Property Princess

Meet Sonya Matthews, successful property investor and stay at home mother of two boys. We last saw Sonya on last week’s A Current Affair program where she spoke about her property portfolio and the success she has achieved over a short period of time. Today Sonya gives us some insight into how she has become the latest Property Princess and shares her tips on how you can do it too.

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Property, Travel or Car?
Sonya is humble about her success and admits that investing was not always a priority. She began her property portfolio with her husband (then boyfriend). “He wanted to buy a house. I wanted to travel the world and buy a sports car. So I compromised. We bought the house, then travelled, and I am no longer interested in sports cars!” , she says with a laugh.

First Property
Sonya and her husband began their investment portfolio ten years ago in Hoppers Crossing, Victoria. “Our first investment property has not been our most successful – but we still have it! I think we paid about $148,000, and it’s probably worth around $230,000 now, so not a huge capital growth. However, we have refinanced it to purchase another investment property and it’s ‘positively geared’ now, so there’s no reason not to keep it.”

Using Equity
At this point in time Sonya and Tony hadn’t thought too much about finance issues and they were happy to land another investment property using a cash deposit. “But then I learnt about using equity”, say Sonia. “To illustrate the point we have purchased 6 out of 8 properties this way. We now have one property in Adelaide, three in Rockhampton and three in Brisbane/SE Qld”.

Getting Educated
But Sonya is not afraid to tell us that her investment strategy has not always been simple. “Up until earlier this year, when I attended the Reno Kings workshops, I would describe our strategy as many things, including non-strategic, wayward, scattered, all-over-the-place, hazy. Now it is focussed on acquiring and holding sufficient capital-growth properties to enable both of us to choose whether we are going to work for a boss each day …or do something else”.

Research
When assessing potential investments Sonya reveals that she use to look through the property section of newspapers and now uses realestate.com.au. Plus she has also engaged the services of an excellent Buyer’s Agent! (Investigate Property). Sonya also advises that she reads everything she can and is keen to share her opinion regarding the Reno Kings workshops.

The Reno Kings
“I’m the Reno Kings’ number one fan! I can’t speak highly enough of the workshops or the people. The Reno Kings Team is extremely knowledgeable, experienced and qualified in property matters. The Team has an openness, friendliness and integrity that is infectious and supportive. The Workshops provide information about all of the aspects needed to build a property portfolio, as well as a place to talk to, and form contacts with, like-minded people. If I had done the workshops five years ago, I think we might have achieved our goals already!”

It is the Reno Kings workshops that have helped Sonya form her strategy for investment. “Like the Reno Kings, part of my strategy is to look for properties that I can renovate”, say Sonia. “I LOVE renovating and follow the Reno Kings advice by spending 5-10% of the purchase price of a property on renovations. I love that you can buy a grotty, unloved, uncared for but structurally acceptable house (with certain characteristics), clean, paint, tile, landscape and a few other things and add considerable equity in a few weeks. Earlier this year, we did a buy-reno-hold project where we purchased for $322,000, spent $20,000 renovating (and finding an extra bedroom) and now I would estimate this property to be worth around the $400,000 mark".

Do-it-yourself or not
“We do most of our own renovating but we do contract out plumbing, electrical, tree-lopping (anything dangerous or needing qualifications) and have recently started paying for floor polishing as it is more time-effective for us. We usually do our own cleaning, painting, tiling, landscaping, aesthetic ‘tricks’ and repairing. We have also painted roofs, replaced ceilings, removed wall-mounted air conditioners and ‘invisibly’ patched the holes – whatever it takes to remove or distract from the kack-factor and turn on the wow-factor. I believe what renovators do themselves and what they contract out should be particular to each renovation project”, Sonya reveals.

Recommended Reading
When we asked Sonya about giving advice to our reads she said, ”Read, Read, Read. A subscription to The Australian Property Investor Magazine is essential. There is also a new journal on the market called Your Investment Property. There are many excellent books written by successful Australian property investors that well describe the areas one should be informed about when going into property investment….and attend one of the Reno Kings workshops – most worthwhile”.

Visit http://propertywomen.com.au for more profiles on women in property investing

Sonya’s Renovating Tips

• I totally agree with the Reno Kings to use a single colour for internal painting.
• For an external colour scheme, I engage a colour consultant (in some cases their services are free if you purchase paint from the store they are associated with, and I’ve never paid more than about $130 for the consultation). A skilled colour consultant can make a very ordinary house look stunning. I am amazed every time.
• Street appeal is enormously important when renovating to increase value, so get the experts to help you. Their fee is negligible against the result.
• Learn how to tile! Along with painting, it’s about the ‘biggest bang for your buck’! There is a reasonable amount of planning and preparation (just like painting), but once you start placing those tiles, the area is transformed. The tiles need not be expensive, but can you imagine the impact
• However, if the tiles are firmly attached to the walls and keeping water on the correct side of the tiles, do not remove them - paint them instead!!!