As you all know by now, there are many ways to make your dreams come true in real estate investing and many paths to success. One path isn’t necessarily better than another; every situation is different, so your chosen path will depend on what’s happening in your own life. Since everybody has his or her own unique and personal situation in which to operate, every investor will have different challenges to overcome.
But you know what? It really doesn’t matter what the situation is. Whether you have lots of money and little time, or a couple of kids, no money and little time, or perhaps you’re both working all the hours in the world to make ends meet, in each of these scenarios, you–my students–have found ways to make it happen in real estate investing. The payoff has all been the same happy ending: more money in your pockets than you had before, jobs working for somebody else left behind, and the freedom to live life on your terms.
One couple, Jason and Amy, came into the I Love Real Estate world quite by accident, but their road to success is quite worth the telling…
Chasing their tails
Jason was a cameraman. As a subcontractor, he was filming all kinds of activities at all hours of the day, seven days a week. He worked for a firm that contracted him out whenever and wherever he was needed. Jason filmed sports events, animals, and whatever else he was asked to do. He never knew what his next job was, where it would be, or even how long it would be.
Well, wouldn’t you know it? Jason got a job of filming a real estate investing seminar…
Jason was actually “shooting me”—I really don’t like that word, but that’s cameraman-speak for filming me—and it had its effect. He soon got to thinking “hey, this sounds like smart thing to look into.”
Meanwhile, Amy was working long hours in corporate marketing. They were working hard and playing hard, renting a nice apartment for a lot of money, and having a nice time of it when they weren’t working. But it occurred to them that they needed to make a change in order to stop working so hard to pay for their partying life style without saving much of anything. They were just “chasing their tails” as Amy said.
Jason and Amy joined up the ultimate I Love Real Estate program, set their goals, and got busy. After completing the course, they figured, “well, we’ve paid for Dymphna’s course, we’ve got to do something.”
Humble beginnings
The first thing they figured out is that they couldn’t afford to buy where they lived in Sydney. They had to go regional, where they could afford to buy. They looked around several small towns, what the rental rates were, the local economy, occupancy rates, and the prices, and then decided on Nerrandera, which is about six hour’s drive north of Sydney. They bought a renovator on a double block for about $90,000, with a spare block of land beside it.
And then came, the “do-whatever-it-takes-to-make-it-happen-phase” of their plan…
Jason and Amy would work all week at their jobs, then on Friday, drive six hours to the property, arrive around midnight, get up early that Saturday, and work all weekend on the renovations, drive home Sunday night, and then start their work week again on Monday morning. It was a tough routine, which they did for six weeks! They had to because that was where the property was that they could afford. Jason and Amy did the renovations themselves and learned quite a lot along the way.
They applied to subdivide the property, worked with the town council, which only asked for some basic plans, and then approved their plans within two weeks. They then bought an old house in a housing graveyard, moved it onto the subdivided block. They got positive cash flow from both properties and plenty of equity. It took some time, but they stuck to their strategy and made it happen!
Triumphant return to Sydney and beyond
With the equity and the confidence from their Nerrandera investment, Jason and Amy were able to acquire a 180 square meter piece of land back in Sydney, where before, they couldn’t afford to buy. But that was then. They could now afford to build their very own PPR on the property for a buy and build cost of $610,000. The finished value of the property is over $950,000; giving Jason and Amy another $340,000 in equity. Not only that, but their mortgage today is less than what they were paying in rent. They have made their dream come true owning a house in the city. Now that’s making it happen!
But they didn’t stop there. With two deals under their belt, they began networking with property people, talking to those in the Platinum Group, and found another property similar to their Narrandera deal. They used the education from the course and their prior success to find a Joint Venture partner on a 50/50 basis, to provide the financing for the deal. They subdivided the block of land, renovated the older property, sold it off, and then built a five bedroom PPR on the second block of land within five months. Jason and Amy are holding onto it for some very positive capital growth.
Success leads to more success
Know what happened next? Their JV partner was so pleased with what they had done on their first deal together that she told Jason to go find her another that she could partner with them on. So Jason did just that in Queensland. He found a house sitting on two blocks of land. Knowing the land values in the area, Jason removed the existing house. Their JV partner sold one block and built on the other and bought Amy and Jason out for a nice chunk of money.
Amy and Jason have since gone on to do quite a few more deals and now give a portion of each of their profits to charity. But remember, it all started with a small property that was six hour’s drive away because they couldn’t afford to buy in Sydney. That small investment deal was the beginning of their path, that allowed them to not only build their own home in Sydney, but also to attract a JV partner, make even more money, and grow their portfolio from there.
Today, they have daily property alerts coming right to their email, and practice the visualization techniques they’ve learned in the Platinum Group. When they find a property they’re interested in, they put the printed photo on fridge with the words: “Sold to Jason and Amy for so much amount of dollars.”
And you know what? Most of those deals come to fruition at or near the price they write on the picture. And if one doesn’t, then they figure that they weren’t meant to have it. By the way, that positive attitude has been a happy by-product of this journey. As Jason tells it, he’s become a much more open and positive person, because he now knows the unlimited possibilities that come with an open mind, a positive attitude and a willingness to do what it takes to make it happen!
If you are willing to do what it takes to make it happen, you know what? It will.