Latest news with #propertyportfolio
Daily Telegraph
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Telegraph
Clever teen act nets Aussie $5m on the side
A Sydneysider who started saving for his first property at just 14 has given an insight into what's achievable for lower income earners willing to make sacrifices and be disciplined with their spending. Jon Fulluck, now 37 and working as a software salesman, owns six properties across two countries – with his four Aussie properties having a combined value of roughly $5 million and total gross rental income of about $160,000 a year. It's a portfolio he said was made possible by clever timing, a willingness to take risks and laser-focus on saving as much money as he could. Mr Fulluck said knowing how to work the banking system further helped. He learned early on how to get brokers to work for him and find financing options he may otherwise have missed. 'Banks will happily lend you to your eyeballs but I've always been careful,' he said. 'The important thing is to get started. Do something as soon as you can.' He added that taking action – even with a limited income – was a mentality he adopted right from the beginning. 'I started saving when I was 14,' Mr Fulluck said, recounting the beginning of an 18-year journey marked by discipline, delayed gratification, and a refusal to follow a conventional path. 'I just saved from various jobs. I worked as a kitchen hand, delivered newspaper. Lots of dead end jobs. I didn't know much, but I knew and understood property always goes up in value. 'Both of my parents were teachers and I had seen them struggle financially. That was one of my main motivators.' Mr Fulluck, then based in the UK, bought his first property at 19: a one-bedroom unit in Essex. He still holds it today. Four years later, after an 18-month stint coaching tennis abroad and working at summer camps, he bought his second property — a four-bedroom house – again in the UK. He was just 22. 'That one has only got nine years left on the mortgage,' he said. 'Hopefully I've got a nice little nest egg sitting there in a decade's time that I can start enjoying.' He later moved to Sydney when was 25 years old and by 29 was eyeing out opportunities to get into the Australian market. At 30, a chance encounter over two glasses of wine at a vineyard led to his third property purchase in the NSW town of Orange – a scenic, food-and-wine-rich regional town with rising real estate clout. 'I actually knew Orange was always going to do well,' he said. 'The property I ended up buying was near a highly sought-after school and was on 900 sqm with future development potential.' He bought it for $407,000. It's now worth $700,000 and rents for about $600 a week. Mr Fulluck marked a turning point in his portfolio in 2021 with the purchase of his Sydney home — what he calls a 'milestone property' — funded by a work bonus. It's now worth $1.7 million and brought his property total to four. By 2023, he'd pulled equity from the Orange property and used it to acquire two more four-bedroom homes in Brisbane. Each of those Brisbane homes is valued today at around $950,000 and they produce $1500 a week in combined rent. He said the Olympics motivated his purchase in Brisbane and he used a buyer's agent to help with the deal. About 40 per cent of the value of the total Australian portfolio is equity, with his mortgage obligations accounting for the rest, he said. Michael Pell, managing director of Propell Property, said Jon Fulluck embodied the essence of a long-term investor. 'Jon didn't come from money,' Mr Pell said. 'You don't need to have plenty of money if you start with the right mindset. Mr Fulluck said one of the hardest parts of investing was staying the course through good times and bad. 'Sure, as an investor, you are living life with little disposable cash sometimes … but investing all of your cash means really good things in the long run. 'It can be quite stressful seeing how many zeros you have in minus against your name. I try not to think about it too much because I know I can always sell if I need to,' he said. His philosophy is part austerity, part clarity of purpose. 'If you don't do it, then you are just going to be living in the system, paying high tax, never having financial freedom, never owning any property and you'll just be part of the cycle.'
News.com.au
7 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Clever teen act nets Aussie $5m on the side
A Sydneysider who started saving for his first property at just 14 has given an insight into what's achievable for lower income earners willing to make sacrifices and be disciplined with their spending. Jon Fulluck, now 37 and working as a software salesman, owns six properties across two countries – with his four Aussie properties having a combined value of roughly $5 million and total gross rental income of about $160,000 a year. It's a portfolio he said was made possible by clever timing, a willingness to take risks and laser-focus on saving as much money as he could. Mr Fulluck said knowing how to work the banking system further helped. He learned early on how to get brokers to work for him and find financing options he may otherwise have missed. 'Banks will happily lend you to your eyeballs but I've always been careful,' he said. 'The important thing is to get started. Do something as soon as you can.' He added that taking action – even with a limited income – was a mentality he adopted right from the beginning. 'I started saving when I was 14,' Mr Fulluck said, recounting the beginning of an 18-year journey marked by discipline, delayed gratification, and a refusal to follow a conventional path. 'I just saved from various jobs. I worked as a kitchen hand, delivered newspaper. Lots of dead end jobs. I didn't know much, but I knew and understood property always goes up in value. 'Both of my parents were teachers and I had seen them struggle financially. That was one of my main motivators.' Mr Fulluck, then based in the UK, bought his first property at 19: a one-bedroom unit in Essex. He still holds it today. Four years later, after an 18-month stint coaching tennis abroad and working at summer camps, he bought his second property — a four-bedroom house – again in the UK. He was just 22. 'That one has only got nine years left on the mortgage,' he said. 'Hopefully I've got a nice little nest egg sitting there in a decade's time that I can start enjoying.' He later moved to Sydney when was 25 years old and by 29 was eyeing out opportunities to get into the Australian market. At 30, a chance encounter over two glasses of wine at a vineyard led to his third property purchase in the NSW town of Orange – a scenic, food-and-wine-rich regional town with rising real estate clout. 'I actually knew Orange was always going to do well,' he said. 'The property I ended up buying was near a highly sought-after school and was on 900 sqm with future development potential.' He bought it for $407,000. It's now worth $700,000 and rents for about $600 a week. Mr Fulluck marked a turning point in his portfolio in 2021 with the purchase of his Sydney home — what he calls a 'milestone property' — funded by a work bonus. It's now worth $1.7 million and brought his property total to four. By 2023, he'd pulled equity from the Orange property and used it to acquire two more four-bedroom homes in Brisbane. Each of those Brisbane homes is valued today at around $950,000 and they produce $1500 a week in combined rent. He said the Olympics motivated his purchase in Brisbane and he used a buyer's agent to help with the deal. About 40 per cent of the value of the total Australian portfolio is equity, with his mortgage obligations accounting for the rest, he said. Michael Pell, managing director of Propell Property, said Jon Fulluck embodied the essence of a long-term investor. 'Jon didn't come from money,' Mr Pell said. 'You don't need to have plenty of money if you start with the right mindset. Mr Fulluck said one of the hardest parts of investing was staying the course through good times and bad. 'Sure, as an investor, you are living life with little disposable cash sometimes … but investing all of your cash means really good things in the long run. 'It can be quite stressful seeing how many zeros you have in minus against your name. I try not to think about it too much because I know I can always sell if I need to,' he said. His philosophy is part austerity, part clarity of purpose. 'If you don't do it, then you are just going to be living in the system, paying high tax, never having financial freedom, never owning any property and you'll just be part of the cycle.'
Times
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Sierra Leone's first lady rents a council flat in south London
The first lady of Sierra Leone is understood to be the tenant of a council flat in south London despite owning an extensive property portfolio in Africa. Fatima Jabbe-Bio, a former actress, left London in 2018 when her husband, Julius Maada Bio, became president. Since then, the couple have lived in the presidential lodge in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. Set in extensive grounds in the hills above the city, the luxury mansion is equipped with a swimming pool, tennis courts and a helipad. Records show that Jabbe-Bio, 44, registered to vote at a two-bedroom council flat in Southwark several times since 2009. Southwark council confirmed that the flat has had the same tenant since 2007, indicating that Jabbe-Bio continues to rent the property.
Telegraph
07-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
How to survive the great property sell-off
Email secretlandlord@ with your comments and questions. It's been almost a decade since I sat in my accountant's office, along with top tax specialists, trying to work out what to do with the introduction of 'Section 24' and my personally owned portfolio. It was an insanely stressful time to learn everything I'd built was likely about to be taxed into extinction. Section 24 effectively signalled the dramatic scaling back of landlords' tax relief from mortgage interest. We explored a multitude of options including setting up a company, looking into partnerships, but the bottom line was: it was easier to start selling. The plan was: sell a few every year, pay down debt and hopefully I'd survive. Was it the best plan? I don't know. The benefit of hindsight is you could always have taken a different path, but I know for myself now, I'm much happier to own a smaller, more manageable portfolio and still be in business. Since then, I've bought a couple of other properties, in a company structure, so when a reader emailed me with their question about how best to dispose of a property portfolio held in a company, my interest was piqued. Our reader asked: Record numbers of landlords are now incorporating, or buying properties in a limited company structure (as at February this year there are now over 400,000 companies with buy-to-let properties), so this is a pertinent and timely question. I spoke to Sarah Bowen, a tax director at Thompson Wright, to get her thoughts. Sarah said there are a couple of ways to sell a limited company. One route is to go down the agency approach and contact a company who specialises in business sales. Because they normally charge an upfront fee, she advises you ask for a few testimonials. However, given it is a property company, Sarah feels you may be best placed talking to a property agent, who are likely to know other landlords who may be interested in buying the company wholesale. She is keen to point out you should speak to your accountant about undertaking a valuation of the company. Sarah agrees with you that selling the company 'may be more tax efficient this is because you will pay capital gains tax at 24pc'. She also says: 'If you sold the properties inside the company, then there would be corporation tax to pay at between 19pc and 25pc depending on your profit level. You would then, of course, still have to extract that money from the company as either a dividend or salary attracting personal tax.' Sarah wanted to highlight that selling a company is different to selling a property, so you'll need to make sure you have a solicitor who has experience in company sales. When selling a company there are some things you need to remember and would be worth you preparing in advance for, she advises. They include: Due diligence Because the person buying your company is also buying its history, they will undertake due diligence to check you don't have any skeletons in the closet. This means you should conduct a thorough audit of the properties. Health check Before you go to market, check all your leases are up to date and required certificates (such as gas safety) are valid. Also ensure your accounting records are up to date and accurate. I found Sarah's advice to be illuminating, and given I do own some properties in a company, it was really useful to think about these scenarios. What did occur to me (as regards the properties I hold personally) was the flexibility that has been afforded me for selling as and when the time arises, rather than lock-stock-and-barrel as per the company sale. Of course, that brings with it a whole new set of problems (notably tax), so it's really important to think about this and plan well in advance. I've often reflected if I made the right decision not to have sold my portfolio as a job lot all those years ago, but for me at that time, I wasn't ready for a full market exit. The path I chose – to restructure and sell individual properties – has been arduous, stressful and expensive. Going forwards, I'm sure property company sales will become more common and it's likely we'll soon see a whole new breed of estate agents catering specifically for this sector of the market. However, the same rules still apply – prepare and plan in plenty of time.
