How Madd Helped Me Buy 3 Properties In 4 Years (3rd Through My Super Fund)
“I was referred to George by two of my closest friends, Deniz & Dejan (both are still MADD customers) back in 2020. I was keen to buy a unit as I already had bought a house in 2017 and George immediately warned me about units, sharing with me his story how he had bought a unit in Kangaroo Point in 2010, kept it for 8 years and sold it, losing over $80,000. I needed to hear this advice and after hearing it, I changed my strategy and knew I needed a house instead.
After meeting with George, I felt an instant connection with him. I knew after that first meeting why my mates had sent me to MADD. They knew I was all about that connection with someone I am going to invest time in and work with and they obviously knew George would be that type of person that I could trust.
In the meeting with George, he had asked me if I had a particular location/suburb that I had liked. I had always liked the suburb of Carina Heights so naturally said that the goal would be to purchase a house in this area (if I could!). He immediately pulled out his phone (in the meeting) and called Pat Ivey, a local Carina Heights agent who practically dominates that suburb. When Pat asked George which Irish bloke was in the room he answered Érin. We had a laugh realising how small Brisbane was, as I had already connected with Pat previously when scouting the area. This one phone call really solidified the relationship between Pat and myself and I am grateful that George picked up the phone at that moment, because the next day I was at an open home with Pat himself in what would be my future home not long after.
Property 1 – 2020
We bought the 647sqm property in Carina Heights for what I had thought at the time was fairly expensive, which on reflection now, was a bargain. The reason I bring this up is we nearly didn’t buy the house because when negotiating with the vendor I was at my maximum I could get from the bank, and it was a multiple offer scenario. I was urged by Pat to put in my best and final offer (BAFO). I was lucky I had a good relationship with George so I immediately rang him (on a Sunday) for some advice, and he said to me if you can get an extra $5,000 – $10,000, then you should just put it down as your BAFO, as it won’t make a difference long term. With that solid advice I managed to get the extra money I needed and thankfully secured the property, later finding out that the extra $8,000 secured the deal for me.
Property 2 – 2022
In 2022, I came back into MADD to discuss doing a renovation loan. George pre-approved me for $500,000. I then researched some reno companies, and went to the market for quotes to renovate. However, with the construction costs soaring during this time, the builders were quoting me $750,000 and more! I did the maths (on my many financial spreadsheets) and discussed the options with my wife. I had actually realised that we would be better off using the equity we gained from the Carina Heights property (now valued at $400k higher than purchase) and putting that towards a new property, with all the things that we wanted in the initial renovations, whilst keeping Carina Heights. Of course, I immediately called my old mate Pat Ivey and asked him if he had anything in and around a certain price range, and he said “Guess what mate, I have a banger!”. He asked me to come look at the property that weekend, showed me and the wife around and I thought to myself ok, I’ll put down my best offer. To my surprise the offer was accepted and I was able to literally keep my existing property, make it an investment property and use the equity to buy my second property.
Property 3 – 2023
So, by now I was hooked on property and I was wanting to continue building my portfolio. I came in to see Cathie Gandy (from MADD) to run the numbers but unfortunately, no matter what way we cut it, she was giving me the bad news that the banks couldn’t lend me anymore money. Cathie said with the higher interest rates and so on, it wasn’t possible. However, I wasn’t to be deterred as I had done my homework. I mentioned that a few of my mates had bought properties through their superfund and asked if this was a possible scenario that myself and my wife could engineer?
I showed Cathie how much my wife and I had in super and she said “Oh yes, 100% we’d be able to do it!”. With my connection and bond with George, I wanted the seal of approval from the great man himself, so I asked Cathie to call him into the meeting. George came into the room with an air of excitement and a big smile on his face. He embraced me warmly as he usually does, and said to me “Mate, this is a no brainer, even I have bought a property through super!”. Funnily enough, George’s is in Carina Heights as well. So there it was, it was possible for me and it was a great way for me to help build my property portfolio.
George also mentioned to me that MADD Life which is the financial planning part of the business had just finished getting Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF) accredited which allowed them to legally give advice on opening SMSF’s which made it easier for me to go through this process.
In pursuing house 3 through my superfund, George told me that my SMSF was the first one created via MADD Life which was pretty cool and I loved the journey. Once we got the SMSF set-up and MADD Home Loans got me my pre-approval, guess who I called??? I immediately rang my now speed dial mate Pat Ivey again and told him I wanted him to find me property number 3. Pat once again came to the party and he found me a property off-market and we secured yet another deal on the quiet.
3 properties in 4 years with the help of 2 local legends. George Samios and Pat Ivey!
Advice I’d give to someone wanting to do the same:
1. Do what I tell my family and friends, go to MADD, they are FREE you have nothing to lose and they’ll show you what you can and can’t do and more importantly, what you need to do to get where you want to be.
2. Don’t be too fussy on your first house, use it as a stepping stone, just get in the market asap. MADD can show you the multiple things you can avail off e.g. first time homebuyers grant, using collateral, some banks have lower deposit requirements, etc.
3. It’s all about the capital growth, once you get the capital growth you can use the equity to get your second and so on. The skies the limit!
4. You must have a budget, a proper written out budget (spreadsheet, etc) and you must stick to it properly. If you can’t budget, go see a financial planner.
What’s next for you?
“After a few years of solid capital growth, my intention is to maybe sell two investment properties and get into commercial property as from what I’ve studied and discussed with George, the yields are much better and when in retirement, it’s all about the cash-flow. I know my future in property will be supported by the MADD Team and am grateful to have them on my side.”
Join Us on Your Property Journey
If you’re inspired by Erin’s journey and are ready to grow your property portfolio, Madd is here to guide you. Reach out to us through our website at https://www.madd.com.au/contact/ or call us on 07 3899 0009.
From buying your first home to refinancing, commercial or construction loans – our free service takes the stress out of getting finance. We offer our services Australia wide so why not reach out to us today. We’d love to hear from you.
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