17 Properties + $2m Equity in 4 Years: Tim and Katie’s Investing Journey

Sammy (0:05)

On that note, and speaking about 2030, and then speaking about some clients that I've had and known very well, I think we first met in about 2020 and then properly came on board in 2022 And very finally, last and all, yesterday, four years ago, was when these guys settled their first year with APS as well. So without any further ado, I'd like to welcome Tim and Katie to your seats, let's go.

Now, guys, we have been, yeah, like I was saying, working together for a bloody long time. You've obviously been doing a lot before.

You've done a few things obviously before we started working together. And then obviously COVID hit. We had that first conversation, I remember very well in your house in that southwestern of Sydney. And to a bit of comparison, Sydney versus Melbes, what do you reckon?

Tim (0:55)

Sydney's got it.

Katie (0:56)

Every day.

SPEAKER_4 (0:57)

The weather is shit here.

Katie (0:59)

Yeah, it's too cold.

Sammy (1:00)

Man, I flew out of Gold Coast. It was 28 degrees and I fly into this. It was about 80 degrees. Where am I? Where am I? And the silver dog pops his head up.

How's it feel? It's been a big journey.

Tim (1:12)

Yeah, it's been wild, especially this year, just to kind of look back. And, you know, I think, you know, as we'll go into, there's it's been such a big journey over the last couple of years. And, you know, even before we started with APS, it's, you know, we still had that commitment to continue where we're at. But to look back and see how far we've come is just surreal, like absolutely surreal.

Sammy (1:37)

How do you feel? Because it's a funny thing. I always send the investor almost a prep sheet out before, obviously, so everyone can have a bit of time to digest and think about it and reflect on the journey, instead of just thinking about our time on the day. When you think back to, I guess, where you've come from buying that first property even obviously well before APS, and then the journey that you've had since being with APS as well, how does that feel looking back on that?

Tim (1:59)

Well, it's crazy, right? Because that first deal before APS, we thought that was the right thing to do.

Clearly, it wasn't, as we'll get into. But when we look at it now, we're just like, how quickly we've just been able to turn that around. Well, maybe not quickly.

Katie (2:16)

Especially the last couple of years, the last two years.

Tim (2:19)

Yeah. But I think as we kind of matured and grew as a family and as a team, it really just solidified our north direction.

Once we kind of got all those players lined up, it just skyrocketed.

Sammy (2:34)

We say, it's funny because you sort of say, oh, maybe not that quickly. You've done 17 deals, right? Most of which have come in the last three to four years.

Tim (2:42)

Yeah. Yeah.

Katie (2:43)

Last year.

Sammy (2:44)

I'd say that's pretty quick, man. That's a fair run.

Tim (2:47)

Yeah. But I think when you look at it-

Katie (2:49)

I think you get caught up into what's going on and you don't look back and think.

Tim (2:53)

Yeah.

I think because I'm coming from the perspective where we bought our first investment 10 years ago. So it hasn't been three, four years that we've been at this journey. It's been three, four years we've been at the journey of APS. But we've been at it for 10 years and that whole time, looking back, you think like, wow, if we can do it in a couple of years and honestly, anyone can with the right mental, with the right team, with the right direction, with the right advice.

Sammy (3:26)

So reflect them back on it. Are you proud though?

Tim (3:28)

100 percent.

Sammy (3:29)

Yeah.

Tim (3:29)

Yeah. Still got a long way to go.

Sammy (3:31)

You know, it's a funny thing, though, right? And I think it's an interesting piece. And Jimmy and I had a couple of, actually, Mel and Andrew, you guys are here tonight, aren't you? Hey, cheeky devil.

So interviewing them tonight, sorry, earlier this morning. And it's an interesting thing of the journey, man, and the lessons and the slower pieces at the start. And a lot of people forget, like even for myself, my portfolio didn't really take off until I was about 25 And I bought the first property at 19 And I only had two properties by the time I got to 25 And then I realized how to actually play the game properly after trialing a few different strategies. And like it's funny because so many journeys are like that before they find the right secret source, you know what I mean? Or the right turbocharger to send the portfolio properly. And, you know, even with myself, I look at that first six years and I look at what so many clients do in the first six years. But it's those lessons a lot of the time that we learn along the way that a lot of the time, it's not until you sort of get to the right point, get the right information, the right advice, that you can reflect back on that piece and go, well, they were the lessons, I made those errors, but now I'm going to make up for lost time because there was so much time there sitting on the sidelines. And so often that's where it kind of goes, like you guys are saying, a lot of that's actually come in the last 12 to 24 months. And that a lot of the time is almost like that catapult being drawn back or the slingshot being drawn back. And it's almost everything, getting all those ducks in a row before it properly takes off.