FROM COUCH TO PROPERTY INVESTOR

VIVA HYDE

TYLER Carroll was 17 years-old when his family lost their home, forcing the university student to spend months couch surfing while struggling to maintain a busy study schedule and parttime job.

Now aged 24, the marketing manager owns his own home as well as two investment properties generating $15,400 in annual income.

“A lot of the time, 20something people who buy investment properties had help from their parents, or had their board covered, but regardless of your circumstances, getting on the property ladder is available to anyone who wants to have a crack at it,” Mr Carroll said.

“With just shy of $40,000 of my own cash invested, I now have three properties totalling a value of more than $1.1 million.

“I did this with no help from family and just on one full-time salary. All of these loans are 100 per cent in my name, too.”

Mr Carroll was one of three brothers raised by a single mum who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and dependent on a disability pension when she was unable to work.

They struggled financially and moved between rentals on the southern Gold Coast more than 20 times during his childhood.

“Then when I was in my first year of university we had to leave the place we were renting in Palm Beach, again due to a rent raise,” Mr Carroll said.

The family and his eldest brother’s partner rotated staying in a two-bedroom unit, but when no beds were available Mr Carroll had to sleep elsewhere.

“I was couch surfing at 17, homeless but not on the street.”

He landed a $70,000 salary with a Gold Coast construction equipment company after graduating and saved $25,000 over two years, purchasing a Varsity Lakes unit for $430,000 in 2020 with the first-home deposit scheme.

Latest Proptrack data shows the central suburb of Varsity Lakes was the Coast’s top buyer market where listings were up but demand had dropped.

By this year, Mr Carroll was on a $90,000 salary and purchased two investment units at Beenleigh. They cost $220,000 and $240,000 and were rented for $320 and $290 respectively.

“I watched my Varsity property skyrocket in value to $550,000 by the end of 2021, and in January 2022 I pulled out the equity and bought my first investment.”

Mr Carroll said opportunities existed for savvy investors, regardless of rising interest rates.

“If you look at the stock market and crypto crashes, property is still the safest asset class. You can buy in any market as long as you have the objectives.

“I’d buy now for cash flow rather than for capital growth,” he said.

Last year, Mr Carroll also started a side hustle business called Spark Performance Gum, manufacturing and supplying caffeinated chewing gum to the endurance athlete market as an energy supplement.