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Robert Foote resides in Darwin and recently purchased a unit, making him the 9000th purchaser taking advantage of the free services offered by The Investors Club.
I moved to Darwin in May 2006 when I started with the Construction Agency for the Northern Territory Government. For the first four months my new employer had me moving around the Territory on various projects, and I finally settled in Darwin around September. I was looking for a place to live, when, coincidentally, I called Max Clemens about some project information. We got talking and Max said he may have some information on property that might help me find a home and also told me about The Investors Club, which I had never heard of. Now, Max is my Support Member.
Not long after, I met with Barry Seabrook, Researcher for the Northern Territory, who explained how the Club worked and the benefits. More importantly, Barry was instrumental in putting me in touch with mortgage professionals who explained meticulously how to use the bank’s money to my benefit.
Within a few weeks I had my first Expression of Interest (EOI) in the system for a unit in the Darwin CBD. I missed out on the Club’s ballot but another property soon became available on the top floor of the same development, and having already done the research on the other unit, I grabbed the opportunity and immediately bought it. This unit was to be an investment property but I thought it may also be my emergency accommodation if I could not find a suitable house. Living in a tourist park long-term just did not appeal to me, and I wanted out!
My Club Loans Mortgage Professional assisted with setting up an extremely good arrangement for the financing. Within two weeks I went back to them having found a suitable house in Jingili in Darwin. I have never been a risk taker in any undertaking in my life, having grown up in an environment where you only bought what you could afford and never borrowed. If necessity did require me to borrow it was always paid back in the shortest possible time. I can definitely confirm that that attitude has changed.
It was explained to me how I could borrow the full amount of both properties. The house was to be my principal place of residence for at least the next two years, so the finance was organised on the basis of a two-year interest only loan. I had just sold a house in Wollongong, not knowing about the benefits of The Investors Club principle of never, never sell. Some of these funds were used to offset the loan interest for the Darwin house, and the remainder used as security on both properties.
The Club has given me excellent support, advice and confidence. I now feel more ‘at home’ with property than ever before and am keenly looking forward to my next purchase, possibly in Sydney. I have also learnt much about debt and how it can be a good thing.
Having a degree in architecture, and always being interested in residential architecture, I am considering that my next property may be one of my own design. It is something I like doing but I will have to see how the idea pans out. I have owned two houses prior to coming to Darwin, both of which I designed and built myself, from digging the footings, fixing down the roof sheets, and fitting out with joinery. However, I think this time I will settle for designing, and let a builder do the hard yakka.
While I am relatively new to property investment, The Investors Club has given me fantastic support, advice and a sound basis on which to grow my portfolio. I have one particular friend in Wollongong who had been telling me for some time that I should be doing this, but I just never got around to it. Now that I have started, largely due to the wealth of information and advice from my Support Member and the Club, I cannot imagine why I didn’t do this ages ago.
Rob Foote
Club Member, Darwin
Congratulations Rob. Have you set your retirement date? It will be sooner than you think. The Club gives you a plan for success but 95% of Australians have no plan and fail. To avoid life on a pension use a Reservation of Interest (ROI) for our Researchers to locate a suitable block in Sydney for your design. We can then call tenders for you. Free service! See you at our next international conference in March 2008. Kevin Young.
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