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531 | Property, Paralympics, and Perseverance: How He Secured His Financial Future and Trains for the World Stage – Chat with Jonti

“I’ve definitely (got) no regrets and very excited for what the future holds…”  Jonti  

Folks, this inspirational quote is from our LAST Summer Series guest for 2024/25 who, by the age of 32, has survived and grown from experiences and horrors most of us can only imagine…  

With a new business, a flourishing property portfolio in Australia and a recent purchase of his dream $1.9M home, it seemed like Jonti had his life in order. 

That is until his life-altering accident.

Tune in now to find out how Jonti not only survived but thrived after instantly becoming a paraplegic – all while juggling his own business, debt levels and a relationship breakdown…to come out with his positive outlook above.  

P.S. A heartfelt thank you to each of our incredible guests for sharing their inspirational stories. We’ve absolutely loved sitting down, listening, and learning from your journeys. These moments are what make this series so special. ❤️ 


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    • FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION
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    • FREE E-BOOK  
      Download Make Money Simple Again, your free instruction manual for our rules-based money management system, MoneySMARTS, which is guaranteed to trap surplus and requires less than 10 minutes a month to manage. Plus, keep your ears peeled for more information on our third book from the series… 😉 
  • Thank you to all our amazing 2024/25 Summer Series guests!
    You can find our entire lineup of Summer/Winter series guests here if you’d like to re-listen or hear from our previous guests!  

 

Timestamps  

  • 0:00 – Property, Paralympics, and Perseverance: How He Secured His Financial Future and Trains for the World Stage – Chat with Jonti   
  • 1:22 – Welcome Jonti!  
  • 1:56 – Money Story: “That’s life, and you have to move on.”   
  • 6:09 – His first job in primary school & reaching financial independence 
  • 10:31 – Entering the property market during the earthquakes  
  • 13:49 – 3 properties by 23?!  
  • 16:25 – How wakeboarding helped him on his investing path  
  • 17:38 – Differences in NZ property laws  
  • 19:51 – Grappling with workaholism & financial discipline 
  • 22:14 – Transitioning to Australia: Renting for $200 a week  
  • 23:29 – The concrete pump that developed his financial base  
  • 26:20 – Switching to buying regional units  
  • 28:35 – Uncovering why tenant quality and property management matters 
  • 32:50 – He’s never seen these properties… 
  • 34:18 – Selling three properties to afford his $1.9M dream home  
  • 36:33 – The life-altering motorbike accident  
  • 38:39 – How he survived post-accident: Managing business, debt levels & hope   
  • 41:27– Highlighting the value of defence  
  • 43:51 – First steps again on his 31st birthday 
  • 46:47 – Navigating relationship, rehab and rising rates in the aftermath  
  • 50:09 – The fork in his future: What is his north star now?  
  • 51:51 – Regrets & Reflections  
  • 54:39 – Why did Jonti want to share his story?  
  • 56:29 – What an insanely inspiring and resilient person, thank you Jonti!  
  • 1:02:19 – Thank you to all our awesome Summer Series guests!  
  • 1:02:59 – FREE RESOURCE: Moorr app and engaging the experts at Empower Wealth 
  • 1:04:26 – Our third book incoming!

 

530 | From Flipping the Local “Drug Dealers” House to Five Properties! – Chat with Catherine

Catherine grew up in a household where money was scarce, and financial stress was the norm. As the daughter of a seasonal worker, she experienced the instability of transient living first-hand, moving between 13 schools growing up. 😮  

This would deeply influence her later financial decisions… 

Determined to break the cycle of financial hardship, Catherine and her husband, Jeff, took action in their late 30s and 40s.  

Despite only having a $10,000 deposit and facing Jeff’s pre-existing financial hurdles, they rolled up their sleeves and began renovating their way to financial peace.

So how did they make the big leap onto the property ladder and overcome Jeff’s financial difficulties, which opened their eyes to lending limitations?!   

If you want a masterclass on how to apartment shop in Sydney and how this power couple has built a successful five-property portfolio after only starting later, listen to this episode now!!  


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  • How did Catherine and Jeff build a 5-property portfolio despite starting later in life?
    Discover how they leveraged Moorr and tapped into expert professional services to make it happen.

 

Timestamps  

  • 0:00 – From Flipping the Local Drug Dealers’ House to Five Properties! – Chat with Catherine   
  • 1:28 Welcome Catherine! 
  • 2:14 – Money Story: Seasonal work, struggling with money and 13 different schools?!  
  • 6:54 – Earning first income and the first big purchase  
  • 10:55 – Living in Sydney and no role models 
  • 11:59 – Flipping the local drug dealer’s house?!  
  • 16:13 – Doubling in price just two streets away  
  • 18:35 – The Motivator to Act: Childcare commitments and tax debt  
  • 22:59 – There is always opportunity: Starting with just $10G  
  • 24:25 – Property #2: Your masterclass on how to buy in Sydney 😉  
  • 30:01 – Zero valuation and blood stains on the walls?!  
  • 32:17 – Property #3: Buying a block of land?!  
  • 35:59 – The results from hands-on vs. hands-off 
  • 40:19 – Starting late: “It’s not about being the richest person in the street.”  
  • 41:22 – Property #4: A regional crab shack  
  • 44:49 – Property #5: Ugly Ducklings are reliable and durable!  
  • 49:10 – Why Sydneysiders have an appetite for high-density 
  • 51:37 – The renovations she did in her last property  
  • 54:05 – How they afforded their dream lifestyle: A caravan in the middle of winter?!  
  • 56:20 – Catherine’s North Star + what’s next?  
  • 1:01:11 – “You can choose your own path…”  
  • 1:06:08 – Ben’s #1 simple question: Am I going to be ok?  
  • 1:09:26 – Catherine’s secret sauce for success  

 

528 | Meet the Outlier: He Built a $3.4M Portfolio at 32 While Funding His Love of Travel – Chat with Adam

Raised by parents who instilled a hardworking, “DIY” mindset, Adam, today’s Summer Series guest, kickstarted his property journey at just 22 years old. 😮  

Skip forward just over a decade, and he now owns a $3.4M portfolio and is living his dream lifestyle by design, including taking spontaneous month-long fishing trips. 

His journey, however, hasn’t come without hard work and struggle.  


Tune in to hear how this inspiring rentvestor…   

✅ Positioned himself to achieve “the holy grail” of financial freedom 

✅ Embraced self-education – even from blokes two decades older than him 😉 

✅ Overcame Australia’s “tall poppy syndrome” and much more!   

Plus, stick around to hear Adam’s clever strategy for overcoming his lending cap – and how you could use it to keep growing your portfolio too! 


Free Stuff  

 

Timestamps  

  • 0:00 – Meet the Outlier: He Built a $3.4M Portfolio at 32 While Funding His Love of Travel – Chat with Adam 
  • 1:28 – Welcome Adam!  
  • 2:00 – His first experience with property investing at 13!  
  • 3:24 – Money Story: Finding the holy grail of passive income  
  • 6:58 – The worst decision he ever made  
  • 9:25 – How did his parents learn about property investing?  
  • 12:24 – Why real estate reports aren’t accurate (and how he overcame it)  
  • 15:58 – Juggling his love of travelling with property investing 
  • 20:48 – The first “low-risk” play for his investment property 
  • 23:12 – How he saved up for his deposit  
  • 25:21 – Where the push for greater self-education came from  
  • 29:37 – Leverage THIS like Adam did!  
  • 32:38 – Property #2: The tenants now are the people who sold it?  
  • 39:00 – The COVID property purchase + why he doesn’t value-add to it now  
  • 44:08 – How he overcame his lending cap  
  • 48:41 – What an aggressive approach to trusts looks like!  
  • 50:52 – A horror “Buy & Sold” story  
  • 52:18 – Does it suit you: Why Adam is pursuing a rentvestor path!  
  • 54:17 – Do Super contributions matter with his strategy?  
  • 56:10 – What true personal sovereignty looks like  
  • 58:51 – “I don’t think what my portfolio is worth is a reflection of me”  
  • 1:03:46 – Reach out to Adam on socials or connect with our MMSA community!     
  • 1:05:34 – Thank you, Adam!

 

TPC Gold | 3 vs 4 Bedroom Homes: Which Do Renters Prefer?

In today’s bonus episode, we’re digging into a question from listener Joel, who’s wondering if adding a fourth bedroom will make his place more attractive to Aussie renters. 

Bryce and Ben break down what renters really want in a property – and spoiler alert, it’s all about finding the right balance! They cover why extra bedrooms can be a win, but only if you’re not sacrificing too much living space.  

Plus, they share tips on how suburb trends and layout choices can make all the difference when it comes to attracting tenants. 

If you’re keen to know how to set your rental property up for success, this snippet is packed with insights to help you make the best choice! 

For the full Q&A episode, tune in here: Episode 178 | Q&A: Is that 4th Bedroom Such a Good Idea? APRA’s Effect on Credit Cards & What’s The Secret to a Career in Property Investment? 

__________________

Now That You Know Renters’ Preferences for 3 Vs 4 Bedroom Homes…

We hope these insights help you on your journey to building an investment property portfolio! 

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to sharpen your skills, our book The Armchair Guide to Property Investing is packed with tips to guide you along the way. And the best part? You can grab it for FREE!

If You Enjoyed TPC Gold | 3 vs 4 Bedroom Homes: Which Do Renters Prefer? You Might Also Like:


Transcript

Bryce Holdaway
Today’s Q&A Day, we love it. SpeakPipe, we always want our listeners to come and leave us a message. So here, Ivise, is our first one.  

Joel
Hi Bryce, Ben and Stiggy. My name is Joel, I’m from Adelaide, South Australia. The question I’d like to ask is what types of rooms and features do Australians want in the rental market at the moment? The property that I’m looking at is a three-bedroom with an open living area and a large home entertainment room or cinema room. Now looking at the plans, I would probably convert that into a fourth bedroom, add some wardrobes, because it’s quite large. But I don’t know what other Australians would want. So I would live there for a few years before renting it out. But I don’t know, would Australians prefer the fourth bedroom or would they prefer to have a home living area, activities rooms, stuff like that? So any input would be great. Thanks.  

Bryce Holdaway
Very good question, Joel. I would say the first thing, Ben, is my number one rule within looking at something like this is context. What’s the context for the suburb right? If you’ve squeezed in a fourth bedroom and it’s meant a very tiny living area and there’s only one bathroom and the rest of the suburb provides you much better options than that, you’ve really limited your market.  

Ultimately, I took this from Bernard Salt. He wrote the book The Big Shift back in the 90s. I read that. And he goes, Australians, it’s not a Manhattan-isation. We value space. Whenever we have a public holiday, we get the kids in the car, we drive to nature, we go to the bush, the beach, whatever. So we value space. So for me, from the buyer’s end’s perspective, if you can add another bedroom, all things being equal and you haven’t seriously compromised on the living space, it’s just a proven fact that that actually creates value.  

I mean, we have bought properties for clients where there was a precedent where just down the road there was someone with an extra bedroom, made the change, automatically created some equity. So all things being equal, extra bedrooms make a difference, but as long as it’s not coming at the expense of four bedrooms, one bathroom. That’s a nightmare. Or the suburb norm does not support what you’ve done. They’re my two caveats around that.  

Ben Kingsley
Mate, if I lift your message up to the 30,000 (ft) view, look. I think of it like a pyramid, right? So I come back to this owner-occupier appeal piece, and I say this in terms of trying to explain it. If there was a, let’s say there was a glut of properties in the marketplace. I’m talking, for whatever reason, half of our population was wiped out tomorrow, right? And that would mean that obviously rents would be at a premium. I mean, everyone would worry about why the population got wiped out. Might have been a war, you know… 

Bryce Holdaway
Collingwood premiership. 

Ben Kingsley
But just think of it like this. It’s as simple for me as what would be my preference from an owner-occupier. So if the price came down on a Toorak mansion that I could rent for 500 bucks a week, would I rent it? Yep. Because it gives me convenience, it gives me access, it gives me everything. So I always, when I’m looking at buying property, think about the owner-occupier appeal for the renter because the renter wants all the things that an owner-occupier wants.  

They don’t think necessarily like a renter. They don’t say, because I’m a renter, I don’t want this, I don’t want that. There might be an argument where they don’t want to do gardens, but that’s about it. But if you give me a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home for the same price I can do a unit in the same suburb, most people are gonna go for the four-bedroom home. Now that’s not possible because the four-bedroom home’s probably worth double and would charge a premium rent. Now that rent is set by demand and supply. And the only reason we can command a rent of that level is because of the appeal, the demand.  

So Joel, coming back to your question, if it’s got an extra room, that extra room could be a sewing room, it could be a storeroom, it could be a bedroom, it could be a study, it could be all of those things to those different people. So, Bryce summed it up beautifully by saying, we will take the extra space so long as it’s within our budget. Okay, and normally if you do get that extra space, you do get a little bit more extra rent because you’re providing more dwelling accommodation. You’re providing more residents under which you’re able to charge that out. So the bigger the property, the more bang for buck you’re going to get from a rental point of view and it’s as simple as that. So don’t try and get too caught up in: this is perfect for a single person with a dog or this is perfect for a couple who are studying at university.  

The big caveat for me, I always try and say, if you have to go and settle for an apartment, try and make sure that the toilet is outside of the bathroom. People think about that stuff. They think about the fact that if someone’s got a stomach-ache or whatever, but they’ve got to have a shower to get to work, they can’t go in there because someone’s ill on the toilet. Right. It’s little things like that that make all the difference. So a mandate for me is that.  

Bryce Holdaway
Including if you’re buying a one-bedroom apartment too, Ben.  

Ben Kingsley
Totally.  

Bryce Holdaway
Because imagine if you’ve got friends over for dinner and they’ve gotta go through your bedroom to actually go to the toilet. 

Ben Kingsley
Yeah, and you know if I’m looking at an apartment, I like apartments that really are more than 55 square meters in size because I want sort of a dining area. I want an area that I can put a table to sit down that’s not in my living room, that I’ve just got to sit on my sofa to watch the television. So that’s a big thing for me. The separate laundry is a big bonus and that’s what normally happens. The bigger space but that’s why you pay a premium for it. So it still comes back to the whole fundamental of you will get more rent for something that has more demand.  

Bryce Holdaway
The message here is don’t over-complicate it. If you can move something from a two to a three bedroom, that’s got enormous power. Three to four, it’s great for families. Four to five? Not so much, maybe.  

Ben Kingsley
No. But if you’re offering me the four to five, if you’re offering me a five-bedroom home at a four-bedroom price as a tenant, because the market might be soft at that time…guess what? The tenant’s more likely to take the five – better to put the surfboards in or to put the bikes in or to put whatever, because it’s more storage.  

Bryce Holdaway
But as the investor you want to appeal to the tenant, you also want to make it a return on investment.  

Ben Kingsley
Correct. So if you’ve paid an absolute premium for the fifth and sixth bedroom and you’re not going to get that return, that’s when it starts to taper off.  

Bryce Holdaway
Good question. We appreciate that, Joel. Thank you; hopefully that’s helped. Let us know. Send us an email. Let us know if that hit the mark for you. 

TPC Gold | Should I Build or Renovate?

Today’s bonus snippet is from an episode with guest Amelia Lee, the architect behind Undercover Architect – an award-winning online resource teaching folks how to design, build and renovate their homes. 

Tune in to the full episode here: Episode 249 | The 4-Step Framework to Renovate or Build Your Home…AND Enjoy It! 

In this TPC Gold soundbite, Amelia shares her thoughts on what you MUST consider if you’re tossing up between building new or renovating! 

Whether that’s determining your property’s worth, understanding budget constraints, or navigating the complexities of home renovation and new construction…discover the hidden costs of it all as well as how to avoid common pitfalls.  

Whether you love the charm of an old home or the fresh start of a new build, tune in for practical tips and expert guidance on attaining a home that perfectly fits your needs and aspirations! 

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