How two brothers, aged just 22 and 23, built a $2.49 million property portfolio

Two brothers who dropped out of high school in Year 10 have revealed how they made a staggering $2.49m in just two years.

EXCLUSIVE

Despite leaving school at the end of year 10, two Sydney brothers have managed to amass a property portfolio worth $2.49 million in just two years.

More impressively, plumbers Jack Gray, 23, and Harry Gray, 22, both from South Wentworthville in Sydney, have done so without help from the Bank of Mum and Dad, although they do still live at home where they pay $100 a week in board.

The brothers told news.com.au the secret to their success comes down to the somewhat old-fashioned concepts of working hard and saving hard.

“I’ve been doing 55 or 60 hour weeks, I thought I’d smash it out while I’m young and have no responsibilities,” Jack said.

“I don’t want to be working overtime when I have kids, I want to be with them, not working all the time.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by Harry, with both revealing they pick up as much overtime and Saturday work as they can.

Jack Gray, 23, and Harry Gray, 22, outside Jack's property at Thornton in NSW's Hunter Valley. Picture: Supplied.

This work ethic started in their teens with Jack and Harry both working at fast food chains while still at school and retaining second jobs as they completed plumbing apprenticeships.

Jack is currently working away during the week on a large project in Canberra, where his employer covers his living costs – a job he took “due to the guaranteed overtime”.

The extra hours meant the money accumulated in their bank accounts, and thanks to sage advice from their mum who drilled the brothers on the importance of saving rather than spending, it stayed there.

Jack said nagging from his mum “to make sure I was saving each week” and not adjusting his spending despite increasing his earnings saw him save almost $100,000 by his 21st birthday.

“I just picked a number each week to save, like $200 when I was an apprentice, and if I worked a Saturday, or any overtime, I’d stay on the same budget,” Jack said.

“As time went on, and as I started to earn more money, I’d increase my savings and keep my living costs as low as possible.”

Keeping their spending low did involve some sacrifices, the brothers admit.

“I pick and choose events. I’d rather go to a festival, or a proper event instead of going to the pub on a Friday,” Jack said.

“I don’t go out during the week, just on the weekends,” Harry said.

But despite making some lifestyle compromises, Jack said: “I’m very content with my life. I don’t actually feel like I’m missing out on anything.”

The brothers said key to their property success was working hard and saving hard. Picture: istock.

Their parents had also instilled the idea that buying a property should be a goal, and a

recommendation to seek financial advice led him to investment adviser Michael Pell from Propell, who worked with him to define his goals and devise a strategy.

“It opened my eyes up to what the possibilities were because I really thought one house would be enough,” Jack said. “But they helped me understand what the potential was.”

Jack originally planned to buy a fixer-upper close to where he lived but Mr Pell also opened his eyes to the idea of investing further afield.

Instead of a fixer-upper in Sydney, he signed a contract to build a four-bedroom house in Thornton in NSW’s rapidly growing Hunter Valley region for $630,000 in September 2021.

He stumped up $76,000 for the deposit and set aside $20,000 as an emergency buffer against any future costs.

After some pandemic-related construction delays, the home was completed earlier this year and was valued at an impressive $920,000 – or $290,000 more than Jack paid for it.

It rents for $700 per week, delivering a 5.7 per cent gross yield.

Younger brother Harry was also looking at a property purchase, although he said it took him six months longer than his brother to save the deposit.

He bought a three-bedroom house on a 1000 square metre block in Killingworth near Lake Macquarie in regional NSW in August 2021 for $575,000.

After undertaking around $10,000 worth of renovations, the home is now worth $690,000.

Rather than a renovator’s delight, financial advice led Jack to build a new home in an unfamiliar area.

Buoyed by their initial successes, Jack and Harry teamed up on their next property investment, opting to build another four-bedroom house in the Hunter.

But instead of drawing on the equity from their first properties, the brothers again saved to come up with the deposit.

The property is due for completion early next year, with a projected value of $950,000 based on the current market, a figure Jack said was more than its initial cost.

When the second house is complete, the brothers will collectively have an investment property portfolio valued at $2.49 million.

Mr Pell, managing director of Propell, praised the brothers for being “hardworking and motivated”.

“They understand the need to invest and are going as hard as they can right now to build up a profitable portfolio, so they can create passive income and choose whether to work or not in the future.”

The brothers hope to buy more investment properties in the future. Picture: Newscorp-Daily Telegraph / Gaye Gerard.

As for the future, the brothers plan to spend some time and money enjoying the rites of passage for 20-somethings, such as travelling and moving out of home.

“I’ve got three holidays booked,” Jack said, including a trip to Europe with Harry next winter

The brothers also plan to move out of home together to Sydney’s eastern beaches.

But neither rules out more property investments in the future.

Jack said that after “resetting and seeing where we’re at financially” they could “save up, or use the equity, and go again”.

As for advice for others who may be looking to follow a similar path Jack said: “I’m not saying it’s easy but it is possible, but there’s always going to be a price to pay”.

“The way I see it is I can do it now while I’m young and I think the money I earn right now is worth a lot more than if I started investing when I was 30 or 40 years old.”