Why this investor started investing for his family

“Investing, at that time, was not really in our minds. It was more like we want to settle down and buy a house... We didn’t really save much. Pretty much everything went into the house… [to make it] a bit nicer for the family,” Andrew shared.

Eventually, the couple got into reading about how property investment could help them create wealth and ultimately ensure long-term financial security for their family. Seven years after they bought their principal place of residence, Andrew and his wife finally bought their first investment property in Newcastle.

“There was a period of time that we’re just doing all the readings… [We thought], ‘Okay—we want to get an investment property but we just don’t know how. Do you have family members that are into property investing? Do you know where to start?’ It wasn’t until a work colleague mentioned someone working for him [that we got started]. We went and saw the same people and they put us on the path to property investment,” Andrew said. 

“Over that period of time [between 2006 and 2013]… jobs have moved on, wages [have] increased. We just took out equity out of our home and borrowed against that to buy our first investment property.” 

The couple met with a strategist who laid out all possible plans for them, and from there they were able to add a Newcastle-based four-bedroom house and a Queensland-based off-the-plan townhouse to their portfolio in a span of three years.

While it’s easy to say that things have been working out well for them, Andrew admits that they have a long way to go in terms of ensuring that they actually achieve their long-term financial goals. From the moment they bought their first investment property up until today, according to him, “it’s all an unknown”.

“It was kind of just ‘Let’s try it and see what happens.’ I want to do something and see how it works… so we gave it a go, gave it a shot… [It was just] a lot of reading, researching, talking to people… Sometimes, I have those conversations with my wife, like ‘How can we afford this?’ or ‘How do we progress with the kids in our life?’ But I guess we’re still young. We’re both 33, so we’ve got plenty of time ahead of us,” he shared.

His advice to budding property investors: Read up, prepare yourself the best way you can, and just give it a go. Don’t get stuck procrastinating.

Andrew said: “Knowing what I know now… I probably could have done better but I don’t regret it. We’re in it now so let’s just see where that takes us.”

Smart Property Investment’s Vivienne Kelly concluded: “Information overload… [that] could get paralyzed. You’ve got to start somewhere. You’re never going to know everything.”

Tune in to Andrew Third’s episode on The Smart Property Investment Show to know more about hitting serviceability walls when facing parental leave, the realities of buying off-the-plan, and how he's tackling the unknowns that come with investing in property.