Clearly defining my strategy

Hello Property chatters!

I am a long time lurker of the Somersoft and PC forums, having met and dealt with a handful of members through my own investments, I am very grateful for the forums and could not have made it this far without your help.

I am about 3 years into investing and thought it was time (even if a little late) that I share my current position and ask for some help clearly defining a strategy to achieve my end goal. I have been hesitant to share some financial details until now, but think this is necessary to grow.
I know there is a wealth of knowledge on these forums, and while I am eager to do my own hard work and learning, I understand the benefits in reaching out for help from those who have already achieved it. The importance of clearly defining a strategy is something I hear and read so frequently and I am not sure it is something I have successfully done yet. I would appreciate any advice or positive criticism.

A little about myself-
I'm a 28 year old male from Sydney, employed in the earthmoving industry as a Plant Mechanic/Auto Electrician. Joint income with partner is about $150,000.
I have always had an interest in property investing, and being made redundant from my position in 2013 forced us to lease out our PPOR which helped kick things off, good things can be found in anything.
We live cheaply, well below our means, I don't want to be filthy rich and drive a fancy car, I don't want a business man status and I don't wish to retire at age 30.
I enjoy working, I just wish to have choices in life, time to relax with a happy family with lots of time for holidays, be self sufficient and not wind up on the pension.

The end goal-
In about 10 years from now, our goal is to own a Holiday farm/ Health retreat which my partner and I will run as a full time business, approximately 2 million purchase price and within 2 hours of Sydney.
I would like to live on site and also have a main residence which can be leased for holiday stays, occasionally hold health retreats which my partner will run including massage, yoga, cooking, etc.
Potentially down the track maybe run corporate stays or even weddings.
I would be happy to work a casual job to keep me busy whilst also maintaining the property myself.

My current strategy-
My plan on getting to this point has been buy & hold, to generate as much equity as possible to assist in the future purchase of this property, whilst maintaining a neutral to positive cash flow throughout the acquisition phase. Focusing on existing homes only, short to medium term capital growth, with value adding potential and a portfolio spread over all states to provide diversification for steady growth and minimise land tax.
I'm a strong believer of the K.I.S.S system! I like to keep it simple, no fancy houses, no messy dual occupancies, no mining towns and no developments, I know these can work great for some people but I am not one of them! I do however enjoy doing some hands on cosmetic renovations and landscaping myself.
I do not consider myself a risk taker and I am not a genius/property tycoon. I would like to take the safe road and let time do the rest. I hope to never sell but understand sometimes this can be the best thing to do.
I have purchased one property each year for the last 3 years and plan to continue doing so until I am in the position to purchase the retreat.

My current position-
In 2013 my partner and I purchased a PPOR in Port Stephens NSW. This property is in joint names, we vacated the property in 2013 to move back to Sydney where we are renting.
Purchase price $290,000, Debt $240,000 Interest only 4.80% with CBA, Current value estimate $330,000, renting for $340pw. I offset this mortgage with all savings, currently about $70,000. We may move back into this property before the capital gains tax exemption expires to do some cheap living and hard saving so I do not plan to borrow against it, I consider this a Plan B to live in cheaply or plan C if needed- sell tax free.

2014 I purchased a 3 bedroom house in Waterford West, QLD. My name only.
Purchase price $310,000, Debt $240,000 regrettably with ING 4.99% P+I fixed until 2019.
This rents for $360pw and currently estimate vale to be about $320,000

2015 I purchased a 5 bedroom house also in Waterford West, also $310,000, My name only.
$284,000 Debt with Choice Lend 5.06%, interest only
Rents for $420pw, estimate value to be maybe $350,000, bought well on this home and did a 5k renovation.

2016, I am hoping to buy again late this year, at the moment I am considering the south Adelaide coast such as Christie's beach. As I am not sure that I have the equity available just yet, I will most likely pay down the loan on our first property and split the buying expenses so that it is deductible, this is what I did on previous purchases to hopefully make this loan 100% good debt if we choose to move back in.

Going off my numbers I currently net +$45 pw
LVR is 77%
I have BMT depreciation schedules on all properties.
I live off credit card and offset all savings.

If you see any cracks in what I am doing or can share any advice please do.

My questions-

Is my current strategy suitable to achieve this goal?

To achieve my end goal, what kind of financial position do I need to be in? With what kind of structure? My broker has informed me that I will most likely need 20% deposit + 5% expenses for the purchase of retreat, should my goal be to have $420,000 in equity, or should I also focus on building cash flow to support the repayments on this property?

At what point, if any should I be purchasing in a company/trust?

Who could help in clearly defining a strategy for me to stick to, with a timeline so that I know I am on the right track?


Thanks for taking the time to read, will happily share any more information needed and really appreciate any input.