but has always battled on relentlessly, her moral support has been fantastic and shes the greatest tax receipts data entry chick i know. roooofff. :p

I found that writing down goals was an important part of the process, and of course lotsa reading and reasearch.
Hope I wasn't bragging, and i will try to get to one of the Melbourne social meetings soon, and happy to talk nitty gritties over a beer or wine. :D

Cheers,
Ant.
 
Hmmm, not sure if this is a success story, but I am happy with the results so far.

I came to Australia as on a backpacking holiday 6 years ago. I had been travelling for a couple of years, and basically only owned what I carried and just over $500 cash to my name.

Six years later I am proud to say that I am an Australian Citizen with a full time job, studying at uni part time, and with about $150K in equity in my PPOR. Becoming an Australian Citizen is probably my greatest success in the past 6 years, and the thing I am proudest of. It was difficult and expensive process, and in retrospect a boat from Indonesia is probably cheaper and quicker!

Financially, I guess my first breakthrough was in MYOB shares. I got in at around $4.35 and they went over the $14.00 mark.

My small gain was enough to get me a loan for a block of land four years ago. I found one south of Cairns for $39K - last few blocks that a developer just wanted gone. Similar blocks across they have just opened in the next street are now over $100K.

I built a house on the land a few months later for $105K. Similar properties in my street were valued at $310K and $325K last month.

Realising that I gained as much in my house as I did working those four years is what got me motivated on real estate investing again. I dont have any investment properties, waiting on the LOC at the moment.

Hopefully I will continue to be as lucky as I have been the first 6 years.
 
4GH1RH said:
Hopefully I will continue to be as lucky as I have been the first 6 years.

Hi 4GH1RH,

Now youre thinking like a spectator instead of a participant :)

You set goals, you worked toward them, and youve made some great achievements...

You work full time as well as study, you have some good equity, and you actively work towards learning more about investing - youve made the most of your opportunities and done well.

Congrats on choosing to become a citizen - I think Australia is already a better place because of your decision :)

Jamie.
 
Lucky

4GH1RH said:
Hopefully I will continue to be as lucky as I have been the first 6 years.

Hi 4GH1RH,

My personal opinion is that "luck" didn't have a lot to play in it - it was more "you" - your determination, your goals, your efforts, your achievements.

Congratulations.

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
The Y-man said:
Jamie,

Was this meant to be the other way around :confused:

Cheers,

The Y-man

Hi Y-Man - Nope, it wasnt :)

I was commenting that most people who aren't involved in investing attribute the success of others to extrinsic factors, like luck or good fortune.

Im sure many people here who have done well after years of hard work have heard others say "You just got lucky" or "Good thing you just happened to buy property at the right time". Im sure that luck does indeed play a role in most of our lives - but there is no luck without at least the first step of taking action.

Many of those who attributed the success of others to "luck" dont realise that a lot of people who invest work multiple jobs, forgo holidays/consumer goods year after year, and spend 5 hours each night learning about investment after 8 hours a day at work.

People who are actively investing themselves rarely attribute the successes of other to luck, because they know the effort and sacrifices involved in working towards and achieving financial freedom.

That was my point to 4GH1RH - dont treat your successes like a spectator would by attributing them solely to luck. Instead, take deserved pride in them, and use these successes as the catalyst for even bigger and better things.

Regards,

Jamie.
 
AntC said:
Hi IP forumites,
My thinking is that most of the forum people who have done well out of IP and have retired or semi retired have moved on from here or reduced there hours reading and replying. Maybe sitting on thier yacht drinking pina coladas, not much internet access out on the water. :cool:
My Story:
I for one was one of the original 20 starters in this forum, check the archives for AntC.
No real bargains when we bought, just average houses with averages prices in average areas. During that time I lost money on the Dot com crash, about enough for a deposit for a house. It swayed me to stick to property and not be frightened to handeling large sums of money, losing, investing, gaining. i also learnt that shares required a large learning curve.
First six properties have at least doubled in value, so presently in total we have just under two million in debt, and over one million in equity. Everything sitting around cashflow neutral. :eek:
Our Financial adviser from the forum has pretty much told us to retire, but its hard bungee jumping from security to living off equity. :eek:

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the people in here to submitting great points of view and info, especially the ones that have been in here for a while.Cheers,
Ant.

Ant,
Great story. I urge people from time to time that this could be their story. Most don’t believe me.
We have a similar portfolio, we have only just realised the freedom it affords us. We can now comfortably live off equity for as long as we wish to cruise the world for.
Our dream was to buy a nice yacht and cruise the world, at our leisure, and at our pace.
The dream is now a reality, only last week we realised the only thing that was holding us back from embarking on that dream was our own thinking. We became our own handbrake prior to that realisation.
As with you Ant, lots of people here and ideas and thoughts thrown around this forum helped us no end. But that was only a start, a seed. Our extrapolisation of those ideas led us to where we are today.
While others I work with are contemplating and planning their next ten years of working lives, having a JOB (Just Over Broke) and how they will retire in 10 years after that, I (we) have broken the shackles.
We are cruising next year, with no need to rely on a JOB any longer, we have no kids so that may make it somewhat easier, however many people cruise with young families. Ever wonder how ? Well I can tell you Australians are a minority, funny for a country with such a focus on water sports.
We will take our time, we have enough to fund the trip indefinitely, and so can you. We will see the world and lots of areas that only true bluewater sailors have access too.
How good is that.
 
Hi,

Threads like these are great to read and inspiring.

I am a conservative investor and kind of fell into it after receiving 'lazy' advice from an accountant. That urged me to learn more about structuring my finances and led me to get some IP's and own my ppor.

I have been analysing deals and learning for the last 3 years or so and feel I am beginning to think like an investor.

I am in a position where me and my partner can work part time and have no financial hardship (with some changes to our current spending habits). I perceive this level of financial independance as a kind of freedom a lot of 'non investor' people will never have.
 
Well looks like you guys all bought before the boom. Pity us younger kids didn't know about the Jan somers books because we were too young, still in high school etc. Now I got to wait 7-8 years to buy in the next property boom. Sure I can buy it now then hold it for 7 years but I think it would be smarter buying just before the next boom takes off. damnnn
 
NP,

Doesn't sound bad in theory but be very very careful if that's your attitude. Two reasons:

a) You might find yourself as a 'gonna' - one day I'm 'gonna do this' and next year I'm 'gonna' do that. Then you look back and realise you haven't done anything.

b) What happens if you wait 6 years, the boom takes off, but you don't find yourself in a position where you can purchase? Might be in between jobs or working as a contractor or some other situation where you find it hard to get lending approval.

In the meantime you could have bought your investments and made a concerted effort to pay them down. The successes you have read about are from people who have bought property with no crystal ball telling them a boom was a couple of years away. However they were in a position to take advantage of it.
 
Good Point Glebe

If I was getting into the market for the first time at this stage, one option would be to buy one IP in an area which I considered likely to move near the start of the current cycle , or in an area which I felt had room to still move in the curent cycle.

I'd set up an offset account and use that to save into, while keeping funds available for future purchases.

Following on from this thread and the leverage thread, I don't know many people buying aggressively with high leverage and multiple properties at the current stage of the market.

See Change
 
Some wonderful stories of success everyone, it's great to be amongst such "glass is half full" people who can see the light at the end of the tunnel! (sheesh, enough metaphors there!)

My mild success story was when I purchased a house and land package back in May last year, where I had thought the property market had peaked and I was feeling very depressed because I was buying in at a point where it would take many years to build some equity. Oh well I thought, might as well take the plunge now, find a property in the right area and and wait it out! Found an affordable house and land package by an independant builder that was about $10-15k below market price in a good area, so I thought I did quite well.

Turns out in the next 5-6 months while it was being constructed, prices went up by over 30% in that area, at the end of it leaving me with equity over $100k! Prices have gone back a little from that thanks to the general slow down, but it's still worth a lot more than I paid for it, and I certainly could never have saved the kind of money!

Sometimes, the opportunity cost can be in your favour!

Sincerely,
Mal
 
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