A school dropout has revealed how he managed to amass a huge property portfolio worth $43 million in just over 10 years.
Sam Gordon, 34, was driven by his difficult job moving sacks of feed around drought-hit farms in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales.
He began his impressive portfolio at the age of 19 with a two-bedroom apartment in Wollongong that he purchased in 2009.
Thanks to a smart two-pronged purchasing strategy, Mr. Gordon was able to continue buying houses until he quit his farm job at age 28.
He now has an annual passive income of about $2 million, with 60 percent of his portfolio value invested in stocks, and recently signed contracts for his 76th home.
Mr Gordon explained that his first key to success was buying properties in areas with high rental yields, but below market value, by purchasing homes ‘that most people wouldn’t touch’.
“They are usually very dilapidated,” he said realestate.com.au.
‘Banks often don’t want to lend money for them because they are uninhabitable. I buy them for cash or with very low debt and renovate them.
Sam Gordon (pictured) gave up his job as a farm labourer when he was just 28 years old after building up a huge property portfolio
Mr. Gordon (pictured) earns $2 million a year in passive income and has just signed contracts for his 76th home
‘The trick then is to use the equity I have built up by refinancing the loan for the next project.’
The second key part of Mr Gordon’s strategy is to only buy in areas where the potential rent is well above his mortgage payments.
He would put much effort into exploring valuable and growing areas.
“What I found was that it was a revolution in terms of getting loans, namely the behavior of a renter,” he said.
“Banks see loans on your home as a liability. It limits what you can borrow. If you rent, it’s much easier to build your investments faster.”
Mr. Gordon began saving for his property at the age of 16 and earned $38,000, which he used to help on farms.
He remembers walking around in 104-degree heat with “rotten” food and not planning on doing that for the rest of his life.
“I spent all my free time renovating buildings. That was basically my vacation,” he said.
After renovating the Wollongong apartment himself, Mr Gordon was able to use the equity in the property to purchase another apartment – an apartment in Moss Vale.
He continued this strategy by renovating and improving properties himself and using his equity to purchase another, thus building the huge portfolio he has today.
However, Mr Gordon does not just buy a house, he wants his investments not to cause structural problems.
He highlighted a difficult project in Perth where he had to replace the ceiling above the kitchen.
Mr. Gordon began saving for his property at the age of 16, earning $38,000 to help out on farms (pictured is one of Mr. Gordon’s homes before renovation)
Mr. Gordon would renovate and improve his properties with his own hands and use the equity to purchase another home (pictured is one of Mr. Gordon’s homes after renovation)
Fortunately, stepping out of his comfort zone paid off: the property’s value doubled, allowing him to spend significantly more money on future renovations.
Last year was one of Mr Gordon’s busiest years as interest rates skyrocketed and there were fewer buyers to compete with.
“I think if you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with real estate, you can start developing strategies to achieve that goal,” he said.