The Sydney couple bought three properties in the space of six months when the market was hot. But they are convinced that it will create long-term wealth for them.
Raphael Tripet and Kate Chen see buying property as a way to become “financially free”.
The Sydney couple have already amassed four properties worth $2.2million and they don’t want to stop there.
Their first purchase was a two-bedroom apartment in Sydney’s southern suburb of Miranda, which they bought for $565,000 in September 2015 and is now worth $700,000 – a place where they also currently live.
But within six months, they went on a spending spree to secure three more properties, all unseen.
There was a house in Goulburn in New South Wales which was bought for $470,000 in September last year.
They’re renting the three-bedroom home with a three-car garage for $440 a week, and its value has already jumped to $530,000.
In January this year, they bought a four-bedroom house in Baldivis in Western Australia for $448,000 renting it out for $350 a week. Its value increased by $7,000 in just four months.
Then they headed to Queensland to buy their newest property in Rangeville in Toowoomba for $468,200 which rents for $430 a week.
Since February, the value of the four-bedroom property has increased to $480,000.
The 35-year-old couple were helped on their journey by buyer’s agent Rasti Vaibhav of Get Rare Properties.
But Mr Tripet, a software engineer, admitted he was nervous about borrowing so much money initially.
“My experience with home ownership is that I either always wanted it or knew that my parents and family having a home is a goal in itself, but I was afraid of making a big mistake. because it’s a lot of money,” he said. news.com.au.
“I saved a lot of money without investing anything and then Kate came from a Chinese background where she is more comfortable acquiring properties and she had to change my mindset.”
Together, the couple aims to build a real estate portfolio worth $5 million as part of their retirement plan.
“It’s about creating passive income to make sure that when we retire we can become financially free, but now we also don’t have to depend on our corporate work or our retirement pension. for retirement, because we know it’s not going to support the lifestyle we currently have,” added Mr. Tripet.
Ms. Chen said it’s not just passive income, but also having a number of assets in their name, one of which is guaranteed to be worth the next few years.
“In a way, it’s also to offset the impact of inflation, because having cash in the bank account is the worst way to preserve your wealth,” she said.
“Having assets and real estate is a great way to preserve your wealth and retain the value of your wealth.”
She said her parents gave her the money for the deposit for their first home, but with lockdowns during the pandemic they saved the $50,000 deposit for their initial investment purchase in NSW .
But the two admit it was not easy to compete in the sellers’ market at the time and they missed out on a number of properties in Queensland and Washington state.
“At the time, we were researching the properties that we were buying with cash home buyers or first-time home buyers where they were desperate for a home, so they could find something and they were determined to to have it even if they knew is paying a little more than the value of the property,” Ms. Chen said.
“While we had a buyer’s agent and weren’t emotional, we were looking to find the right deal in the right place and we were finally able to sign the contract.”
The accountant said it was particularly important to have positive cash flow from properties, with New South Wales making them $5,755, nearly $10,000 for WA and just over $5,000 for QLD .
“One thing that’s been really helpful to me, because there’s a lot of mortgages and debt, is knowing our numbers and knowing how much we’re spending on mortgages and getting in rent. Kate is an accountant and has done a nice cash flow spreadsheet and it gives a lot of peace of mind to know where we are going and if we can afford it,” Mr Tripet said.
“One of the things you should do before investing and acquiring new properties is to look at the purchase price and find out if you will be comfortable with the mortgage and the potential rent.”
Both denied buying multiple properties was a “greedy” strategy, but said it was an investment mindset, much like buying stocks or crypto. cash.
“I think there are different ways to grow people’s wealth. Some people think they prefer trading or are crazy about crypto, but from my background, I know investment properties better,” Ms. Chen said.
“I feel like it’s not a get-rich-in-a-month program, it’s not like a get-rich-quick scheme, but I think it’s pretty reliable and I don’t mind and I think if people have the same mindset and preference, they should check it out.
The mum-to-be added that having multiple sources of income could also help protect people against things like unexpected job loss.