Removalist bought 21 properties to make up for lack of uni degree

It’s a rare breed of human that does not take no as an answer from banks, but here’s how Ben Mafrici eventually made them see things his way, securing loans to buy a whopping 21 properties.

Removalist/retail worker Ben Mafrici has gone from one Melbourne property bought after saving for a deposit for two years to then own 21 – 19 of which are in Queensland. Picture: Jake Nowakowski.

A 31-year-old removalist/retail worker, who has worked two jobs since his teens, bought 21 properties driven by a desire to make up for his lack of a university degree.

Ben Mafrici who lives in Bulleen, Melbourne, saved for two years on weekly income of $600 a week to buy his first property for $335,000 a decade ago – and now owns 19 in Queensland alone.

“I knew I wasn’t going to get a high paying job because I had no degrees or anything like that, so I had to find my way through property,” he said.

MORE: Major tax crackdown on landlords, side hustles and AirBnbs

Twist in ‘remarkable’ Brisbane property market as sales drop

Ben Mafrici bought townhouses areas such as Woodridge in Brisbane’s south.

Ben Mafrici's first property was in Endeavour Hills in Melbourne which he recently sold.

“I figured that out at a young age. I always wanted to be successful, but I thought how do I do this? So I just started reading books and a lot of successful people have a lot of real estate.”

His first deposit was $33,000, a seemingly insurmountable figure but one he was determined to meet to kick off his wealth journey.

But his biggest light bulb moment came when he understood what banks’ requirements were for assessing finance.

“I studied what the banks needed, what their requirements were and I realised I could release equity instead of saving another two years and it just kept going from there.”

One of Ben Mafrici's Surfer's Paradise units is in this complex.

Ben Mafrici decided to share his experience to give hope to others who may be in a similar situation as himself.

Queensland, he said, was a no-brainer as a place to get really stuck into property given how affordable properties were in the lead-up to the pandemic when he bought nine properties, two of which were in his partner’s name.

He picked up three units – in Southport, Beenleigh and Woodridge – in 2016, three more including townhouses in 2017, one in 2018 and two more in 2019.

By the time Covid-19 broke out, he was able to capitalise on equity gained across his portfolio to buy five properties during the first year of the pandemic in Kingston, Brassall, Surfers Paradise, Redbank Plains and Woodridge.

Queensland has been a gold mine for affordable property purchases for Ben Mafrici including this home in Chambers Flats.

MORE: See the latest PropTrack Home Price Index

He bought three more in 2021 before taking a break in 2022 to let his equity build up again before adding three more this year – two of which were in Cairns and one in Western Australia.

“It hasn’t been easy, but I sacrificed a lot and I did get some buyer’s agencies to assist me when I was too busy working. I knew I needed help from the beginning, because I was just diving in the deep end. I did a lot of studying and research and I tried to create friendships with other investors.”

One of Ben Mafrici's Burleigh Waters’ properties. The area saw some of the strongest price growth during the pandemic.

Mr Mafrici said at the moment he can’t imagine giving up his two jobs, even with a portfolio that size which was paying for itself.

“I’ve been rejected so many times from mortgage brokers, from banks, from everything, you’ve just got to keep pushing through,” he said.

“At one point, they said, you can’t service anymore and I’m like, right, I’m going to get a second and third job just to help service. You’ve got to create a plan. You’ve got to have a vision for the future of what you want in your life. What do you ultimately want to achieve? Because without that, you just make wrong decisions and you won’t have that delayed gratification.”

FOLLOW SOPHIE FOSTER ON TWITTER