Does anyone else feel like they're just treading water?

With all the APRA changes, my wife being on maternity leave and having an additional (adorable) mouth to feed, being able to make any investment changes seems like a long way away.

Our current portfolio includes two properties on the Central Coast, NSW (fantastic), two in Rockhampton, QLD (terrible), one in Logan, QLD (good) and five in Elizabeth, SA (good). On balance I'm reasonably happy with it, but I've had a few issues lately (documented on here, one being that I switched to P&I and I'm paying $30k more per year and the other was having a dodgy guy build a deck for me that's a bit of a deathtrap).

Money wise, we're not really going anywhere. Savings are actually decreasing a bit due to the additional payments, but equity is increasing and networth is very slowly increasing.

It probably doesn't help that I'm not enjoying my job anymore since we had a restructure that made it impossible for me to get my work done. I won't even bother mentioning what I think of my new boss.
And having a seven month old child that vomits none stop and doesn't sleep (but is a very happy child now, which makes it much better) also takes it out of me. I do the early nightshift that finishes between 3am and 4am and usually I'll get up three or four times per night.

I know that property investing is probably going to help me reduce work at some point in the future, but right now, I just feel like I'm not getting anywhere.

The one glimmer of hope that I have is that I keep checking whether the house next to mine in Woy Woy NSW is coming up for sale. If it ever does, I've agreed with my ex-mentor that she will buy it and we'll develop townhouses on the two blocks.
But I've spoken to the old guy living there and he said he's got no plans to leave.

I'm certainly not at any crisis point, but I'm just feeling a little bit lost to be honest.

 

Mmm, yes I know the feeling and like many of us (I think...) investing is almost our hobby, so we want it to be fulfilling. Could you do some analysis about how you could improve the properties to increase the rent, how you could offload the poor performers, or spread your learning/knowledge into other asset classes.

I am done accumulating and have spread my income to other asset classes - back on the slow learning curve in a new field.

 

Property investing can either be passive or active.....I'm a full time property investor and quit working for anyone else decades ago.

Until you release that shackle you will always feel melancholy. Start with doing a reno or two to derive income, then quit your job and live! (advice may or may not be completely rational).

 

I suspect there are many, many 'glimmer of hope' or differently phrased, 'glimmer of opportunity' situations all around you. Just need to cycle through different lenses .

It's like someone pointing out to you a certain make/style of car you've never seen before . Once its on your radar you suddenly begin to start noticing them all over the place when in fact they were always there .

I strongly believe how we view our situation is greatly influenced by which lens we are looking through at the time. Change the lens and suddenly whole new worlds of opportunities can emerge.

Me 2 cents .

 

I feel like I'm treading water a bit as well, but for different reasons. I've got money to spend, but don't want to make any silly mistakes.

I'm in a similar position.

IMHO, this is very bad advice. The OP has a new baby & extra payments totally $30pa & you suggest quitting work & do reno's?

Are you able to sell the Rockingham properties without being in a negative equity position? Sometimes just getting rid of the dogs is very cleansing, even if it means there's not much in the way of profit.

Maybe you can build a GF on one of the central cost properties for some extra income. Of course, that may mean accessing some finance, so not sure if you are able to do this at this stage.

 

Dont underestimate the impact of interrupted sleep.This stage of parenting was described to me as a marathon of sprints. Things get better, sleep gets longer and with fewer interruptions, and you get back your mental capacity to look at other options and get a bit more creative, but for now it is time to consolidate and bunker down - do what you need to in order to survive, and soon you will be back in a position to thrive!

Cheers,
Inertia

 

@spludgey this size portfolio puts you in the top 1% of property investors in terms of number of properties acquired, so you're ahead of the pack. You've diversified into various markets which seems to be (mostly) working for you.

You might have built momentum with your purchases, but now life (and APRA) gets in the way so it feels like treading water. Given the current lending environment in particular, most property investors will go through periods where they need to spend some time on the sidelines, it's frustrating for all of us. Unfortunately 'the long game' can be a bit of a bore, but if it's mapped out correctly the prize at the end of the marathon should make it all worthwhile.

Very good point @inertia . Sleep deprivation clouds our judgement, making our problems seem a lot worse than they are. Hang in there @spludgey

 

It can feel like that at times - you've got a mostly great portoflio, and a new family situation which is going to take some time to settle. Don't make the mistake of adding more unnecessary stress to your life when you're sleep-deprived and trying to adjust to a new family dynamic. I'd suggest looking for new work, perhaps, rather than new investments at this point.

Also, maybe educate yourself on some other investments - shares, etc - so when the time comes that there is some additional cashflow, you have the knowledge to put it to good use. Just learning something new in preparation can help make it not seem so much like treading water.

 

I think this needs to be emphasised more often.

 

Dude you're killing it and by the sound of things now is the time to enjoy some family time, look to consolidate any straggling investments and grow.

Over the next few years things should be come clearer.

 

Saying that money wise you are not going anywhere is wrong, to start with. Your financial situation IS improving as your equity/net worth increases. Investing is a marathon, not a sprint. The journey will consist of occasional good spurts with flat sections in between.

You have a PPOR and 10 IPs. If you do nothing else financially than pay down these IPs, you will have a more than comfortable retirement and financial security for life.

Life is tough with a young baby who keeps you up at night. It is no coincidence that sleep deprivation is a form of torture! Add to this a job that is not enjoyable.

Sit tight. Things will get better.
Marg

 

Totally sympathise with you spludgey, almost identical situation to you for both work and family. My wife's been on maternity leave for 10 months now and it's really disheartening to see the cash balance slow to a crawl.

We've just about hit our property lending/release limits, although in the current climate it seems we're not missing out on much anyway.

Thanks to asset diversification we were still doing fine, but now even the stock market is grinding to a halt. We are committed to staying invested in all our chosen asset classes, but nothing is appetising at the moment. Not that we have massive cashflow to fund the next investment anyway.

Good advice and sound structure has got us here, and it will get us through this slump Grinding the day job became much easier for us once we set up a countdown for passive income retirement; worth doing if that's one of your financial goals.

 

On this note in particular... I really need to start handing these out to the team (just been called in to another meeting)

 

little bit the same . Kicking my self that we don't have more in hobart than Brisbane , but can't really change it now .

Looking at ways to increase income which are going to be
1) granny flat in back yard of PPOR , but wife has to be happy to do this and she's come around now .
2) start renting out weekender part time , but doing work on it to make it rentable the way we want it )
3) convert one of our hobart units from 1 to 2 bedder while renoing it

Cliff

 

depending where you are in your financial position, like many said if selling one lets u keep 9 and make your life easier... just sell ?

did you diversify to share/other assets seeing that you have 10 ip ?
if u didnt, now might a be a good time to consider selling and diversifying.

 

Sounds like your just getting used to parent life! You'll get used to the little to no sleep! you can survive and function on <6hrs broken sleep. Plus you have a combination of work being a pita. Stick it out for a few more months.

You need to ignore the IP's for a bit and they'll keep doing their thing. Take some annual leave or you may be able to milk some stress leave i wouldn't be quitting your job in a hurry, as you just need to find the right corner to sit in and lay low collecting pay slips! Lol
Or the other alternative is to look for another job. Sydney is going nuts atm so you may be able to find something easily. ..but the role likely won't have the current perks plus longer hrs.

Take a week off and relax with the fam!

 

@spludgey - I'm going to suggest have a skip level meeting. I'm sure the business would rather have you be happy and productive at work rather than feeling as you are. Maybe you can do something slightly different and report to another manager?

In my new (current) company, my new manager had expectations that could not be fulfilled. (He was very far removed from the day to day work I actually did)... However, I spoke up and told someone about this - (the gap between what he was expecting and the work the business actually needs...) as a result within a couple of weeks we drew up a new job description for me and we changed who I report to (my skip level manager at the time and the people around me thankfully are very reasonable and good to work with). I think when you have a good employee, you don't want them to be unhappy.

Around that time we had another good employee leave after only maybe 6 weeks in the job (he found another job just a hop, skip and a jump away from home) and the business desperately needed to retain good competent people. Interestingly, we do have talented and nice people on board, it's wonderful.

Properties - you can't buy more - that's not unusual. But you've done very well to own as many as you do. Natural price growth doesn't happen forever, its all a cycle. Glad to hear also that your Elizabeth ones are doing well - I think tenants could be problematic but if it booms... you are getting the benefit of the 5 properties.

 

I think this advice is right on the money. It's definitely not the time to be quitting your job or taking on extra risk, in a market where the general risk profile and need for active management are increasing. Look into some other investment options to diversify and enjoy your baby. I don't think the feeling of being a bit in the doldrums is just you, I'm right there with you. It's okay to take a backstep and to remember property investment is a (very) long term plan.

 

I think quitting a job is ok. But make sure you have another to go to!

 

Yes, definitely that, I was referring more to another suggestion that the OP quit and start renovating. That might not be the brightest idea to jump on right now.