June 14, 2023 • 22 mins
Our diarist today is in her mid-20s but has been fortunate to achieve her home ownership dreams. After some fierce saving and little bit of inheritance, she finally bought her first home all on her own. But her journey wasn't without its challenges - including navigating the pandemic and career changes along the way.
Acknowledgement of Country By Natarsha Bamblett aka Queen Acknowledgements.
The advice shared on The Property Playbook is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. The property Playbook exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs. Victoria Devine and The Property Playbook are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN - 321649 27708, AFSL - 451289.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Property Playbook would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians
of the lands of where this podcast is recorded. There
were wondering people of the cooler nations acknowledging the culture,
the history, and the connection to the lands of what
we call home. Let's get into it.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Hello, and welcome to The Property Playbook, the podcast where
we take you from A to V of all things property.
My name is Jessica Ricky and hopefully one day I
will be able to buy my first home. But until then,
we're chatting to people from our community to learn their
stories and how they got into their first home, which
is very exciting. Across the table from me, I have
the wonderful Victoria Devine. Hello, does in fact own a home.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
I do, which is very fun and I feel very
privileged to have done so. But do you know what,
I didn't always think I'd be able to buy property.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
I thought for a very long time it was completely
out of reach. And I remember the day and this
is quite fitting because recently Kate and I we rocked
up to one of our clients settlements because their real
estate agent took down their sign and all they wanted
was that photo with a sign putting this sticker on. Yeah,
I remember when I bought my property, and if you
listen to the first season of The Property Playbook, which
(01:18):
doesn't exist now because we're updating absolutely everything, you would
know that I bought off market. That means I never
got the for sale sign. Oh side, so I hunted
down one of my real estate friends to get me
a sold sticker. So if you ever see photos of
Steve and I out the front of our house with
a sold sticker, that's why I just really wanted that
sold sticker because I feel like that's such a memory,
(01:39):
Like it's kind of like you did it, but it's
that sense of achievement, like getting that photo. That photo
means so much to me. So yeah, anyway, a bit lame,
but at the end of the day, buying my first
property never felt like a reality, and then when it did,
it felt like a dream. Jess, you've been telling me
a little bit about the Property direst we were about
to introduce. How about you let everybody else in.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Alrighty, so, Property Diarist said, I'm twenty six years old
and currently in the process of moving into my first
home all on my own. It's a goal that I've
had since I was nineteen, and it was encouraged by
my parents. I came into a little bit of an
inheritance and began saving like crazy. After the pandemic, a
few career changes, wage negotiations, and a change of builder,
it's all finally happening for me.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Oh when you say a change of builder, that gives
me anxiety because there must have been something that happened.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Doesn't it just stress you out a little.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Bit, little bit juicy? Let's talk to us, I think so.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Property Diarist, thank you so much for joining us, Thank
you for having me.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Oh my gosh, I'm so excited, Property Diarist. In your story,
you said that you were in the process of moving in,
but we have just zoomed in with you. Where are you.
What's you up too.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
I'm in my new bedroom.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Oh exciting.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
Yeah. Yeah, so it's got flat packs everywhere and everywhere,
but no complete furniture yet. But yeah, I'm in my
new room.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
But it's a house. It to yours and that's the
most exciting thing in the world.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
Yeah, exactly, amazing.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Love, Well, let me get started. Ask you a couple
of questions to set the scene for everyone at home.
Can you start off by telling us when and where
did you purchase.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
So I initially purchased my land in twenty twenty. I
put my name on some land that wasn't titled yet settlements,
so that what happened in twenty twenty one, So that's
when I officially owned the land. And then in twenty
twenty two I started building and twenty twenty three. I'm
now in.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
It long process, isn't it from start to finish?
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Whereabouts are you located?
Speaker 4 (03:37):
I'm in Sheperdon, which is about two hours north of Melbourne.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
For anyone who plays ultimate frisbee, they often host a
ultimate frisbee tournament in Sheperdon to Sheperdon for that very
specific But there you go.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
I've never been, but I have heard of it.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Maybe I'll see you there next year. My next question
for you property diarist is how much do you earn
and what do you do for work?
Speaker 4 (04:02):
So I work in vehicle finance at a dealership. So
if you need a car and you need a little
bit of a loan, which is a little bit controversial, No,
it's totally not.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I own a loan business. We do that all the time.
You just got to be smart about it.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Yeah, you can need a little bit of a loan
for your car, I help you with that. I also
sell aftermarket, so if you need tint and pay protection,
all that extra stuff, I sell that. So I earn
roughly sixty rand a year on wages and then commissioned
on top of that.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
And what does commission look like? Come on our money, diris.
You can't say all commission on top of that.
Speaker 4 (04:35):
So I recently changed dealerships, so it's a little bit different.
But it's roughly fifteen hundred a month.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Oh that's very that's a little top up. Is that
pretty consistent or does it like come up and go
down and like flip around.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
A little bit.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
It's very inconsistent. Last month stucked. This month has been
good so far, but the month before that as well
was also good. So it has its moments.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
It fluctuates a bit.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Interesting, Now did you make this purchase with anybody else?
Speaker 4 (05:06):
Just me?
Speaker 2 (05:07):
That's exciting. We love to see it as someone else
who wants to do it. You give me hope. Amazing.
How much did you spend on this property?
Speaker 4 (05:16):
So I did break it down because I originally owned
just the land and then I built on top of it.
So the land itself was one fifty and then the
build was two eighty.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Oh, that's pretty good.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Trying to do the math in my head. Three four
four thirty total.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Ye, little money a week ago.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
That's very nice.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
First time you've done the maths before I have tried.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I know, normally I wait for Victoria's to it, but
I thought today's the day I do it myself.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Love, Love.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
When you were looking for your property, what kind of
non negotiables did you have?
Speaker 4 (05:53):
So being in a country town, I've never had not
had a decent sized backyard, so that was a non
wish for me. So I'm currently sitting on just under
nine hundred squalls.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
You are not, Wow, that is so much land. To
put it in a little bit of context, jes my
property in Melbourne that was astronomically expensive, four hundred and
fifty square meters.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
You're like too small.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Small never, Oh, excuse me, excuse me, sorry, I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
I bought properties within our Budget's okay if.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
You think that's bad. My old rental was on two
hundred and thirty.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
No, it was not.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
So even your house sounds like a luxury. Comment that
I do have.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
A backyard and a front yard. I'd just like to
disclaim that they aren't big. You get what you get
and you don't get upset.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
I'm just used to these sizes. I could not go.
I'm just used to this. I could not go any smaller.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
One of the benefits I guess of being in a
more regional space is there is more space generally. Yes, amazing. Now,
how much did you have in your deposit to get
that first property?
Speaker 4 (06:58):
So I did only have a thirty grand deposit, so
I did get al Ami on that as well, but
it was I only got Alami on the land, okay,
because the build I had over the twenty percent. I
think I can't quite remember the split, but yeah, I
had thirty in total, but only Alamai on the land.
(07:20):
That's quite cool.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
I didn't know that that was the thing that you
could pay it on one and not the other.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
Yeah, I want to be more pervy though, Jess, I'm
really sorry you said that you had a thirty thousand
dollars deposit, but earlier in the episode we learned that
you had a little bit of an inheritance. What portion
of that deposit was inheritance versus your own savings.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
So I came into the inheritance when I was twenty,
so it was a long time ago. That did motivate
me to start saving. But I did also buy a
car in between then, yeah, fair sorry, yeah, because mine
was running into the ground. It was a bit of
a need.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Yeah, especially out that way. I think when you got
to get from point A to point B, if everyone's
on nine hundred square blocks, you're probably not walking all
that much, or whebe you are maybe getting the stock in.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
No, absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Did you use any government grants or schemes to take
advantage and kind of make that smaller deposit work?
Speaker 4 (08:13):
Yes, So I actually was able to get two grants.
I got the fifteen thousand dollars home builder grant yep,
and I got twenty thousand for their first home owner's
grant because of I signed my build contract before it
changed to ten, so I was able to get the
full twenty that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
And so that's thirty five thousand that you had. Additionally, Yeah,
and did you I'm assuming that all just went to
your deposit as well, so you had sixty five total?
Is that how you chose to do it?
Speaker 4 (08:43):
So the first home owner's grant. My broker stuffed it
up a little bit. She only applied for ten through
my bank, so I was actually deposited the extra ten
yesterday as like a cash grant because I was entitled
to the twenty but only got the ten of my mortgage.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
It just sounds like she didn't use a Zella broker,
should have gone to Zello. Gone to Zella sounds a
lot like you didn't.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
Oh I used local?
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Yeah, yep, see that's what you get.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
How did you find that broker?
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Word of mouth? So I actually used to work next
door to them, and I've had friends that have used
them before and heard good things.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
So yeah, I went that's the best way, honestly, always
going through I guess a channel of trust, I think
is the best thing to do, especially when it comes
to property. I mean, brokers can work all across Australia.
It actually doesn't matter about location. But I'm somebody who
wants to know that they're a trustworthy individual. So often
I'll be like, oh, yes, who did you use? And
I'm just so much more comfortable using someone that I
(09:42):
know you trusted as well one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
The last question that I have for you property diarists
before we head to a really quick break, is looking back,
is there anything about your journey that you would change?
Speaker 4 (09:53):
Not majorly. No, Now that I'm in my house, like
all the stress and everything was almost worth it. It's
just like a few minor things that I probably would
have added, but I can do later on. But overall,
I don't think I would actually change anything, which is
always nice.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
That's really good that you can feel that way, even
with what sounds like a tumultuous experience, which I'm really
excited to learn a little bit more about. Right when
we come back from this super quick break, welcome back, everybody,
probably arrest. In your letter that you submitted to us,
it sounds like your experience was a little bit of
a journey. You had COVID, you changed builders, you had
all of these things happen. Can you kind of walk
(10:32):
us through in a little bit more detail what that
was like.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
So I changed filters, but I didn't so I never
initially signed a contract with the first builder, but the
whole way through I wanted to build with them. And
then when I got the quote and everything, I was like,
that is insanely out of my budget. So I started
shopping around for someone else, ended up going with a
franchise builder, which not the best experience either, But at
(10:58):
the end of the day, I'm happy with my house,
so I would say it was worth it.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Yep. Yeah, what was that experience, Like, what kind of
went wrong along the way that makes you, oh, didn't
love it?
Speaker 4 (11:08):
So I've had to build supervisors yep. So that was
a bit chat actually almost three, because the manager stepped
in for a little bit. Between the two taking over,
there was just a lot of communication issues, like felt
like I wasn't getting direct answers or anything like that,
and I was always having to chase up things that
(11:30):
was part of their job. But at the end of
the day, I'm happy.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
So yeah, it's always tough when you feel like you
have to step in because you're like, well, that's not
I don't really know. I'm assuming you didn't really know
a whole lot about the building process or what that
looks like, and you kind of would think that's what
the supervisors thought. That's their job, and so if you're
having to kind of step in, but then you're like, oh,
I don't want to micromanage, it's it's hard to find
that line I suppose, given that you were doing it
(11:54):
by yourself, how did you find advocating for yourself as
someone who isn't an expert? And I'm assuming you were
probably dealing with a lot of guys who had maybe
worked in their industry for a while. Was that hard?
Speaker 4 (12:07):
It was? I did put my current pants on a
couple times, but my latest filled supervisor was a girl
of a similar age to me, so I was able
to speak up for myself a bit more comfortably being
that we are the same demographic. But yeah, it was.
It had been difficult. I did get my parents to
step in a couple times because I was like, I
(12:27):
don't know, you own a house, you know how it works.
Can you help me?
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Yeah? And were they really hands on with that experience?
Did they give you a lot of help and support
through the process.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
My stepdad helped me move today. Yeah, my mum wasn't
able to because she's working. But yeah, they've been real's
forty through it all, which has been.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Great, incredible. You said as well in your letter to
us that you went through a few career changes and
wage negotiations and things like that. How close was that,
because obviously your process of building has been two close
to three years. How close were those career changes in
terms of timeline to everything else that you've had going on.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
So I used to be an accountant, so still in
a somewhat finance industry, but still very different to what
I currently do. I, like a lot of people, lost
my job in twenty twenty because of COVID, and it
was just so hard to find another accounting job. I
just stepped into an admin role at a dealership just
(13:26):
to get by for now, and then a finance role
came available, and my manager at the time actually suggested
I go for it, so I did, and I've now
since moved to another dealership in the same role.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
How cool did you have to do any additional training
to kind of go from being an accountant to a broker?
Speaker 4 (13:48):
I did a lot of it was hands on training
rather than online, because every finance system, like vehicle finance system,
is different, so you kind of have to be hands
on to understand it. And also every customer is different,
so you kind of have to just gauge. You can't
(14:09):
prepare yourself for who's going to walk through the door one.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Hundred percent, And how is that experience for you? Kind
of side stepping, I guess a little bit. I know,
as someone who also kind of lost their job during
the COVID period and had to do something that was
completely outside of my industry, I found that quite a
struggle mentally and also financially because when I did it,
I took a step back in terms of the salary
that I was earning. Was that the same experience that
(14:34):
you had.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
Yeah, I definitely took a salary hut, not by a
lot because I was only a graduate account so I
wasn't on much anyway. So it was difficult because there
just weren't many jobs around in general, being that I'm
from a regional town and there were a few redundancies
(14:57):
and everyone's after the same job. And yeah, it was tricky,
but I'm actually really glad that I stepped away from
accounting to move into what I'm doing now. It's much
less pressure, a little bit more coin and yeah, I'm
very comfortable where I am.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
That's awesome. It sounds like everything kind of worked out
for the better a little bit than there.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
Yeah, yeah, definitely did with.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
That being in twenty twenty, Was that right around the
time you were applying for the loan on your land,
Yes and no.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
So I put my name like a five hundred dollars
deposit on the land because it wasn't titled yet, so
I wasn't able to actually get a loan for it
until it was titled. So I did go through with
an application and everything and was approved. But they don't
last pre approvals don't last very long.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
No, that's so annoying, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
Yeah, So because the land settled late twenty twenty one,
there was a whole other loan process. But yeah, that
was when I was in a fairly stable job in
the admin role at the first dealership I was at.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
I want to ask some more financing questions because if anything,
I impervy on people's money circumstances. But I want to know,
now you've got the loan, what is the amount of
the loan that you have, and what do your mortgage
repayments look like?
Speaker 4 (16:19):
So if I open my banking my loan is four
hundred and two. And because it was a construction loan,
the repayments were interest only and they haven't quite ticked
over to principle and interest yet, so I'm actually not
quite sure what my repayments are. But I did do
(16:41):
a calculation the other day. I think they're around five
sixty a week.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
And how have you managed to, like, I guess, adjust
your lifestyle and your budget to paying five sixty a week?
Because I'm making a grand assumption that you were not
paying individually five hundred and sixty dollars a week in
rent being a regional gal, like that's a big step up. However,
you managed that.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
So your assumption is right. I was actually living with
my parents, so money night, because I did get that
ten thousand dollars home owners grant paid into my account.
That's gone straight into savings, and that's like my emergence,
like that back up for the repayments because obviously it's
going to take me a little while to adjust getting
(17:22):
used to all this.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
I was just going to say, is this your first
time living out of home? Now that you're moving into
your own place, how are you feeling about it? That's
a big jump going from your parents live in the
Cushing life to being responsible.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
A bit of an extra backstory, so being in Shepherd,
did you guys hear about the floods that happened last year? Yes?
We went under? Did you really? Yeah? Our houses are
split levels, so three rooms were fine, but the rest
was done and there's no rentals around. So yeah, so
(17:56):
I've been sharing a bed with my mum for the
last seven months.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Stunny, you're probably a bit excited to get a little
lot of space. Hey, As much as I'm sure you're
very grateful for them and their support, I can imagine
that you're like, Oh, I got a whole house, nine
hundred holes that are just mine.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
Your parents are probably going to be trying to move
in with you. If they're trying to fix things up
at home, you're going to be like sharing a bed
with mum in no time. Again, I've got two.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
Your fare rooms they can have. I I do not
want to share a bed again.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Yeah, that is so fair, So so fair. I shared
a bed with Jessica the other day and she stole
the entire dinner and then proceeded to tell me that
she didn't.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
I've been telling my boyfriend for eight years that I am,
in fact not a duna hog, and one night with
Victoria and I was like, oh, turns out maybe the
problem is in fact me. Oh my goodness, Well, now
you've moved in, You're at almost the end of your journey,
which is really exciting. What are the plans from here?
You wanting to stay in SHEP long term? Are you
(18:55):
going to get a roommate? What do you want to do?
The world is your oyster.
Speaker 4 (18:59):
I've actually got a roommate wind up. So he's my
one of my old friend's little brothers. So yeah, that's
like it's close enough that I feel comfortable living with him,
but not close enough that it's going to ruin a friendship.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Perfect, She's smart.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
That's so smart. So yeah, I would like to stay
here a little while. I'm not sure it's forever, but
you know, I've got to live here for at leasting
you to keep my grant.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
So yeah, and you've got to enjoy the fruits of
your labor. You've worked so hard to get here, and
now you're there, there's no rush to be going anywhere else.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
Exactly exactly how much is he going to be paying
per week in rent with us?
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Too? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (19:34):
So I've never rented before, so I had no idea.
So I asked friends that I know have rented, and
I was kind of putting out two hundred including bills.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
That's very generous. That is nice about.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
I've got three spare rooms, so if I get two
hundred each for those, that covers my mortgage. I was
about to say, just one at two hundred a week
takes your mortgage from five to sixty a week down
to three sixty. Like, that's what's a good strategy. That's
a very good strategy.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
Get another one. You're down to one sixty a week.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
That sounded pretty nice.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
That sounded pretty sexy.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Would you add more than one? Or is one kind
of You're like, we'll just see how we go.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
I did have another one lined up, but his lease
got extended where he currently is, so and he's pretty
comfortable there, so he decided not to move in here,
so I'm still on the hunt.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Very cool, you've got your own property. Are kind of
tipping your toes in the water of being a landlord.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
If anybody in Sheperdon is looking for a sharehouse, hit
me up because I've got a friend in shepherd who
is looking for a housemate.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
Well thought you out, that would be great.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Made ten out of ten. We are matchmakers, podcasters, property extraordinaries.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
We do it all here from the property playbook. But
it's just so cool. I'm really happy for you probably eyes.
I'm so excited that there's been a bit of a
gap since you read into us, and obviously now you're
in the space, and I can feel how excited you are,
which is amazing. And like I said, as a fellow
single trying to do it on our own, we're not single,
but I'm trying to buy it as a single.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Change seven years.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
I was about to say, she's not a single gal
unless she's talking to air broker, But yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
I fully understand how many challenges there are. We're doing
it by yourself, and it is always just really lovely
to see someone who's done it, who's thriving, who's so happy,
And I'm so excited for you, and I'm really thankful
for you for sharing your story with all of us.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
Well, not a problem, it's been great.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Oh my goodness. Well, I think today, guys, that's all
we've got time for. If you do want to spend
more time talking all things property, come hang out in
the Property Playbook Facebook group. We've got thousands and thousands
of people sharing their tips and their tricks and their
journeys and asking their questions. And if you're trying to
get into the space, yourself. It's honestly a really comforting,
wholesome space to find yourself.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
In the same boat.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
We are all in the same boat, and I'm here
for it. We're also on Instagram, where we share a
lot of really cool tips and tricks and breakdowns. We're
at Property Playbook a US. The advice shared on the
Property Playbook is generally in nature and does not consider
your individual circumstances. The Property Playbook exists purely for educational
purposes and should not be relied upon to make an
investment or a financial decision. And if you enjoyed this episode,
(22:11):
if you think I'm doing a good job, we do.
I'm needy and I would like you to tell me
that in a review.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Yeah, Jess is actually really good at feedback, guys, but
only if feedback comes in the form of a compliment.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Yeah, if it's negative, I don't don't want to hear it.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
So we'll leave it there. Do with that information what
you will, and we'll see you next week for another
episode of The Property Playbook.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Hi, guys,
The Property Playbook would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians
of the lands of where this podcast is recorded. There
were wondering people of the cooler nations acknowledging the culture,
the history, and the connection to the lands of what
we call home. Let's get into it.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Hello, and welcome to The Property Playbook, the podcast where
we take you from A to V of all things property.
My name is Jessica Ricky and hopefully one day I
will be able to buy my first home. But until then,
we're chatting to people from our community to learn their
stories and how they got into their first home, which
is very exciting. Across the table from me, I have
the wonderful Victoria Devine. Hello, does in fact own a home.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
I do, which is very fun and I feel very
privileged to have done so. But do you know what,
I didn't always think I'd be able to buy property.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
I thought for a very long time it was completely
out of reach. And I remember the day and this
is quite fitting because recently Kate and I we rocked
up to one of our clients settlements because their real
estate agent took down their sign and all they wanted
was that photo with a sign putting this sticker on. Yeah,
I remember when I bought my property, and if you
listen to the first season of The Property Playbook, which
(01:18):
doesn't exist now because we're updating absolutely everything, you would
know that I bought off market. That means I never
got the for sale sign. Oh side, so I hunted
down one of my real estate friends to get me
a sold sticker. So if you ever see photos of
Steve and I out the front of our house with
a sold sticker, that's why I just really wanted that
sold sticker because I feel like that's such a memory,
(01:39):
Like it's kind of like you did it, but it's
that sense of achievement, like getting that photo. That photo
means so much to me. So yeah, anyway, a bit lame,
but at the end of the day, buying my first
property never felt like a reality, and then when it did,
it felt like a dream. Jess, you've been telling me
a little bit about the Property direst we were about
to introduce. How about you let everybody else in.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Alrighty, so, Property Diarist said, I'm twenty six years old
and currently in the process of moving into my first
home all on my own. It's a goal that I've
had since I was nineteen, and it was encouraged by
my parents. I came into a little bit of an
inheritance and began saving like crazy. After the pandemic, a
few career changes, wage negotiations, and a change of builder,
it's all finally happening for me.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Oh when you say a change of builder, that gives
me anxiety because there must have been something that happened.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Doesn't it just stress you out a little.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Bit, little bit juicy? Let's talk to us, I think so.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Property Diarist, thank you so much for joining us, Thank
you for having me.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Oh my gosh, I'm so excited, Property Diarist. In your story,
you said that you were in the process of moving in,
but we have just zoomed in with you. Where are you.
What's you up too.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
I'm in my new bedroom.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Oh exciting.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
Yeah. Yeah, so it's got flat packs everywhere and everywhere,
but no complete furniture yet. But yeah, I'm in my
new room.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
But it's a house. It to yours and that's the
most exciting thing in the world.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
Yeah, exactly, amazing.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Love, Well, let me get started. Ask you a couple
of questions to set the scene for everyone at home.
Can you start off by telling us when and where
did you purchase.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
So I initially purchased my land in twenty twenty. I
put my name on some land that wasn't titled yet settlements,
so that what happened in twenty twenty one, So that's
when I officially owned the land. And then in twenty
twenty two I started building and twenty twenty three. I'm
now in.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
It long process, isn't it from start to finish?
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Whereabouts are you located?
Speaker 4 (03:37):
I'm in Sheperdon, which is about two hours north of Melbourne.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
For anyone who plays ultimate frisbee, they often host a
ultimate frisbee tournament in Sheperdon to Sheperdon for that very
specific But there you go.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
I've never been, but I have heard of it.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Maybe I'll see you there next year. My next question
for you property diarist is how much do you earn
and what do you do for work?
Speaker 4 (04:02):
So I work in vehicle finance at a dealership. So
if you need a car and you need a little
bit of a loan, which is a little bit controversial, No,
it's totally not.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I own a loan business. We do that all the time.
You just got to be smart about it.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Yeah, you can need a little bit of a loan
for your car, I help you with that. I also
sell aftermarket, so if you need tint and pay protection,
all that extra stuff, I sell that. So I earn
roughly sixty rand a year on wages and then commissioned
on top of that.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
And what does commission look like? Come on our money, diris.
You can't say all commission on top of that.
Speaker 4 (04:35):
So I recently changed dealerships, so it's a little bit different.
But it's roughly fifteen hundred a month.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Oh that's very that's a little top up. Is that
pretty consistent or does it like come up and go
down and like flip around.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
A little bit.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
It's very inconsistent. Last month stucked. This month has been
good so far, but the month before that as well
was also good. So it has its moments.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
It fluctuates a bit.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Interesting, Now did you make this purchase with anybody else?
Speaker 4 (05:06):
Just me?
Speaker 2 (05:07):
That's exciting. We love to see it as someone else
who wants to do it. You give me hope. Amazing.
How much did you spend on this property?
Speaker 4 (05:16):
So I did break it down because I originally owned
just the land and then I built on top of it.
So the land itself was one fifty and then the
build was two eighty.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Oh, that's pretty good.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Trying to do the math in my head. Three four
four thirty total.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Ye, little money a week ago.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
That's very nice.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
First time you've done the maths before I have tried.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I know, normally I wait for Victoria's to it, but
I thought today's the day I do it myself.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Love, Love.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
When you were looking for your property, what kind of
non negotiables did you have?
Speaker 4 (05:53):
So being in a country town, I've never had not
had a decent sized backyard, so that was a non
wish for me. So I'm currently sitting on just under
nine hundred squalls.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
You are not, Wow, that is so much land. To
put it in a little bit of context, jes my
property in Melbourne that was astronomically expensive, four hundred and
fifty square meters.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
You're like too small.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Small never, Oh, excuse me, excuse me, sorry, I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
I bought properties within our Budget's okay if.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
You think that's bad. My old rental was on two
hundred and thirty.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
No, it was not.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
So even your house sounds like a luxury. Comment that
I do have.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
A backyard and a front yard. I'd just like to
disclaim that they aren't big. You get what you get
and you don't get upset.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
I'm just used to these sizes. I could not go.
I'm just used to this. I could not go any smaller.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
One of the benefits I guess of being in a
more regional space is there is more space generally. Yes, amazing. Now,
how much did you have in your deposit to get
that first property?
Speaker 4 (06:58):
So I did only have a thirty grand deposit, so
I did get al Ami on that as well, but
it was I only got Alami on the land, okay,
because the build I had over the twenty percent. I
think I can't quite remember the split, but yeah, I
had thirty in total, but only Alamai on the land.
(07:20):
That's quite cool.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
I didn't know that that was the thing that you
could pay it on one and not the other.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
Yeah, I want to be more pervy though, Jess, I'm
really sorry you said that you had a thirty thousand
dollars deposit, but earlier in the episode we learned that
you had a little bit of an inheritance. What portion
of that deposit was inheritance versus your own savings.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
So I came into the inheritance when I was twenty,
so it was a long time ago. That did motivate
me to start saving. But I did also buy a
car in between then, yeah, fair sorry, yeah, because mine
was running into the ground. It was a bit of
a need.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Yeah, especially out that way. I think when you got
to get from point A to point B, if everyone's
on nine hundred square blocks, you're probably not walking all
that much, or whebe you are maybe getting the stock in.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
No, absolutely not.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Did you use any government grants or schemes to take
advantage and kind of make that smaller deposit work?
Speaker 4 (08:13):
Yes, So I actually was able to get two grants.
I got the fifteen thousand dollars home builder grant yep,
and I got twenty thousand for their first home owner's
grant because of I signed my build contract before it
changed to ten, so I was able to get the
full twenty that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
And so that's thirty five thousand that you had. Additionally, Yeah,
and did you I'm assuming that all just went to
your deposit as well, so you had sixty five total?
Is that how you chose to do it?
Speaker 4 (08:43):
So the first home owner's grant. My broker stuffed it
up a little bit. She only applied for ten through
my bank, so I was actually deposited the extra ten
yesterday as like a cash grant because I was entitled
to the twenty but only got the ten of my mortgage.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
It just sounds like she didn't use a Zella broker,
should have gone to Zello. Gone to Zella sounds a
lot like you didn't.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
Oh I used local?
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Yeah, yep, see that's what you get.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
How did you find that broker?
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Word of mouth? So I actually used to work next
door to them, and I've had friends that have used
them before and heard good things.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
So yeah, I went that's the best way, honestly, always
going through I guess a channel of trust, I think
is the best thing to do, especially when it comes
to property. I mean, brokers can work all across Australia.
It actually doesn't matter about location. But I'm somebody who
wants to know that they're a trustworthy individual. So often
I'll be like, oh, yes, who did you use? And
I'm just so much more comfortable using someone that I
(09:42):
know you trusted as well one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
The last question that I have for you property diarists
before we head to a really quick break, is looking back,
is there anything about your journey that you would change?
Speaker 4 (09:53):
Not majorly. No, Now that I'm in my house, like
all the stress and everything was almost worth it. It's
just like a few minor things that I probably would
have added, but I can do later on. But overall,
I don't think I would actually change anything, which is
always nice.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
That's really good that you can feel that way, even
with what sounds like a tumultuous experience, which I'm really
excited to learn a little bit more about. Right when
we come back from this super quick break, welcome back, everybody,
probably arrest. In your letter that you submitted to us,
it sounds like your experience was a little bit of
a journey. You had COVID, you changed builders, you had
all of these things happen. Can you kind of walk
(10:32):
us through in a little bit more detail what that
was like.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
So I changed filters, but I didn't so I never
initially signed a contract with the first builder, but the
whole way through I wanted to build with them. And
then when I got the quote and everything, I was like,
that is insanely out of my budget. So I started
shopping around for someone else, ended up going with a
franchise builder, which not the best experience either, But at
(10:58):
the end of the day, I'm happy with my house,
so I would say it was worth it.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Yep. Yeah, what was that experience, Like, what kind of
went wrong along the way that makes you, oh, didn't
love it?
Speaker 4 (11:08):
So I've had to build supervisors yep. So that was
a bit chat actually almost three, because the manager stepped
in for a little bit. Between the two taking over,
there was just a lot of communication issues, like felt
like I wasn't getting direct answers or anything like that,
and I was always having to chase up things that
(11:30):
was part of their job. But at the end of
the day, I'm happy.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
So yeah, it's always tough when you feel like you
have to step in because you're like, well, that's not
I don't really know. I'm assuming you didn't really know
a whole lot about the building process or what that
looks like, and you kind of would think that's what
the supervisors thought. That's their job, and so if you're
having to kind of step in, but then you're like, oh,
I don't want to micromanage, it's it's hard to find
that line I suppose, given that you were doing it
(11:54):
by yourself, how did you find advocating for yourself as
someone who isn't an expert? And I'm assuming you were
probably dealing with a lot of guys who had maybe
worked in their industry for a while. Was that hard?
Speaker 4 (12:07):
It was? I did put my current pants on a
couple times, but my latest filled supervisor was a girl
of a similar age to me, so I was able
to speak up for myself a bit more comfortably being
that we are the same demographic. But yeah, it was.
It had been difficult. I did get my parents to
step in a couple times because I was like, I
(12:27):
don't know, you own a house, you know how it works.
Can you help me?
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Yeah? And were they really hands on with that experience?
Did they give you a lot of help and support
through the process.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
My stepdad helped me move today. Yeah, my mum wasn't
able to because she's working. But yeah, they've been real's
forty through it all, which has been.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Great, incredible. You said as well in your letter to
us that you went through a few career changes and
wage negotiations and things like that. How close was that,
because obviously your process of building has been two close
to three years. How close were those career changes in
terms of timeline to everything else that you've had going on.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
So I used to be an accountant, so still in
a somewhat finance industry, but still very different to what
I currently do. I, like a lot of people, lost
my job in twenty twenty because of COVID, and it
was just so hard to find another accounting job. I
just stepped into an admin role at a dealership just
(13:26):
to get by for now, and then a finance role
came available, and my manager at the time actually suggested
I go for it, so I did, and I've now
since moved to another dealership in the same role.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
How cool did you have to do any additional training
to kind of go from being an accountant to a broker?
Speaker 4 (13:48):
I did a lot of it was hands on training
rather than online, because every finance system, like vehicle finance system,
is different, so you kind of have to be hands
on to understand it. And also every customer is different,
so you kind of have to just gauge. You can't
(14:09):
prepare yourself for who's going to walk through the door one.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Hundred percent, And how is that experience for you? Kind
of side stepping, I guess a little bit. I know,
as someone who also kind of lost their job during
the COVID period and had to do something that was
completely outside of my industry, I found that quite a
struggle mentally and also financially because when I did it,
I took a step back in terms of the salary
that I was earning. Was that the same experience that
(14:34):
you had.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
Yeah, I definitely took a salary hut, not by a
lot because I was only a graduate account so I
wasn't on much anyway. So it was difficult because there
just weren't many jobs around in general, being that I'm
from a regional town and there were a few redundancies
(14:57):
and everyone's after the same job. And yeah, it was tricky,
but I'm actually really glad that I stepped away from
accounting to move into what I'm doing now. It's much
less pressure, a little bit more coin and yeah, I'm
very comfortable where I am.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
That's awesome. It sounds like everything kind of worked out
for the better a little bit than there.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
Yeah, yeah, definitely did with.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
That being in twenty twenty, Was that right around the
time you were applying for the loan on your land,
Yes and no.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
So I put my name like a five hundred dollars
deposit on the land because it wasn't titled yet, so
I wasn't able to actually get a loan for it
until it was titled. So I did go through with
an application and everything and was approved. But they don't
last pre approvals don't last very long.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
No, that's so annoying, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
Yeah, So because the land settled late twenty twenty one,
there was a whole other loan process. But yeah, that
was when I was in a fairly stable job in
the admin role at the first dealership I was at.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
I want to ask some more financing questions because if anything,
I impervy on people's money circumstances. But I want to know,
now you've got the loan, what is the amount of
the loan that you have, and what do your mortgage
repayments look like?
Speaker 4 (16:19):
So if I open my banking my loan is four
hundred and two. And because it was a construction loan,
the repayments were interest only and they haven't quite ticked
over to principle and interest yet, so I'm actually not
quite sure what my repayments are. But I did do
(16:41):
a calculation the other day. I think they're around five
sixty a week.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
And how have you managed to, like, I guess, adjust
your lifestyle and your budget to paying five sixty a week?
Because I'm making a grand assumption that you were not
paying individually five hundred and sixty dollars a week in
rent being a regional gal, like that's a big step up. However,
you managed that.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
So your assumption is right. I was actually living with
my parents, so money night, because I did get that
ten thousand dollars home owners grant paid into my account.
That's gone straight into savings, and that's like my emergence,
like that back up for the repayments because obviously it's
going to take me a little while to adjust getting
(17:22):
used to all this.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
I was just going to say, is this your first
time living out of home? Now that you're moving into
your own place, how are you feeling about it? That's
a big jump going from your parents live in the
Cushing life to being responsible.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
A bit of an extra backstory, so being in Shepherd,
did you guys hear about the floods that happened last year? Yes?
We went under? Did you really? Yeah? Our houses are
split levels, so three rooms were fine, but the rest
was done and there's no rentals around. So yeah, so
(17:56):
I've been sharing a bed with my mum for the
last seven months.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Stunny, you're probably a bit excited to get a little
lot of space. Hey, As much as I'm sure you're
very grateful for them and their support, I can imagine
that you're like, Oh, I got a whole house, nine
hundred holes that are just mine.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
Your parents are probably going to be trying to move
in with you. If they're trying to fix things up
at home, you're going to be like sharing a bed
with mum in no time. Again, I've got two.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
Your fare rooms they can have. I I do not
want to share a bed again.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Yeah, that is so fair, So so fair. I shared
a bed with Jessica the other day and she stole
the entire dinner and then proceeded to tell me that
she didn't.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
I've been telling my boyfriend for eight years that I am,
in fact not a duna hog, and one night with
Victoria and I was like, oh, turns out maybe the
problem is in fact me. Oh my goodness, Well, now
you've moved in, You're at almost the end of your journey,
which is really exciting. What are the plans from here?
You wanting to stay in SHEP long term? Are you
(18:55):
going to get a roommate? What do you want to do?
The world is your oyster.
Speaker 4 (18:59):
I've actually got a roommate wind up. So he's my
one of my old friend's little brothers. So yeah, that's
like it's close enough that I feel comfortable living with him,
but not close enough that it's going to ruin a friendship.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Perfect, She's smart.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
That's so smart. So yeah, I would like to stay
here a little while. I'm not sure it's forever, but
you know, I've got to live here for at leasting
you to keep my grant.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
So yeah, and you've got to enjoy the fruits of
your labor. You've worked so hard to get here, and
now you're there, there's no rush to be going anywhere else.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
Exactly exactly how much is he going to be paying
per week in rent with us?
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Too? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (19:34):
So I've never rented before, so I had no idea.
So I asked friends that I know have rented, and
I was kind of putting out two hundred including bills.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
That's very generous. That is nice about.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
I've got three spare rooms, so if I get two
hundred each for those, that covers my mortgage. I was
about to say, just one at two hundred a week
takes your mortgage from five to sixty a week down
to three sixty. Like, that's what's a good strategy. That's
a very good strategy.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
Get another one. You're down to one sixty a week.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
That sounded pretty nice.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
That sounded pretty sexy.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Would you add more than one? Or is one kind
of You're like, we'll just see how we go.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
I did have another one lined up, but his lease
got extended where he currently is, so and he's pretty
comfortable there, so he decided not to move in here,
so I'm still on the hunt.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Very cool, you've got your own property. Are kind of
tipping your toes in the water of being a landlord.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
If anybody in Sheperdon is looking for a sharehouse, hit
me up because I've got a friend in shepherd who
is looking for a housemate.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
Well thought you out, that would be great.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Made ten out of ten. We are matchmakers, podcasters, property extraordinaries.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
We do it all here from the property playbook. But
it's just so cool. I'm really happy for you probably eyes.
I'm so excited that there's been a bit of a
gap since you read into us, and obviously now you're
in the space, and I can feel how excited you are,
which is amazing. And like I said, as a fellow
single trying to do it on our own, we're not single,
but I'm trying to buy it as a single.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Change seven years.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
I was about to say, she's not a single gal
unless she's talking to air broker, But yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
I fully understand how many challenges there are. We're doing
it by yourself, and it is always just really lovely
to see someone who's done it, who's thriving, who's so happy,
And I'm so excited for you, and I'm really thankful
for you for sharing your story with all of us.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
Well, not a problem, it's been great.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Oh my goodness. Well, I think today, guys, that's all
we've got time for. If you do want to spend
more time talking all things property, come hang out in
the Property Playbook Facebook group. We've got thousands and thousands
of people sharing their tips and their tricks and their
journeys and asking their questions. And if you're trying to
get into the space, yourself. It's honestly a really comforting,
wholesome space to find yourself.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
In the same boat.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
We are all in the same boat, and I'm here
for it. We're also on Instagram, where we share a
lot of really cool tips and tricks and breakdowns. We're
at Property Playbook a US. The advice shared on the
Property Playbook is generally in nature and does not consider
your individual circumstances. The Property Playbook exists purely for educational
purposes and should not be relied upon to make an
investment or a financial decision. And if you enjoyed this episode,
(22:11):
if you think I'm doing a good job, we do.
I'm needy and I would like you to tell me
that in a review.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Yeah, Jess is actually really good at feedback, guys, but
only if feedback comes in the form of a compliment.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Yeah, if it's negative, I don't don't want to hear it.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
So we'll leave it there. Do with that information what
you will, and we'll see you next week for another
episode of The Property Playbook.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Hi, guys,
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