13: Up By The Bootstraps: From Troubled Kid To Young Gun Investor with Tristan Von Sierakowski

Did you know with just two investment properties and one single renovation that you could put over a million dollars in the bank? It's true. And why stop there? Welcome to your Property Success podcast, the show that explores the practical steps to making your property investment dreams a reality. And now here's your host, a lady who once fell down a well while attempting to collect holy water. Jane Slacksmith.

Where are you getting these friends and family? Stop sending them in. Okay, that is true. It happened in Ireland and there was a well. I was with my best friend Maureen. We were gathering on a trip in Ireland. It was raining, we were tired, and we came to the well and our mothers had said, bring us back some holy water. And all we had was this Coke bottle. So we tipped it out and it was my job to run into the well and get it. And most of these wells apparently are well made. This one was kind of like just a ditch in the ground under a few rocks. And so I went in and I grabbed some water and I had to kind of clamber in.

How do you know the difference between a well with holy water and a well without holy water?

It was in Lonely Planet. That's all I can say. And so we ran in and it did say, I think it's St. Albans well or something. And so I ran in, I grabbe some water, I came back and Maureen said to me, is that all? And I was like, what? And so anyhow, I ran back, grabbed some more, as I leaned over, I fell in and I came back and I had a bottle full of cake, bottle full of holy water.

You had a nice glow to you.

And I had a glow to me. And Maureen looked at me and said, I think you got enough. And then we didn't mention it ever again.

And did the clouds open up shortly after?

Okay, let's move on. So a big welcome to your Property Success podcast and episode 13. We really appreciate you taking the time to today. And John, we have a very special episode today, don't we?

Yes, sure do.

I think this could actually be one of our most inspiring to date.

Yes, certainly a very inspiring property story against the odds. Actually, how this story came about is from Another podcast, episode 10, Kieran Clare, the former editor of Australian Property Investor magazine. And you actually asked him the question, Jane, what was the most memorable or favourite story you had when you were the editor of API magazine? And here's what he had to say.

I loved the young gun stories that we used to do. I ran across one young bloke called Tristan von Sierakowski I always remember Tristan. Tristan was one of those guys who had been dealt some fairly hard knocks early on to the point that he was effectively a foster kid. And I mean, he had all the potentials of not being with us. And that was one of those stories where, you know, I did the interview and the other thing that struck me about Tristan was very humble about what he'd achieved. He'd achieved something that many of us might have failed at. He'd pulled himself up by the bootstraps and taken himself forward and he was a real exemplary. He was exemplary of what good investment is all about, you know.

So what did we do? Of course we tracked down Tristan. So without further ado, get yourself comfortable for an inspiring chat with today's wonderful guest, Tristan Von Serakowski. Hello Tristan, and welcome to the youe Property Success podcast.

Yeah, thanks for having me, James.

So who is Tristan Von Serakowski?

Alright, so I guess I'm a 27 year old property investor with two properties at the moment and now I work full time as a property valuer.

Great. So for people who are listening, can other people replicate what you've done and if you could, I guess let us know. Did you have some advantage starting out that gave you the opportunity to jump into property so soon?

Well, I guess your first part of the question, can I replicate what I've done? To a certain degree. Everyone's got different circumstances but I guess there's parts of it that we'll be able to pull out or pick apart and use themselves in terms of if I had an advantage, I didn't have inheritance or anything like that. I came from a very low income family, just a single mum basically who's my foster mum. And yeah, so no had no real inheritance or any other than what she kind of taught me child. And I guess I did have. Everyone to a certain extent has a bit of fortune, a bit of luck and there's definitely been help along the way. Not so much financially, but as we go through, you'll see that, you know, I've got some siblings that are in their 40s now and definitely they were able to help. One of my sisters was able to help me throughout the, throughout my kind of process in providing one. I stayed with her for a while, living with her and she was able to, I was able to live there with no rent or not paying much expenses. So I was able to save a lot more than someone else could if they had those expenses. So there's been things like that and definitely support from the family and so that's kind of been more the support than say, financially.

Tell me, so it sounds like you had some difficulty period growing up as a child. How do you think that affected you? If you want to just go back and tell us a bit about that and.

Yeah, no, I'll just give like a brief overview. So my. My biological parents divorced when I was 2 and I was born in Karafa, which is a mining town in Western Australia. Once they divorced, me and my mother moved to Canada and I lived there till I was about 7 or 8. We then moved to Darwin in the Northern Territory. I lived there for about a year or two and then move moved in due to, you know, some circumstances. My mum could no longer kind of look after me. So I moved in with my biological dad, who was down in Melbourne at the time, and then lived with him for a year or two. But he kind of wasn't ready. He's a bit. He was a bit older at this stage and wasn't really ready or prepared at any stage to have a kid. And so kind of things played out and in the end I moved in with a family friend who eventually fostered me and she had three kids of her own. We were all a bit older. Now they're in their 40s at this time. They're all in their 20s and 30s. But yes, that's how it played out. So then from there on I lived with her and yeah, she looked after me.

And what was her name?

So her name's Judy.

So it sounds like Judy was someone who really, you know, took. Took a fledgling child who was probably, you know, been moved around a bit and gave you some stability and. And what else did she do for you?

Yeah, absolutely, she. So when. When she got me, I was about nine years old and I was totally just below average in everything academically, you know, just, you know, I wasn't. I was pretty naughty child as well, I guess, but I was just kind of off the rails and just had no stability like, I guess growing up. So it's probably what you'd expect in a child, but she just, yeah, she had the patience and just worked with it and, you know, every night we'd read books and go through and, you know, she. She taught me everything and took me from, you know, went from in remedial maths and English and everything to, you know, eventually doing quite well and then being able to get into university and finishing at the top of my university.

So that is extra. I've got goosebumps here, Tristan. You know, this is someone who's who's had an incredible impact on your life. And I gather, you know, that kind of belief in yourself and having someone else believe in you and put the time and effort into it, it just makes such a difference, doesn't it?

100%. Yeah. That's. Even nowadays we talk most days and you know, if I'm ever feeling not 100% confident in something or I've got a worry or doubt, she'll just kind of set me on the right track and, you know, talk me through it. And she always has my back and always has that confidence that, you know, it might be hard or, you know, it might take a bit of work, but you'll be able to get through it. And knowing that someone's always there and, you know, always supporting you, you know, makes the world of difference.

Absolutely. Well, I mean, going from, from that kind of turbulent childhood. You finished school, what happened then?

Yeah, so when I was finishing year 12, I kind of, there was a little bit where I went off the rails or I was kind of not too bad, but kind of into the party scene and I didn't finish VCE as well as what I was hoping and what kind of everyone was expecting of me. And that was a pretty hard time because, you know, you finish year 12 and that was about 10 years ago now, but most people can recall, they kind of give you this yellow page size book of jobs and they say, I'll go through this and decide, you know, yeah, choose one for the rest of your life. Yeah. And you're 17, 18, you don't have much experience and no idea and you can't really fathom what kind of job you're going to go based on a couple of paragraphs in a book. So I really wasn't sure my path. And you know, another thing Judy always said growing up was follow your passion. You know, you got to find a passion and then pursue that. And at this stage I really didn't have one and I just didn't want to fall into something. But then I had the pressure from all kind of family and friends at that stage when you're finishing school, the first thing they say is, you know, what are you going to do? What are you going to do with.

The rest of your life?

Yeah, exactly. And I really didn't have much idea. And at the time I had, my best friend was going into the Defense Force, into the Navy, and I like the sand of that. And then I guess so I kind of pursued that with him and he's in the Defense Force as we speak. He's been there for about 10 years. But I kind of also was using that as an, a bit, if I was to be brutally honest, I was using that as a bit of an excuse to get people off your back. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what are you doing?

And I said, I'm joining the Navy. Seeing the world.

Yeah, I'm joining. Yeah, joining the Navy. See the world. And then people were kind of, you know, satisfied with that answer.

Yeah.

But what I didn't expect was I started going through that process and, you know, going into the offices, training, but just doing the random interviews and psychological tests and physical tests and I was doing all those and that was over probably about 12 month period. And right at the end, just before your final interview, I really had the, you know, I really decided it wasn't for me. My heart wasn't in it and it wouldn't be fair, you know, my best friend who's now in it, it was his passion. And I really felt that if I went through that, it's really degrading what those, you know, men and women who are serving our country do. So I really didn't want to do something just because I fell into it and I couldn't do it with all my heart. So right at the end, I kind of pulled out, which would have shocked.

A few people, I imagine. Maybe not Judy.

Yeah, yeah, shocked a few people. Not. Not Judy. Because most of the time I'm pretty honest with her. And she knew what was happening. And at this stage, so at this stage I had. That was kind of my. I ended up having two gap years from year 12. That was kind of my first one where I was kind of going through that process. And then I still didn't have that much of an idea. But in the meantime I kind of applied to universities and was going through that, that route. And what had happened, sorry, just to backtrack a little bit, was as I was going through year 12 and 17 and 18, my mom, Judy, thought, you know, okay, he's going into the Navy and he'll see the world. And look, she's raised four kids now and I was the last and her job's basically done. So she put together plans to build a house in the country in Gippsland and Victoria and thinking that, you know, kind of a tree change, you know, empty nester, thinking it's all done and dusted. So she built this house in the meantime to, to live in and. But then effectively, once I decided I'm not going to go into the Navy, I was, you know, it's kind of the opposite of your kids moving out. This is kind of my. Yeah, the mum left and I was kind of left and it was no fault of her own. She was kind of just thinking, she was just planning on, you know. Yeah, exactly. And so I was left without, you know, without anywhere. So I could have lived with her and there was room there, but it was in the country and I had no, you know, there's no jobs or any.

And you're thinking about going to uni. So that would have been a bit difficult in itself. So who did you live with?

Yeah, so at that stage, so I spent a couple of months with a friend and his family and they were kind enough to kind of just let me live there. And then eventually I lived with my, one of my sisters who was in her 40s at this stage and. Or late 30s. Sorry. And she had room in her house and. But she said, she said like, okay, you can come and live with me, but it's not going to be, you know, you can either live with me, pay rent and board and you know, pay your fair share and work or you can spend that year, that gap year to save up and get a house deposit. And I wouldn't have to pay her board if I went down that route.

Wow, that's a great option. What a good sister.

Yeah, so quite wise for her. She said you can, look, you can do the whole 18 year old, you know, party scene, but you'll be, you know, working and paying rent and board or you can, you know, knuckle down, work hard, put together a home deposit and you won't have to pay anything while you live with me. So that was a really good option.

Where did that come from? Is she in property? Like, did she see the opportunities that a property investment or the stability that could give you?

Yeah, definitely. She's quite a successful property developer around the Bayside region in Melbourne, Victoria herself. And so she's always had this strong background in property and realized like how many opportunities it can provide. And I guess even growing up, like my mum didn't have that much money but she was always into, you know, she'd like to renovate or do the little things that she could. And she always, even though we really didn't have much money to go into property investment or development, she always loved the thought of getting into property. And so I guess she instilled that in my siblings and my sister and then my sister followed that and was able to use property development as a vehicle to Build, you know, she did quite well and build a fair bit of wealth that way. So then she.

Sorry, go on. So I was just going to say. So she, she gave you those options and, and you obviously took the option where you didn't pay any. Any board and you're about to start, you know, saving some money so that you could buy a property for someone at that same stage today. Tell us your thought process and the first plans and steps into getting into your first property.

Yeah, no worries. Well, I think my first. It was a pretty hard decision because when you're that age, you've been, you know, in school all your life and you kind of just want to have a, you know, put the feet up and maybe take a bit of a rest. And. But, but the option that my sister gave me, I kind of. And to kind of clarify. So at this stage, I'd had kind of 12 months off trying to go into the Navy, working full time at Kmart, and I'd realized kind of what the path was without going to university and going down that the property, you know, I kind of saw the alternative.

Yep, 40 hours a week for the next 40 years.

Yeah, in quite a few, you know, an entry level job. And I just realized that, hold on, I need to think about this now and make some pretty serious decisions because I guess the earlier you can start and, you know, it's kind of like a snowball rolling down a hill, the earlier it starts to roll and the earlier you start, it kind of builds, builds, builds and compounds. And so I kind of came to the conclusion and it wasn't like I was smarter or any more or any wiser than anyone else who's 18. I guess I lent a lot on the. My family and friends who were a bit older and had that worldly experience and used, just took their advice and was constantly asking questions and going down that route. And so that, that first gap year, I eventually, then my sister said, okay, before you go into university and before you start that, go on a backpacking trip around the world, because that's something she hadn't done. She kind of went straight into property development and kind of wished going back that she had that experience. So I, for that first, first year, I worked full time and saved up and then went backpacking around the world with a friend. And then once I got back from that, I actually got back too late to go into university. So it was a lot of series of. Well, at the time I thought they were unfortunate events, but it's funny how you look back and A lot of these things were quite fortunate. But you don't realize at the time. So after that, first that backpacking and I got back too late to go into uni that year, I just, I had to have another year off in order to get into university the following year. And that's when I realized, okay, I've got another 12 months that I wasn't really planning on having. I could either, you know, blow this 12 months and then really start, you know, two years later than everyone else my own age. Or maybe I could flip that and go, okay, let's use this to my advantage. And so I just buckled down for that 12 months, got another job, was working basically at Kmart from 8 till 5. And then I drive and started a bowling alley from 5:30 to 11. And I do that, you know, five or six days a week constantly for that 12 months in order to really to be able to save up that deposit. And at the end of the 12 months, I was able to put together a fair bit of a deposit. And I was fortunate with the timing of the first home buyers grant. At that time, I was able to get about 32,000 from the government.

Wow. Does that can help?

Yes, that was a huge help back then.

So your first investment was really your first home and you could optimise. So how much of a deposit did you have?

So after the 2012 months, I saved about 30,000.

Wow. And then you had 30, 32,000 from the government. And I can't imagine that Kmart and the bowling alley played that well. What were you on to allow you to actually save the 30,000?

Yeah, so the casual. I mean, so for the Kmart, I was on a full time basis, but that would have probably been about 14 or $15 an hour. It would have worked out to be. And I was fortunate. At the bowling alley, they employed. Employed me as a casual, but I was basically working full time hours all up because I'd work there on the weekends as well. So I'd work Both jobs about 40 hours a week and. But they were paying a bit higher, which was maybe about $20 or maybe $18 an hour on that casual basis.

So you're earning about 50 grand a year and you saved 30,000. That is an incredible story in itself. You probably. You didn't spend a lot of money, obviously.

No, yeah, there was a tidbit of sacrifice in that year, definitely. And I'd turn my Facebook off and I'd kind of disappeared from the face of the earth living at my sister's home. And Just, you know, just working non stop and I guess, you know, our friends, that family friend, that family I stayed with for a couple of months that his father told me, you know, he said, live like no one. He had a saying and he said one time, live like no one now. So then the future, you can live like no one then. And it's kind of meaning, you know, like bunker down now, work hard now everyone, while everyone's partying and kind of enjoying themselves. But then, you know, you're setting yourself up for the future. And so, you know, for some reason that thing stuck and I kind of took his advice and decided, oh, now, like, I can't waste this year or else I'd be really behind the eight ball going into university two years later than everyone. So I was like, oh, how can I kind of flip this on its head and do something that's a bit unconventional, but it might, you know, put me in good stead for years to come.

So what was the name of that, that father?

So it was my friend Oliver and his father's name was Vito.

Vito. So it was Vito. It's amazing, you know, just listening to your story, you know, you found this incredible supporter that picked up a nine year old boy and gave him the confidence and the knowledge and learning to enable you to get through school and do a couple of degrees. And then your sister was a real supporter and gave you that lead into giving you some options, not just in saving money and looking at investing in a property or buying a home at an 18, 19 year old, but also encouraging you to go overseas and have that time as well. And, you know, just for that, and then having another supporter to come in and go, you know, buckle down, get on with it so that you can live the life that you want later. You know, it sounds like you've had some incredible people in your life that have really come in at the right time and giving you an amazing opportunity. You know, it's great. And I think that a lot of people who are listening, you know, we often, we often sit back and go, if only, you know, I had been born with an inheritance or if only I had something I could get somewhere. But someone who's working from what, 8 o' clock to 11 o' clock at night to get a deposit, that's truly inspiring. And I think that, you know, were you one of the first people that you knew that went to university already owning a property?

Yeah, definitely at that stage, going through university. There's no one that I was in university with out of my Circle of friends that had a mortgage or a property. And so I was definitely in a unique situation.

Can you tell me about that first purchase?

Yeah, so the first purchase was an off the plan apartment in a kind of bayside suburb called Ebert Vale in Victoria. And I decided to kind of go off the plan just to minimise one, stamp duty. And two, that the first home buyers grant was more favorable for an off the plan purchase. At that stage, was there someone who.

Kind of directed you, you in that path.

Again? Yeah, so my sister was someone that directed me and at this stage she'd kind of given me other contacts such as like a mortgage broker. And he was definitely one of the other major helps because he, you know, he knew all the ins and outs and knew exactly, you know, he'd seen it all before. So he could really work with me with my situation and get me the best deal. And there's no way, you know, 18 or 19 walking into a bank with skinny jeans and Converses. They would have just, you know, laughed me out of there and I had no idea what I was doing either.

Yep.

So he was kind of able to structure everything for me and really kind of help me out and deal with the bank. And also I was working non stop, so I just didn't have the time to, you know, kind of do that myself.

That's great. And, and tell me when. So you bought off the plan at age 18, 19, went to uni. When did the property actually settle? Whilst you were at uni or before that?

Yes. So it settled. So I purchased it say when I was 19 and I believe it settled maybe when I was 20 or 21. So yeah, I was definitely still at.

Uni and still working obviously as well.

And still. Yeah, that's right, still working. And originally I was intending it was going to be an investment property and that kind of helped obtaining finance, it helped gain that rental income as part of it. But in the end I decided to move in there once it had settled. So I'd moved in and then I leased out or subleased the one of the bedrooms. It was just a two bedroom unit and I just leased out one of the bedrooms to whoever I could find. And I used the website at that stage and just did some interviews and I had a pilot electrician, this a minor who would fly in, fly out and just a range of people for about two years who would stay as long as they wanted and then I just find someone else. But that definitely helps too because at that stage I was still on a very low Income. Yep. And you know, so I was trying to juggle. Yeah, that's right. Full time university, trying to work full time. And for a while there I was working kind of two jobs and university, in the end I cut out one of the jobs and was able to work longer hours in one which was more beneficial for tax because you get taxed so much on your second job. And then I was going through university so I needed that supplementary income to help support the mortgage. So that's where those borders came in really handy.

So any advice to people who are considering having borders in their property that what they should look for when those interview questions?

No, I'll admit, like I really had no idea. And I guess one of the things, it's just hard. Some of the people that look so good on paper just turned out to be, you know, they wouldn't keep it very clean and they'd be disrespectful and they, you know, be up all night. Whereas some of the other people, you really can't judge a book by its cover because some of the other people that didn't really come off amazing on paper with some of the best borders. So you just got to go in there with a complete open mind and just make sure that you guys also click, you know, personality wise. I think that's the main thing and you're on the same page.

So tell me, what were you studying at university?

Yes. So when I first started university I was doing an accounting degree and I kind of just didn't. Again, it wasn't my passion but I kind of like the sound of accounting and thought that would something like you get into. But doing a year of that, I realized that it really didn't light my fire and it wasn't my passion and I wasn't very good at it. Maybe because it wasn't my passion. I just, I wasn't, you know, doing that well. And in the meantime, my girlfriend at the time, who's now my fiance, she was going to another university who offered a, a commerce degree as well. But they also did a, like a double degree. So it was bachelor of commerce and another degree which is bachelor of property in real estate, which I didn't even know universities offered.

And what do you learn in bachelor of property? In real estate?

Yeah, so they do like just. They do. There's a subject like property investment that go through the fundamentals. There's development, town planning, all that kind of all the facets of not only property investment, but yeah, property in terms of sales, you can then major And I was majoring in marketing for that one and for my commerce degree I was majoring in economics. But they kind of go through a range of all the kind of facets of property and just give you kind of a broad, broad basis in the property, property industry. But I guess one of the major reasons for doing a degree in property is that then you can go on to become a certified property valuer, which you need that tertiary education to get.

That qualification, which you subsequently did.

Yeah, which I kind of. Because when my girlfriend at the time said oh look, move universities and continue doing that commerce degree. But I changed my major obviously from accounting to economics and do the property, all of a sudden I went from an average student to, you know, straight, you know, high distinction to basically all my subjects, which wasn't. I'm not that clever, I'll admit, I'm not that academic. But one, you know, I just have a pretty solid work ethic which I inherited from I guess my foster mother. Yeah, yeah, that's right. And it was just my passion. I just loved property and loved it all and I was able to just perform that much better. It's just surprising. It is always what she said, just follow your passion and you'll really be able to, you know, go from there. And it was just amazing. That.

And tell me, you know, obviously you're following that passion, you got the right degree and, and the fact that you kind of had a couple of gap years and you, you tried things and you know, Navy wasn't for you and you know, the accounting wasn't for you and you move things, you, you're constantly trying and, and learning things. But when you went into that property real estate course, did that then give you a fire to build your own portfolio? Did that change where you were? You know, were you thinking originally you were one and done with your first home or did this, this really open up options for you?

Yeah, no, definitely being around like, like minded people and who are all doing the property degree and all had similar kind of, they all had their own thoughts on property investment. Really gets the creative juices flowing. And definitely from Narrows. Yeah, definitely got the kind of the bug to hold on. Let's look into this and you know, use it as a vehicle for, you know, wealth and for financial, you know, stability. So it definitely went from, you know, the investor, the investment, probably the first one which turned out to be where I was living. So then I was like, I could, you know, keep going with this and something I find really interesting. So might as well.

So I'M just going to step back to that first property. What are the benefits or what would you do differently today on that very first property? Any thoughts?

Looking back in hindsight now, it wasn't the best investment decision I could have done. Got a better capital growth through something else that maybe wasn't off the plan or maybe it was bit older and had renovation potential. But at that stage, you know, hindsight's a beautiful thing. And at that stage, it did tick a lot of boxes that I needed. I didn't have much of a deposit, so I needed to maximize the first home buyers grant from the government. So by purchasing off the plan, I was able to do that. Also purchasing off the plan, I was able to lock it in at that price. And then while they're doing, I had a while there to save up a bit more and to, you know, to set myself up a bit better. But in terms of capital growth and like looking back now, I might have been better off with something else. But also, as I previously mentioned, I don't think I could have at that stage, at that early age, buy something else because I just didn't have the money for it. So.

Yeah.

So what was the purchase price and what do you think it's worth today? Has it done good for you?

Yes, it's done reasonable. The purchase price was about 350 and that was off the plan and today it would be worth about 450. I recently had it bank valued and they came in at 450. So there's been a bit of capital growth.

Got to be happy with that. Making $100,000 while you get on with life.

Yeah, that's right. And it was a way, a foot in the door into the property market and I was kind of able to, you know, then use that property to, you know, one, as a place to live because as I said, I didn't have anywhere where I was living. And two, I was able to then use that equity and purchase my second property. And that's probably the main benefit of that, having that first one and being able to purchase that at an early age.

So if you, if you said that, you know, you kind of could have bought an older property, one with renovation potential. Is. Is that what the second property was?

Yeah, that's right. So. So the second property I purchased when I was, I think I was in my last year of university and at this stage, I guess I had learned some more from family and friends and from university about property investment and from, you know, things like magazines and seminars and everything, podcasts And I decided, you know, I could purchase a older. I purchased a 1970s two bedroom unit in another bayside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria called Cheltenham. And I was able to purchase that for about 350,000 and it was in completely original 1970s condition. Nothing had been done to it.

A blank canvas waiting for you. So what was your reaction when you walked in? Were you scared or you saw the opportunity?

No, I was, I was pretty excited. I was really, you know, I was ready to sink my teeth into a bit of a challenge. And I had no, no renovation experience or building experience or anything like that. I'm not, I'm not that hands on. But I was up for the challenge and the hard work and I just thought, all right, this is, this, this could be fun and it might be able to accelerate, you know, and provide better capital growth down the line. So yeah, I was ready. Yeah, I was pretty excited to get.

Into it not having that experience. Did you underestimate the amount of work that was to be done?

Yeah, definitely. Which was probably a good thing if you, if you don't realize how much works involved and you know, the long nights and the costs and you might not get started. So I think that having. And that was kind of, that's kind of been a thing throughout my life is that often I've kind of jumped in, you know, with both feet without thinking a bit naive and then made it work. I think you over and yeah over analyze things and wait for the perfect time. You'll be waiting forever and you'll let the opportunity go. So often I kind of use yeah being naive to and just using that as a benefit and just jumping right in and yeah, going for it.

And so for people listening who are still in two minds about getting into property investing or taking that first step, would you encourage them to jump in?

Yeah, definitely. I'd encourage them to do whatever they can and to just get their foot in the door. It doesn't matter. Start small and build on that. You don't have to purchase your dream property for the first one, but small steps and the sooner you start. It's always the sooner you start, the better it is, in my opinion.

Absolutely. Well, you definitely started very soon at the age of 19. That's amazing. Look, just looking at that renovation you did on that second property and you didn't have the experience, it was probably a bit more work than you expected when you purchased it. How did you get the experience? How did you learn? Was it just on the tools or did you once again have a Support network that pull together.

Once again. I had a bit of a support network in terms of I used my family and friends as slave labor basically, but they, but none of my family or friends. Like I had my sister there obviously, but she had, she, she's not a builder herself, she's a developer, but doesn't, you know, do the building herself. So didn't have that background, but she was able to lend as much as a hand as she could or, you know, provide that kind of as much knowledge as she could. But basically it was just. I would just start before the property settled. I'd go through and realize, okay, we need to update the bathroom, put in a brand new kitchen, update the laundry, you know, paint, do the floorboards, landscape. And so then I broke it down. And then, you know, while I was waiting for the property to settle, I'd also arranged to get, you know, early to get access to the property. Yeah, that's right. Not to make any major changes to the property, but mainly just to measure so I could plan out the kitchen and just know exactly what I was going to do prior to it settling and then having to subsequently pay your mortgage. So it's. That it's a really good opportunity, if you can do it, is to use that settlement time, that period between when you sign the contract and before you settled to do as much as that you can. So I was, you know, then researching.

Every night getting the quotes in and so you can start since you pick up the keys.

Yeah, that's right. The agent was able to come out with me a few times and I'd meet with some tradies and they were able to quote on certain things and then doing. I obviously got tradies in for the plumbing and the electrical, but pretty much other than that, we did it all ourselves or myself. And that was basically just going home and just googling things, looking on YouTube.

It's amazing what's on YouTube, isn't it?

Absolutely. You can learn so much. So I was going home and that night YouTube or Google had to install a kitchen. And the next day we go to Ikea or Bunnings and buy the cabinetry and then go from there. And obviously we're making hundreds of mistakes constantly, but that's how you learn and. Yeah, and so we just kind of went from there and sunk our teeth into it and kind of just learned as we went.

That's what John John calls just in time learning. You find out what you need to do tomorrow and you learn it the night before.

Yeah, yeah. And people Think, oh, how's, you know, how he's done this? But they don't realize that you've just googled it the night before.

And I know with quite a few of my renovations, my friends stopped coming around because as soon as they walk in the door, we'd give them a paintbrush and they're like, you know, we're not going to Jane and Todd's house anymore. They just make us work. So they learn a bit, don't they? But it's nice when you can have everyone over for that housewarming when you celebrate. So tell me, so how much of the renovation end up costing you?

The renovation costs about 25,000. Okay, so, so the purchase of that property was, it was 350,000 again for the original 1970s two bedroom unit. And then the renovation cost about 25,000. And I did that on my. It was just before my final year of uni, I believe, and that was my end of year break. So I had a couple of months there where I could really bunker down and I was no longer studying on break, but I was still working full time. But I guess all of a sudden all that time that I was spending studying was freed up to just sink my teeth into the renovation. And I realized, you know, I've only got, you know, a couple of months now to get this done. And that was good because if you don't have those kind of self imposed time limits, you might draw it out and it might costing you, you know, so much more. Whereas if you really, you know. Yeah, if you have. No, if you've got. No, if you have to get it done within that time period, it's amazing how much you can get done when you need to and when you've got no, you know, no other way of going about it. In the end it did take me a bit longer and then I was kind of juggling uni full time work and renovating, which wasn't good. And I don't recommend that for anyone.

But it's what a lot of people do that. Well, they don't do uni usually full time work and renovating. Tell me, were you living there at the time?

No. So I was still living at the Edith Vale property and which was another good thing because I've got friends who have recently gone through the renovation process whilst they're living in there and they just decided that they'll probably never do it again like that. It's just ended up taking them a lot longer and been a lot harder. Once you're living in there and trying to juggle, you know, renovating the bedroom and living out in the lounge room and then swapping. So I was fortunate enough to, you know, we were able to gut it and it was a lot easier, I think, having, you know, not being in there.

I find that with. I mean, I've spent quite a few nights sleeping on the kitchen floor while, you know, floorboards are drying or something. But the. I find a lot of people when they're renovating, if they move into a property to renovate, time frames slip because it's easy to, oh, let's do it next weekend, not this weekend. Whereas if you have that kind of. I've got to get it done in a certain period of time, you're in and out, and it might be there 2 o' clock in the morning finishing something off. But that time frame or that deadline, as you suggested, is a really good measure, so. And did you rent that out straight away afterwards?

Yeah. Yep. So as soon as we're done with the renovation, we. Yeah, I was able to get some tenants to go in there and I think they're renting it out for about 370 a week. In the end, I think then it went up to about 390. And yes, that was really good. We then had problems because now I've moved into that property and we had problems with the tenants moving out. We had to kind of take them to vcat, which is a Victorian civil and administrative tribal funeral, which is kind of like a court system to certain things. And we had to take them to VCAT because they just didn't want it. They were building and we kind of. Yeah, they didn't want to leave and they were waiting for their place and their place was getting delayed from their builder. And we tried to. Me and my girlfriend, who's my fiance now we're trying to be as good as we could and accommodating, but we in the meantime lined up tenants to come into that either fail property. So we were trying to tell them, like, you know, if you don't move out, we're going to have nowhere to live. And in the end, we had to threaten them with taking them to VCAT and book a date. And then they kind of realized, okay, they mean business, and they came to the table and moved out. But that was quite interesting as well, because usually you hear about tenants, you know, maybe just doing a runner, but this is the other side of the story where the tenants didn't want to leave and they're still. They're good Tenants, and they're paying on time. It's just that we needed to move in.

Maybe your renovation was too good. They wouldn't leave.

Yeah, I don't know about that.

So what do you think you're, you know, you bought it three. You spent 25,000 sounds over a couple of months in that renovation. What do you think the value was at the end of the renovation?

Yeah, so I think at that time, which was about two or three years ago now, so once we'd finished the renovation, the value would have probably been maybe about 400. We might have maybe. Yeah, a little bit less than that. But we'd spent. Yeah, so 350. Spent about 25. So it was about 375 all up. And we might, you know, might have been anywhere between, you know, 380 to 400. So there was a bit of capital growth from the renovation, which was good.

Perfect. So you graduate from university with two properties under your belt, you know, and, you know, we've concentrated a bit about property. Tell us about what you've been doing since then. Obviously concentrating on your career, I guess.

Yeah, concentrating on the career a bit more. Yes. So now I'm a certified practicing valuer, and I do a range of residential and commercial properties. And so I'm kind of sinking my teeth into that a bit at the moment. And also, you know, for years, you know, I kind of was making a lot of sacrifices when I was pretty young in terms of, you know, seeing your friends and your social life and that. And I was just fortunate to find, you know, my beautiful girlfriend, who's now my fiance. She, you know, she was able to come along for the ride, but we did make a lot of sacrifices. So I guess now I'm focusing on my career and trying to, you know, get a bit of a better work life balance and trying to focus a bit on my relationship. And we're getting married at the end of the year and, you know, starting a family pretty soon, so.

Wow. What's her name?

I want to. Julia.

Julia. And so is she into property?

No, when we first met, we met actually at Kmart, and she was going to university at the time, doing a similar course in the commerce side of things. Sorry, but not anything to do with property. And. No, she never really. Because I was fortunate with the family and friends. I had my eyes open to property and the, you know, the benefits that it can provide where she never really had that experience. Her parents migrated from Russia, and they didn't really speak English, and they came basically like, you Hear with a suitcase right when the Soviet Union collapsed. And so they started from nothing and so they, they weren't used to the whole process of buying a house or because I guess it's a communist country. So things were different for them and so it was a little bit different. So she never had that background or upbringing about, you know, the great Australian dream of buying, you know, a house and going from there. So. But she's definitely been a really good supporter and you know she's, she's great with, you know, she loves learning about what I'm into and it's just supporting me and she's just been a great support no matter what I want to do. She's yeah, got my back. Similar to I guess Judy. I've just been. It's amazing, I guess all these women, you know, my sister Renee, Judy, I'm a foster mom and that Julia, my fiance, just been amazing to being supported by all these amazing women. So it's been great.

Well, you've definitely lived up to their expectations. So tell me, the valuation career, is it what you expected? What's been the learning curve there that you've been through in the last couple of years?

Yeah, it has been what I expected. I guess going through university they focus a bit on that valuation side of things because that's the main reason why people are doing that degree. So I kind of had a pretty good expectation what I knew I was getting myself into but I didn't realize at the time how, you know, property value is compensated on a similar basis to I guess a real estate agent or they've got a base salary and then they get a commission on a percentage of the fees they write. And I didn't realize that going through. Nor did I. Yeah, so I didn't realize that going through university and I thought, you know, tick a lot of boxes because you know, I could see them properties and you know, amazing properties and spend, spend my day researching and you know, it's exactly what I wanted to do and you know, I could learn a lot more about the property industry whilst getting paid for it. So, so that was amazing. And then, and also I guess it was beneficial learning about it really suited me that that compensation structure because I'm a probably self confessed workaholic. So this really suits, you know, the more you work for the word. Yeah, yeah. So now I can kind of focus before getting a family, I can kind of focus on my career and really bunker down and try and set myself up a bit more financially and, and.

Tell me with the do you specialize in a certain area? Like would we see you in the Bayside area or where would we see if we're going to run into you around Melbourne valuing property?

Yes. So I started in the commercial division and I was doing mainly retail properties with a focus on say medical centers and childcare centers. And then I've kind of gone into my bread and butter now residential, which is surprising. You can actually make more money in residential, in valuations than you can commercial, mainly because you're working on the quantity side of things and you can really smash out the reports. But I still do, I do it a bit differently. Most people focus on either residential or commercial. But I'm fortunate in my circumstances. I do, you know, five days a week in residential and then I inspect a few commercial properties and then I do those commercial reports on the weekend.

Great. So you haven't lost that work ethic. Obviously we're going to have to find something for you to do in the spare time, a hobby or something.

Yeah, I think I get bored easily.

How do these skills that you're picking up as a valuer and looking at these residential properties, how are you going to be able to use those to further your property investments?

Yeah, I guess we're constantly being around other like minded people who have a lot of the people in the office and that are older and have done their own property investments. So you've always got someone you can turn to and bounce ideas years off. Also just, you know, being in property nine till five, you know, five days a week or more really it's just a really good opportunity to, you know, you can go through deals and look at what's worked and what hasn't worked and I just, I think it's, yeah, it's a really good option for anyone who's looking to get into property. If you can find a job also in the property industry, it's really can really like strengthen and you. Yeah. So in that same as sales or going into finance or brokering, it's really beneficial to also be working in the property industry whilst, you know, doing that on the side.

Well, it's also, I find it feeds a passion because you're speaking to like minded people, you're surrounded by a community, people who understand your language of property, which is always great but you've also got the opportunity to learn yourself and put it in place. Now you were interviewed a few times in Australian Property Investor magazine. What was that like for you and what did your friends and family think about it?

Yeah, so I Guess a while ago, I think it was in 2013, I was featured in a a edition of the Australian Property Investor magazine as a young gun and just going through my deals then. And then more recently, which I think was in December 2016, I was in another issue which was more about building a property portfolio on a low income and just how I did it in those early days. Obviously my income's increased substantially recently, but before that, just how I was able to go about, you know, the opportunities and the things that I had to put in place to build a property portfolio on a small income. So that's what that article is about. I've kept both those articles. I told, I guess the immediate family, obviously Judy and my sister and all the supporters who have, you know, because it's. You don't do it alone. Yeah, yeah, you don't do anything alone. And so those supporters who help make it happen, I shared it with. But for most of my other friends or colleagues, I really didn't publicise it or didn't make it known.

So look, I'm sure a lot of people are listening today and like me, feeling completely inspired by your story and hopefully they're motivated to take action. So for someone just starting out, what are the very first steps that you think they should take?

Probably the very first step. So, you know, use some resources, you know, the Internet, your family and friends and just get a bit of a background. Don't go into it too naive, but then again, don't spend too long trying to figure out everything. So the first steps would be use whatever advantages you have and then kind of seek out professionals in the property industry, like your brokers that can really help a real estate agent. Speak to as many people as you can and lean on their expertise and then as soon as you've built up that base level of knowledge, try and get into it and then learn. You learn so much more once you get into it and start doing it. So I'd really recommend that.

So build up a team of supporters first and then a team of professionals to assist you. That's great advice. And for those that are just starting out, what's something they should look out for or something they should avoid?

Yeah, I think be wary of. Obviously my first property was an off the plan purchase, but. And that worked out and provided benefits for certain things, but you can be called out, so be wary of that. Also, we're in a pretty hot market, especially Melbourne and Sydney at the moment, so just be mindful and a lot of people can get caught out and overpay. And then there's also. You hear there are some people, unfortunately, in the property industry that take advantage of people that aren't as knowledgeable. So just be mindful of that. But really, the majority of the people you meet are willing to help you and, you know, are great resources. So, yeah, just. Yeah, get into it as soon as you can. And, yeah, don't look back.

Absolutely. Well, there's a lot of people listening and just picking up on the fact that, you know, they're hesitant. Is this is the right time to invest? Is the market too hot? For all of the different reasons, you're someone who. You've succeeded against the odds. So let me ask you this. Is success a choice you make? And if so, when's the right time to make it?

I guess to a certain degree, success and motivation is a choice you make, and there's no better time than the present, so the sooner you can start on that path, the better. And also, though, you know, no one's successful on their own, and everyone, no matter who, has had, you know, benefit or help along the way or been able to lean on those relationships. So just try your best, you know, to lean on the relationships, whatever they've got, and go from there. But success definitely is a mindset. And also I find that. I think it's Oprah Winfrey that said that, you know, the harder you work, the luckier you get. And I think that's been a big part of it, is that there's always been. There's been a bit of luck, I'll admit, for my. My journey, and I've been fortunate. But it's been true that it's. I find that the harder I work and the more I, you know, focus and sink my teeth into something, the more those opportunities present themselves, and, you know, subsequently, the luckier I've gotten. So don't be scared to, you know, work hard for it because, you know, it's worth it in the end.

Absolutely. Spoken from someone who's only 27 with two properties already. You know, are there other resources like books or websites that you'd recommend or have been instrumental in your learning?

Yeah, there's definitely. There's a lot of books. There's books by Jan Summers, which I believe you might have had on this podcast before.

My hero.

Yeah. And so her books were definitely fundamental both to me and my sister when she was getting into property development years ago. And then there's also been. There's a lot of forums online about property, which are free resource and have, you know, a huge community of people that have been through those experiences and have advice and are willing to offer it. So those forums have been a huge benefit. And then obviously you've got, you know, your Google and your YouTube that you can always turn to. And if you're not sure how to do something, there's always someone somewhere around the globe who's been in your shoes who has done it and is probably willing to, you know, provide the advice or they've put a video up on how to do it, so.

Great.

Yeah, Leon, Absolutely.

Well, look, what if I. If you're going to summarize, you know, what has property done for you? Obviously your career is in property as well at the moment, and what do you want to do in the future?

Yeah. So at the moment, like I've said, I'm focusing more on my career and I just want to build up. I've been pretty highly leveraged, as you can imagine, and taking on a fair bit of risk and being kind of pushed right to the boundaries of, you know, what I can afford or pay, you know, what my income could accommodate. So at the moment, now I want to work on kind of minimizing those risks and to build a bit of a nest egg and make sure that there is any problems, which there will be going forward, no doubt. There's always things that come up, so I just want to put myself in, you know, build that financial safety net. But going forward, like the plan is, probably the next purchase will be my family house where I can start a family, and that will probably be an older property in as good a suburb as I can afford. At the moment, it's pretty hard in Melbourne because the prices are going through the roof, but I want something with a bit of renovation potential which we can renovate down the road and build a family. And then going forward from that, I want to probably get into more the development side of things or the commercial property investment side of things.

That's great.

That might be a bit further down the road.

Well, you're definitely talking my language. I do like that told buy the established old property and renovate it. So we'll have to check back in later and find out how that family home goes with you.

Yeah, no worries.

So, look, just looking back for the moment, you know, you. You had a turbulent start to your life and, you know, things could have worked out differently for you. Why do you think they didn't and what do you put that down to?

Yeah, I'm not sure. It's. It's hard Looking back, like, definitely in my childhood, and I won't say it was a bad childhood, I always refer to it. It's an unconventional childhood.

Yep.

But it's just funny how resilient children are. And I didn't know any different. I didn't know that, you know, most families, you know, you know, my parents were divorced when I was 2 and then I moved to Canada and then I moved to Darwin, then, you know, ended up with a foster mum. But when you're a kid, you're kind of just in for the ride and you're a lot more resilient, I think, than when you're older and, you know, as an adult. So I think I'd put down my number one thing would be because I don't think, you know, I haven't had that many advantages and I'm not that academic or smart or, you know, there's nothing. I wasn't born genetically gifted in any way. But I think the number one difference between me and other people that haven't done that yet is just hard work. I think hard works probably, you know, 90% of it, then some people might be fortunate with other things and have to work as hard. But for me, with university, I was able to finish top of my class for the, for both those degrees, and that was just 100% down to hard work. There was a lot of other students that were a lot smarter than me, naturally, but I just put in the hours and, and that's the same with my career and property investment. I find that really, it comes, you know, those talents, your natural talents are going to get you so far. But really the differentiating factor, my competitive advantage, I guess, is just my work ethic and just willing to, you know, just work as hard as you can until you get those results.

That's amazing. And as you said, you know, the harder you work, the luckier you get. So you're truly inspirational and so humble. You know, you share that success of what you've done at such a young age with Renee and Julie, Judy and Julia, and you have been a wonderful guest. And I really, I really thank you for sharing your story with us because I know that a lot of people will be inspired by it, and especially those that, you know, might be a bit hesitant about jumping into the market or taking the first step. To hear from someone who started so young and just put their head down and worked and worked and worked and made it happen, you know, you are a great testament to where you are today. So thank you so very much. Tristan.

No, thanks for having me. Thanks, Jane.

Oh, my. Talk about overcoming adversity.

Yeah. What a fantastic story. And what a terrific guy too.

Oh, it's just so nice. And someone so young too, you know, you really look back and you go, gosh, you know, one of the things I regret the most, not starting earlier. And as for Tristan, my gosh, he was straight onto it, wasn't he?

Yeah.

And very humble as well. What did he say? I wasn't blessed with any gifts genetically, I think he said, but he certainly made up for it with hard work and. Yeah, some really great people at critical points along the way.

Absolutely. And really just going back to his start, you know, the fact that, you know, moved around from mum to dad, country to country, you know, and, well, regional areas to. To capital cities. And then, you know, his foster mum, family friend, she'd already done and dusted, got over her kids were in her 20s and she's gone, hey, you know, I'll take on a nine year old and I can't imagine it would have been a. Not. I have a 9 year old. I can't imagine it would be an easy nine year old having, you know, many schools and being passed around a bit. So.

Well, he said he was a naughty kid. You know, he's behind at school so, you know, she saw past those symptoms and took him on and. But yeah, you hear that quite often, don't you, with people that there was a teacher, there was a coach, there was a, you know, friend of the family or someone that took an interest and gave them that little bit of encouragement that really changed the direction of their entire life.

Well, it's interesting, I was having a chat with my mentor recently about this and said, what was, you know, who were the people who really inspired him? And right back at school, there was a teacher who didn't give up on him when he had dyslexia and couldn't read. And he said, and all of a sudden he was in this class and he went, oh my gosh, it's a P. You know, and it changed his life. Now, you know, an avid reader and an incredible person. So, you know, just, you know, that one person, he can't even remember a name.

Yeah.

And she wouldn't.

Yeah, she probably wouldn't know about it.

No.

And, you know, you just, you don't know often who those people are when they come into your life. And I know, you know, the reason that I love teaching and I love, you know, just, you know, sharing my knowledge or, you know, the people that I know and their knowledge with my students and community is just that aha moment. I just love that moment where the lights go on. They go, oh, my God. I get it, you know, because I know how important those moments were for me. And, you know, we talked to Kim Kiyosaki recently, but, you know, sitting under a tree in New Zealand reading, rich dad, Poor dad, does your money work for you or do you work for your money? That was a light bulb moment for me. And I just. I live for those. For creating those moments.

A piece of exposure that you had that was right at the right time.

Absolutely. Because sometimes you do get introduced to things and it's not the right time for you. But, yeah, you know, go Tristan. Like, you know, not only did he have, you know, that very, very strong foster mother, Judy, who was there beside his side, but then, you know, his stepsister, you know, she was in her 40s and she gave him that ultimatum.

Yeah.

You could either stay at home and keep on partying and I'll charge your rent or save up a deposit and you can stay here and I'll cover all your expenses and board and talk.

About someone who, you know, this is a guy who's not scared of hard work.

No, that's exactly. I thought that when I heard him say it. I mean, yes, he made a smart choice, choosing the deposit over the partying, but you still have to get up at, you know, when the alarm goes off morning after morning and make that decision to go to work and keep on working, and he stuck at it. And. And that's really been a theme for him, hasn't it? Just that diligence and the hard work.

Exactly. I mean, you know, Tristan bought his first property whilst at university.

Yeah.

You know, like at uni.

Wasn't sober enough.

I'm thinking the same thing. Didn't want to say it publicly, but I'm thinking I did have other priorities at that time. And thank goodness he had that fabulous mortgage broker who gave him some ideas. You know, he bought that off the plan. He leased the other room to someone else.

Yeah. You know, actually, it reminded me we had another member of the community, Stephen. Yeah. He had a. He actually rented out his couch on Airbnb and since done bedrooms and so.

On to create his deposit. Yeah. That's how determined he was to make some money.

Great strategy.

Yeah, absolutely. And I guess the thing is that, you know, not only did Tristan buy that first property, make that commitment and work and go to uni full time, and now he's, you know, putting his. His Attention into his career and gee, you know, working hard at that as well.

Yeah, sounds really good. So it's interesting he's doing a mixture of, and I didn't actually know this commercial valuation that specializes in childcare centers. So obviously Nisha's right down that whole valuation thing, which would make sense. It does. But he's also doing the residential and it sounds like he's churning out a few of those and carving out a career for himself.

Puts his hand up. I didn't realize they were compensated on the. The job done rather than having a base salary. So, yeah, he's definitely not someone who worries about hard work. So thank you to Kieran who introduced him to us because truly I can see why he thought he was one of the most inspirational stories in the.

COVID It was a great heads up. And yeah, if anyone else has any stories like that that would like to hear on the podcast, we'd love to hear about it.

Absolutely, absolutely. We always get excited about hearing about people's successes, don't we?

Yeah, it's great. Well, it's just great to, I mean, we've had some great guests, obviously some really top experts, but it's really good to hear just the stories of normal everyday people. Property investing and making a real go of it.

Absolutely. And they're the books that I really enjoyed in the beginning when they just had, you know, the story, the simple stories that people took, you know, because sometimes it's just, you can look at the top of the mountain and go, oh my God, I can never get there. But you can look at the baby steps and go, geez, if I just do this one thing and this, this next thing and just this next thing and then it becomes absolutely, absolutely achievable. And that's what I like about this, you know, bite it off, have a go, do something, get in there, take some action. And that's the real thing that a lot of people don't do.

Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, he's a really humble guy, isn't he? Said yes, success and is a, is a choice you make, but no one does it on their own. You, you know, everyone has help along the way. And yeah, he certainly had some help at those critical points, but EFG made the most.

And you know, when we talk to him about, you know, who do we. Does he turn to online and books and things to listen to? He came up with one of our favorite Jan Summers. Yeah. And if you haven't heard that podcast, go to podcast two and listen to the episode with her she's amazing himself. But today, a very different episode, John. And one that I hope inspired all of you listening in the way that it has inspired us.

Yes.

And now, John, we have come to that moment in each program that. That everybody is waiting for.

Yes, it's that time again where you get the chance to test your suburb knowledge while the entire nation holds its breath. Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to play Suburbs against the Clock. The rules are simple. To play, all you have to do is answer a question about 10 suburbs in the city of your choice. Within 20 seconds, the lucky winner of Suburbs against the Clock will win one year's free access to your Property Success Club. Your Property Success Club is an in depth monthly masterclass which gives you the practical tools needed to grow your portfolio yourself without having to spend a fortune on expensive seminars or even leaving your own home. So who do we have standing by to play Suburbs against the Clock?

Oh, hi.

Hello, Sarah.

Hello.

Yes, I'm here now.

Oh, well done.

And now are you playing for Perth, Sarah?

Yes, please. Since I've only been in Australia for.

A couple of years, so I don't know an awful lot about anywhere, but per.

Okay, well, I'm just looking down our list of questions here and given that little bit of information, we might ask the third one rather than the first one. Jane, you're particularly cruel with the first one.

I thought.

I thought the first one was nice.

Okay, so Sarah, are you familiar with the rules?

Yes.

Okay, can you name.

So what's the question?

Okay, I'll give it to you now. Can you name 10 Perth suburbs with two words in the title?

Peppermint Grove, Wembley Downs, North Perth. South Perth, East Perth.

17 seconds.

Keep going.

South Fremantle, east of.

I think that's 10. I think that's 10. I've run out of figures.

Good job. And well done to that voice in the background too. Fabulous. I didn't actually think of the East, West, north, south, but that was fabulous. That was your lateral thinking all over. You are going to have access to your Property Success Club, the annual membership, and we'll organize that for you too, Sarah. Well done. And I'm sure you'll be able to use it to get to know other suburbs in other states as well.

Thanks, Sarah. And if you'd like to be a contestant on Suburbs against the Clock, or you have a suggestion for a question for our contestants, please contact us@supportourpropertysuccess.com and use the subject line Suburbs against the Clock.

And as always, for the full transcript of today's show and all of the show notes and links to everything mentioned in the show, including some free property investment training for our community, go to YourPropertySuccess.com EP13 that's YourPropertySuccess.com the letter E for Echo, P for Papa, and the number 13. So that's all for today. Thank you to Tristan, our wonderful guest, and a huge shout out to his foster mum.

Judy.

You are a wonderful person. You've created a wonderful person and you must be very proud. Stay safe everyone, and here's to your property success.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's important for you to understand that you need to take care in applying what you've heard on this podcast to your own personal circumstances. Everyone's situation is different and while we go to great lengths to ensure that everything we share is accurate, the information in today's podcast was based on personal experiences and opinions and is not intended to be specific to your circumstances. We are not real estate agents, financial planners, lawyers or accountants and are not liable for any loss, damage or misunderstanding caused by reliance on any information provided or inferred. We highly recommend you seek out the services of a professional or mentor to help chart your own path to property success.