From the truck yard to four back yards in growing property portfolio

Fifty-two year old property investor Paul Camenzind owns three rental homes in three states and is about to dive into the purchase of a five-bed co-living home, anticipated to yield $400 per week, per room.

Recently engaged to his partner Michelle who is also a property investor, Mr Camenzind has the benefit of hindsight to plan his next purchase with certainty but has connected to one support group in particular that he consistently turns to for help.

In 2000, the trucking company employee bought a duplex in Palm Beach on the Gold Coast, Queensland, 10 minutes north of Coolangatta, NSW where median house prices are currently $1.2 million and have had an annual price growth of 14 per cent, according to the latest CoreLogic data.

Palm Beach has also seen 10 per cent price growth in the past year and has a current median house price is of $1.6 million (according to realestate.com).

Mr Camenzind lived and worked in the area, so did a walkthrough of the property, which is 200 metres from the beach, and decided to buy, outlaying at the time, $190,000.

Unfortunately, circumstances meant he had to let go of the property.

“It would be worth a lot more now, mega bucks,” he told API Magazine.

Moving 30 minutes from Palm Beach, south down the coast, Mr Camenzind settled in the Northern Rivers region of NSW, in a town called Pottsville, population 7,209, where he bought a block of land and built an eco-home.

“It’s fully offset from carbon emissions, and it arrives flat packed on a trailer, and they slapped it together within a week, and the way it’s designed is to meet energy ratings, and it has louvres to generate airflow, so it’s cool in the summer, warm in the winter.

“It was actually cheaper to buy the land and put that on it, than buy a house, so for a block with a new house on it I spent about $350,000 all up, lived in it for 10 years and now I rent it out,” he said.

It was around this time he decided to join the Brisbane-headquartered investment organisation, which tailors its services to people on average incomes, The Property Club.

“They found me a townhouse in Buderim that wasn’t that old and was $394,000, which I’m now renting it out.

Buderim, on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland is 80 minutes north of Brisbane and has had regional Queensland’s second highest price growth in the past year, after Southport.

Buderim’s annual price growth to 1 May, was 16.3 per cent, currently sitting on a median price of $1 million, a fraction behind Southport’s growth of 16.6 per cent.

Of all regional Australia, Buderim ranks sixth behind West Australia (WA)’s Bunbury (19.9 per cent), South Australia’s Barossa (17.9) and Yorke Peninsula (17.3), and Margaret River, WA (16.4).

Capitalising on Perth’s soaring property market

Mr Camenzind has now expanded his growing portfolio into Western Australia, where property prices are rising fast.

“A couple of years ago, I was able to put a $1,000 deposit down on a new place in Armadale, Western Australia which cost $280,000,” Mr Camenzind said.

A suburb of Perth, Armadale has seen 31.8 per cent price growth in the past year with a current median house price of $650,532.

“Because of Covid there was a slowdown of course but three or four months ago it was finished, and got tenants secured before it was even finished.”

“They said I’d get about $350 a week rent but I’m getting $550 per week and the value of the property has already gone up $200,000, to $489,000.”

The wealth generated by his property purchases is a far cry from what he could have saved working in the truck yard, loading and unloading and lining up the semi-trailers.

“I think I’ve done alright, I’m glad I didn’t sell anything along the way. For people just starting out, I’d say just work hard, don’t go out spending money, save to get that first place, the cheapest place you can find.

“You’ve just got to work hard to get the first one and use your equity from there,” Mr Camenzind said.