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How I bought It

October

Serial renovators Sharon and Chris Reay at their newly purchased home. They say they were able to buy their home from cutting costs via renovations.

How this young family got $200,000 off their dream home

Sharon and Chris Reay had struggled to sell their recently renovated home as prices declined, but that same market also let them buy in their dream locale.

  • Campbell Kwan

August

Glenn and Susie Molloy outside their home of 16 years in Camp Hill, in Brisbane’s inner east. They are set to move out of the family home later this month.

How this Brisbane couple added a sea change to their downsizing

Susie and Glenn Molloy wanted to live close to the water after one of their parents passed away, so they moved to a duplex near Port Stephens in NSW.

  • Campbell Kwan

July

Sharona Ghaemmaghami at Herrick Street, Blacktown, where she bought a house.

How Sharona avoided years of saving to afford a five-bedroom home

Sharona Ghaemmaghami and her boyfriend paid lenders mortgage insurance to enter the housing market earlier than if they saved for a 20 per cent deposit.

  • Campbell Kwan

June

Lexi Dodd at the display suite version of her new Wentworth Point apartment, where she will move into at the end of the year.

Why this family is swapping a six-bedroom house for apartments

Lexi Dodd and her family are moving into apartments ahead of a new chapter, where being closer to cafés and restaurants is more important than space for kids.

  • Campbell Kwan

May

Perth property ‘went nuts’, but these sisters managed to get in first

Jennifer and Maxine Gamble are sisters who have bought a house together to future-proof aged care issues that might arise in the future for them.

  • Campbell Kwan
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Kristen Kubank with one of her sons Angus, in front of her new investment property that she bought for her kids to rent

How this CFO landed on the perfect property to help her adult children

Kristen Kubank bought a townhouse to help her adult-aged children who have struggled to enter the property market despite having stable jobs.

  • Campbell Kwan

April

Young home buyer, Edward Jiang, standing in front of his new home in Guildford.

He bought his first home at 19 – now he’s up to a $1m Guildford house

Edward, a 27-year-old bank analyst is passionate about property investment. He has just bought a home in Guilford for $1 million.

  • Campbell Kwan
Sam Curwood with sons Jack and Edward outside their new home in Brighton

The key to downsizing from a truffle farm to this $3.6m oasis

Sam Curwood has undergone a sea change where he swapped luxury farmland for a home closer to his boys’ school.

  • Campbell Kwan

March

49A Lawson Street has an open-plan living and dining space that looks out to a lawn, deck and pool.

How I bought this $3.1m designer home without being out of pocket

Munro Donen bought a three-bedroom home in Sydney’s east in a way that let him sell his old home for 5 per cent more while paying 5 per cent less simultaneously.

  • Campbell Kwan

February

Ruby Rockman, husband Andrew Sweatman and their toddler, Ivy, outside their Frankston home.

How this lawyer upsized to a heritage home in three years

Ruby Rockman and her husband took a long-term view of a house that has development approvals to build two more properties within the lot.

  • Campbell Kwan

January

This couple’s eastern suburbs mortgage costs them just $130 a week

David and Victoria Basile’s first home purchase was made in Sydney’s eastern suburbs – they believe it’s an area where property prices will never drop.

  • Campbell Kwan
Rebecca and Josh feel lucky to have been able to buy a house that is less than 10km from the Adelaide CBD.

Bank of mum and dad not enough for this couple to move into new home

Young Adelaide pair Josh and Rebecca went over their home-buying budget by around $100,000, but believe the higher mortgage stress will pay dividends.

  • Campbell Kwan

December 2023

Redcliffe Beach is about 20 minutes away.

It’s hard to retire in Queensland when prices rise by $10,000 a week

Margaret Seach bought a three-bedroom villa in the Moreton Bay region after struggling for months to find a home.

  • Campbell Kwan

October 2023

Samantha (left) and Natarcha Simmonds are living in their parent’s house as they wait for their off-the-plan apartments to be built.

These twins paid $1.1m to live next door to each other

Natarcha and Samantha Simmonds decided to buy off-the-plan apartments next door to each other to escape the rental trap.

  • Campbell Kwan
Colin Prasad with his wife Rita Horvath and daughter Sofia Prasad in their home on Phillip Island.

How we got our dream holiday house for less than $1m

Colin Prasad and Rita Horvath built their dream holiday home after realising they wanted a more tranquil living situation following the COVID-19 lockdowns.

  • Campbell Kwan
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September 2023

Ben Delarloche purchased his first home 3 months ago in Petersham.

How this cop got someone to pay for half his $1.6m home

Ben De Laroche had resigned himself to buying a shoebox apartment, but a tip from his girlfriend led to him getting the money for his “forever home”.

  • Campbell Kwan

August 2023

Ben and Laura Mackenzie outside their home in Brisbane.

How these renters beat auction horror with a $1.3m pre-offer

Ben and Laura Mackenzie withdrew from a ‘manic’ property market during the pandemic but have now found their dream home in Brisbane.

  • Campbell Kwan
(L-R) Christine Osborne, Henry Osborne, Rebecca Silvey and Nathan Silvey in front of their homes in Eynesbury.

We built a dream home for $1m, then the in-laws did the same next door

Nathan and Rebecca Silvey say buying in Eynesbury allowed them, and Rebecca’s parents, to live in the houses they always wanted.

  • Campbell Kwan
Steven and Courtney Shan with their son Lucas are packed and ready to move to their new home at Warners Bay.

We got a $200,000 discount and two more bedrooms (with one catch)

Courtney Shan and her husband Steven planted their roots in Newcastle in 2016 and have just upgraded to a four-bedroom home near the water.

  • Campbell Kwan

July 2023

Ali, Faiza and their daughter.

How Ali landed a $920,000 Brisbane property (despite being outbid)

Ali Cheema and his wife Faiza – who are based in the outback town of Emerald in Queensland – decided to buy an investment property in Brisbane after putting it off for several years.

  • Campbell Kwan

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/how-i-bought-it-6g5f