Houso kid who was kicked out of home now has a $1.5million property portfolio: he shares his advice and the one mistake he will never make again
- Kev Tran is a first generation migrant
- Mr Tran lived in housing commission in Sydney
- His property portfolio totals about $1.5million
A man has revealed how he built a $1.5million property portfolio after growing up in housing commission and being kicked out of home at the age of 21.
Father-of-one Kev Tran is a first generation migrant whose parents settled in the western Sydney suburb of Liverpool after leaving Vietnam in the 1980s.
Mr Tran’s parents made bad investment decisions with property, which landed the family in social housing.
Father-of-one Kev Tran is a first generation migrant who despite growing up in housing commission and being kicked out of home at the age of 21 has built a property portfolio worth $1.5million
The 36-year-old, who works as a buyer’s agent at Sydney firm InvestorKit, vowed to not make the same mistakes as his parents and now owns three properties.
After failing high school, Mr Tran worked minimum wage jobs in restaurants, casinos and factories, crediting his parents for ingraining him with a strong work ethic.
‘I could see saving and being frugal was a big part of how our family operated, they worked really hard and they saved a lot.’ Mr Tran told news.com.au.
Mr Tran explained his parents sold their Sydney investment property in the early 2000s – a decision which fractured the marriage.
His mother wanted to keep the property but his father believed house prices in Sydney would increase and so the pair ultimately decided to sell the home.
Prices in Sydney continued to soar which caused a rift in his parents’ marriage, which led to the couple’s divorce during Mr Tran’s final years of high school.
The young Mr Tran was on track for higher education at university but the fractured household caused his marks to plummet resulting in a mystery ATAR score – a mark below 30.
His mother met a new partner and moved to Melbourne, while Mr Tran shared a room with his dad as they looked for their own place.
At 21 years old he was kicked out of the home for not getting along with the woman his dad remarried.
Mr Tran’s life started to change when he landed a job as a VIP host at the Star Casino.
He claimed the role ‘opened his eyes’ as he was exposed to a level of money which was the polar opposite of his frugal upbringing.
His interest in property grew as he began listening to podcasts and reading books before snapping up his first property at the age of 26.
Mr Tran snapped up his first property at the age of 26 – an $450,000 off-the-plan townhouse in the suburb of Cranbourne, Melbourne (pictured)
His second property purchase was a $380,000 three-bedroom home in the regional victorian town of Ballarat, which in the span of three years increased by more than a quarter of a million dollars in value
The property was an $450,000 off-the-plan townhouse in the suburb of Cranbourne, Melbourne.
‘When I settled it, I was hoping it would have gone up in value and it didn’t. That was a bummer,’ Mr Tran said.
‘When I bought it I didn’t know much about property. I’ve had it for the longest and it’s grown the least. It’s un under-performer,’ Mr Tran said.
Mr Tran resolved not to buy properties off the plan again and wanted to expand his portfolio with homes that were available for rent for a quicker return on investment.
His second property purchase was a $380,000 three-bedroom home in the regional victorian town of Ballarat, which was soon neutrally geared.
After holding the property for three years, the house was revalued and to Mr Tran’s surprise had risen in value by more than a quarter of a million dollars.
‘I was able to refinance that one at $650,000,’ he said.
For his third purchase, Mr Tran used the equity from his second investment to pay the entire down payment of a property in Queensland’s Towoomba.
Mr Tran wants to plans to continue building his property portfolio which is now estimated at about $1.5million.
