Simon and Amanda Swift of Swift Property Solutions began their journey to financial independence in 2001. While Simon admits that positive cash-flow opportunities were more readily available at the time of the boom, he still maintains that opportunities exist for the strategic and creative investor.
As well as owning their own home in Adelaide, Simon and Amanda, aged 29 and 25 respectively, now own 14 positive cash-flow properties which net a total of $51,275 per year in cash flow.
“The reason I started investing in property was to replace my income so that I wouldn’t have to rely on a job for money,” says Simon.
Simon’s philosophy is to buy a house that is going to increase in value so that you’re able to charge more rent. The
old ‘worst house in the best street’ theory is paramount to positive cash-flow investing.
As far as loans are concerned, Simon and Amanda opt for five-year interest-only loans. This means that their outlay is considerably less than if they were paying principal & interest, and therefore increases their cash flow.
In the current market, capital growth is more difficult to come by, so investors have to be more proactive when it comes to increasing the value
of their property. Simon and Amanda are no exception to this rule and in
May 2006 they bought two properties worth $50,000 in Leonora, WA and then renovated them to increase their rental value.
“The most important thing when renovating is to minimise costs so your outlay is less, but you want the place to appeal to renters at the same time,”
says Simon.
Simon and Amanda’s properties total $800,000 and give them $382,000 in equity for future purchases.
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