A homeowner on minimum wage

Even as a teenager, William Keedwell knew he wanted to get ahead on the property ladder.

Despite being on the minimum wage, the Masterton telecommunications worker bought his first house at 19, and has now paid off more than twothirds of his second house at the age of 24.

He chose investing in property to get financially sorted because he saw himself as a hands-on guy who could do most of the DIY work to improve the value of the property without too much expense.

After doing some research and getting advice from his parents, he realised he had to find a home with significant problems, and negotiate for a bargain.

He found a $190,000 home in Masterton that had a sleepout with no resource consent, and negotiated with the vendor to take $20,000 off the asking price.

He was able to use the difference as the effective deposit for the loan.

He was earning less than $30,000 at the time.

He bought that Cockburn St house in 2012 and sold it late last year for $257,000. He now owns another house in George St, which he is doing up.

He has a $60,000 mortgage and reckons his property will be worth $200,000 once he has finished the improvements.

Keedwell has been in some sort of employment since he was 12, when he earned $5 an hour in a Chinese takeaway in Carterton.

He said he had often had to forgo some of the pleasures his peers were enjoying to keep up his mortgage payments.

‘‘Instead of going out drinking, I would be saving that money for some paint.

‘‘It’s all about what your priorities are. If you prioritise to get ahead in life, then you have to work out what you have to do and do it.’’

He now works for Chorus on the lines network, and earns about $45,000 a year. He has just signed up for police college, and would also like to pursue a career in social work.

These days he has flatmates who help with the mortgage.

He did admit he had had his fair share of drama with tenants over the years, many of whom had been troubled youths whom he had helped out as part of his volunteer work as a youth leader.

Properties he has owned have been hit by burglaries, and he has had meth-smoking tenants, which led to low-level clean-up work.

These experiences have somewhat soured his views of being a landlord, though he did not rule out expanding his property portfolio in the future.

PHOTOS: PIERS FULLER/FAIRFAX NZ William Keedwell got on the property ladder by buying this Cockburn St home in Masterton, which had an asking price of $190,000 but he got it for $170,000. He sold it for $257,000 four years later.

William Keedwell bought this Masterton house for $120,000. He believes it will be worth $200,000 after he has finished doing it up.