When Sally Lewis and her husband Owen began investing in property, they had the same goal as everyone else: to make money. Now, their fine-turned renovation strategy is boosting their portfolio and generating high rents – impressing our judges along the way. Congratulations to Sally: our 2017 Reno Investor of the Year!
Sally Lewis had the typical property investor’s dream in mind when, in 2010, she bought her first investment property with her husband, Owen.
“I was interested in property investing from an early age and wanted to create a portfolio that would ultimately allow us the ability to retire earlier, spend more time with our future family, and fulfil dreams to travel and enjoy life without the demands of long-term full-time work,” she explains.
“Initially, I was influenced by successful investors who had purchased a large amount of cheaper, cash-flow positive properties.”
That first investment was made with the goal of buying several similar properties in the hopes that the profit from rent would eventually serve as the couple’s main source of income. However, Lewis quickly figured out the negatives of investing with such a strategy.
”We realised the downfalls associated with lower entry properties – they’re higher maintenance, lower capital growth, and attract less reliable tenants. So we started to look for slightly more expensive properties in areas that were more likely to offer better tenants and better growth.”
Their renovation strategy has seen them enjoy six-figure profits over the years, but they’ve been “adaptive and creative” in their decisions, Sally says.
Read about how Sally has leveraged renovations to grow her wealth in the February 2018 issue of Your Investment Property magazine, out now!
