Personal Background and Property Journey Born and raised in Bendigo, my property journey began in 2011 when I built my first home, utilising the First Home Buyers Grant. I lived in this home for five years before moving to Myrtleford in 2016 to take a teaching position. Rather than selling, I decided to rent out my Bendigo property fully furnished. In Myrtleford, we purchased a livable yet outdated four-bedroom home that fit our budget. Over several years, we renovated the property, transforming it into a comfortable residence. However, my heart was set on living in Bright, just 30km further up the valley, closer to the mountains and a thriving cycling scene. As an avid cyclist and winter snowboarder, this move felt right. We kept the Myrtleford property as a rental and built a new home in Bright in 2020. By this time, post-COVID, the property market in Northeast Victoria had surged. Leveraging the equity in our properties, we purchased a new investment in Lawnton, 25km north of Brisbane’s CBD. This purchase was a learning experience: delays in land titling cost us nearly two years of opportunity. While the property was eventually built and tenanted successfully, I wouldn’t recommend entering such a deal again. With this acquisition, we reached our borrowing capacity as all properties were held in our personal names. Our next investment was through a Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF), acquiring a dual-living property in Stafford Heights, just 9km from Brisbane’s CBD. This property featured a primary residence and a two-bedroom granny flat, both of which were quickly tenanted, providing strong rental returns. Recognising the need to refine our portfolio, we recently sold two properties: the Myrtleford home and the Lawnton investment. The Myrtleford property had reached its capital improvement ceiling, and the sale allowed us to eliminate our Principal Place of Residence (PPOR) loan entirely while also reducing the SMSF loan significantly. This step was crucial since a PPOR loan isn’t tax-deductible. We now hold a debt-free $2M PPOR. The decision to sell the Lawnton property stemmed from my evolved investment criteria. While the location was good, the property lacked strong owner-occupier appeal, which is vital for consistent capital growth. With these adjustments, we’re restructuring for the future, focusing on acquiring properties through a trust structure to build a sustainable and growth-oriented portfolio. With over a decade of property investing experience, I’ve gained valuable insights that can help others achieve financial freedom by breaking free from the burden of a never-ending PPOR mortgage and investing for a future fueled by passive income. Property is a powerful tool for creating generational wealth—saving alone won’t get you there unless you’re earning an exceptional income. I’ve personally achieved financial freedom while working a public servant job with a modest wage, simply by taking action and investing in property when opportunities arose. You too can create your own path to wealth through property investing. The key is commitment and taking that first step. Many people talk about investing "one day" or regret not starting sooner, but staying on the sidelines only leads to missed opportunities. The best time to start is now. If you’re ready to take action and explore how property investing can transform your financial future, let’s chat. Reach out to me via call or email, and let’s see if working together is the right fit for you.