{"id":14539,"date":"2017-11-17T01:00:17","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T14:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/realestatetalk.com.au\/?p=14539"},"modified":"2017-11-17T01:00:17","modified_gmt":"2017-11-16T14:00:17","slug":"from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"From novice investors to financial freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virginia and Gordon McDonald have recently joined the ranks of Australia\u2019s retirement set, stepping down from their busy roles within the public service. And they\u2019re doing so with some handsome real estate profits in their bank balance, making the transition from employment so much smoother
\nVirginia McDonald, aged in her early 60s, and her husband Gordon, who is in his late 60s, had always planned to retire from the workforce at around this stage of their lives. However, they had never thought they would retire completely debt-free and with a portfolio of residential investment properties.
\nThe couple became first-time property investors just over a decade ago, on the advice of their financial planner.
\n\u201cIt was something we hadn\u2019t even thought about doing, until we spoke to James Nihill at Patrick Leo and began looking to better utilise our tax,\u201d
\nVirginia explains. \u201cWe were both PAYG public servants, so we had no opportunity to really build our capital, until we looked at property investing.
\n\u201cAround a decade ago we were pretty close to finishing paying off our mortgage, which is when James gave us the idea of building a diversified portfolio that included property as an investment strategy.\u201d
\nThe Brisbane-based couple \u00a0were intrigued, after \u201cbasically [having] done nothing for
\n30 years but put our money into our own mortgage\u201d, Virginia says.
\n
\nVirginia and Gordon are renovating their investment property in Victoria prior to listing it for sale. It is set to deliver a six-figure profit
\nAT A GLANCE<\/strong>
\nYears investing – 11
\nNumber of properties – 2
\nStrategy – Set and forget
\nVIRGINIA’S PORTFOLIO<\/strong>
\n
\n\u201cWe had simply worked and paid our bills. We wanted to invest, but we didn\u2019t have the knowledge or the confidence.\u201d
\nTheir first property in 2007 was a three-bedroom house in Pakenham, Victoria, which they built with an investment of around $300,000.
\n\u201cWe decided that even though it was in another state, that would probably be better for me because I may have become a bit of a \u2018drive by and check on the home\u2019 type of landlord,\u201d Virginia laughs. \u201cIt gave us a tax deductible trip when going to Melbourne, which we enjoyed, so we went ahead with that purchase.\u201d
\nADVICE FOR INTERSTATE LANDLORDS<\/strong>
\n1 Get a good real estate agent to manage your property, and develop a good, strong relationship so there\u2019s clear communication and feedback. This helps you get a true picture of inspections and tenancies so you\u2019re not left with problems to fix later.
\n2 Definitely don\u2019t get emotionally involved. Remember that it\u2019s not your own home; it\u2019s an investment.
\n3 Adopt a \u2018set and forget\u2019 attitude. As long as you\u2019re getting a good rental return and have solid tenants in place, then you\u2019re in a good position.
\n4 Don\u2019t go panicking when things are not going so well. Ride out the swings and roundabouts of the economy if you can. Hang in there, as property provides steady growth over the long term.
\nTesting tenants<\/strong>
\nTheir Pakenham property was easily rented, though Virginia admits that their very first tenant presented immediate challenges.
\n\u201cShe stopped paying rent and we had to take her to court a few times,\u201d Virginia says, but ultimately \u201cwe weren\u2019t out of pocket very much, and we got better tenants in \u2013 along with a new property manager! If you\u2019re going to invest in property you need to find people to work with who are trustworthy, honest and above board.
\n\u201cApart from the odd rogue tenants, it\u2019s been quite set and forget,\u201d Virginia says of the couple\u2019s interstate investments. In fact the process of becoming landlords was so stress-free that in 2009 they decided to acquire their second property investment \u2013 a townhouse in the Hunter Valley in NSW.
\n\u201cIt was smaller and cheaper than our first property, but it gave us another investment opportunity in real estate that wasn\u2019t too onerous,\u201d Virginia says.
\nThey paid $240,000 for the three-bedroom home, which currently rents for $280 per week.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re happy to hold on to our other property for now as it tenants really well. We had a bit of a low when the mining boom seized up, because a lot of the properties [in the Hunter region] were being rented by people working in the mines. But now, that area has rebounded and eased off to being a thriving little town. It\u2019s got a tourism focus rather than mining, so we\u2019re not having any issues renting the property,\u201d Virginia says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were both PAYG public servants, so we had no opportunity to really build our capital \u2013 until we looked at property investing\u201d<\/em><\/h2>\n

Having now retired from the workforce, the couple is currently overseeing some minor renovations to update their Pakenham property before placing it on the market, with an expected sale price of around $460,000.
\n\u201cThe key to our retirement has been having a diversified profile. In regard to property, we have gone from [being] nervous first-time investors without a clue, to financially comfortable retirees with a lifestyle we have always wanted. And we\u2019ve particularly enjoyed the freedom of being in a financial position to help our son as a guarantor for his property.\u201d
\nFor more real life investors stories like this, visit: http:\/\/www.yourinvestmentpropertymag.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Virginia and Gordon McDonald have recently joined the ranks of Australia\u2019s retirement set, stepping down from their busy roles within the public service. And they\u2019re doing so with some handsome real estate profits in their bank balance, making the transition from employment so much smoother…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176692471,"featured_media":14831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,25,31],"tags":[70],"class_list":["post-14539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-story","category-sponsored-channels","category-your-investment-property","tag-featured"],"yoast_head":"\nFrom novice investors to financial freedom - Realty Talk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From novice investors to financial freedom - Realty Talk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Virginia and Gordon McDonald have recently joined the ranks of Australia\u2019s retirement set, stepping down from their busy roles within the public service. And they\u2019re doing so with some handsome real estate profits in their bank balance, making the transition from employment so much smoother...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Realty Talk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-11-16T14:00:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"rolanrush\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"rolanrush\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"rolanrush\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/384a57ac9e52cb9bf19896cb15eaa52d\"},\"headline\":\"From novice investors to financial freedom\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-16T14:00:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":881,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"keywords\":[\"Featured\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Latest Stories\",\"Sponsored Channels\",\"Your Investment Property\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\\\/\",\"name\":\"From novice investors to financial freedom - Realty Talk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-16T14:00:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/384a57ac9e52cb9bf19896cb15eaa52d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"From novice investors to financial freedom\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Realty Talk\",\"description\":\"Your Trusted Voice For Property Investing. Anywhere, Anytime.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/384a57ac9e52cb9bf19896cb15eaa52d\",\"name\":\"rolanrush\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/86544778804295a7fa45cbde097dc3a58a45ba6ed28859f17059ca74c38723d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/86544778804295a7fa45cbde097dc3a58a45ba6ed28859f17059ca74c38723d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/86544778804295a7fa45cbde097dc3a58a45ba6ed28859f17059ca74c38723d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"rolanrush\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/channels.realty.com.au\\\/realtytalk\\\/author\\\/rolanrush\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"From novice investors to financial freedom - Realty Talk","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"From novice investors to financial freedom - Realty Talk","og_description":"Virginia and Gordon McDonald have recently joined the ranks of Australia\u2019s retirement set, stepping down from their busy roles within the public service. And they\u2019re doing so with some handsome real estate profits in their bank balance, making the transition from employment so much smoother...","og_url":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/","og_site_name":"Realty Talk","article_published_time":"2017-11-16T14:00:17+00:00","author":"rolanrush","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"rolanrush","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/"},"author":{"name":"rolanrush","@id":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/#\/schema\/person\/384a57ac9e52cb9bf19896cb15eaa52d"},"headline":"From novice investors to financial freedom","datePublished":"2017-11-16T14:00:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/"},"wordCount":881,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","keywords":["Featured"],"articleSection":["Latest Stories","Sponsored Channels","Your Investment Property"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/","url":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/","name":"From novice investors to financial freedom - Realty Talk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2017-11-16T14:00:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/#\/schema\/person\/384a57ac9e52cb9bf19896cb15eaa52d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/from-novice-investors-to-financial-freedom\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"From novice investors to financial freedom"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/","name":"Realty Talk","description":"Your Trusted Voice For Property Investing. Anywhere, Anytime.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/#\/schema\/person\/384a57ac9e52cb9bf19896cb15eaa52d","name":"rolanrush","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/86544778804295a7fa45cbde097dc3a58a45ba6ed28859f17059ca74c38723d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/86544778804295a7fa45cbde097dc3a58a45ba6ed28859f17059ca74c38723d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/86544778804295a7fa45cbde097dc3a58a45ba6ed28859f17059ca74c38723d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"rolanrush"},"url":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/author\/rolanrush\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176692471"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/channels.realty.com.au\/realtytalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}