‘It gets easier’: Broker with eight properties reveals how he got ahead on $60,000 salary

A young landlord has revealed how much his negatively geared property portfolio costs him in 2025.

Mortgage broker Bill Childs believes the biggest mistake a young Australian can make is not realising they can afford to buy a home in 2025.

Mr Childs, 28, bought his first home when he was 21. He worked as a beekeeper and made $60,000.

He explained that the bank told him he could borrow $400,000 and even seven years ago, that wasn’t a massive loan to compete with the market.

While Mr Childs wasn’t living in a major city, it still meant he couldn’t afford to buy what he wanted in his area.

The mortgage broker lives in Coffs Harbour, a regional town in northern NSW that attracts tourists and experienced a boom during the pandemic.

He bought his first home at 21. Picture: Instagram/limitless_lending_group

He owned 8 homes by the age of 28. Picture: Instagram/limitless_lending_group

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Before the boom, he was reluctant to buy something rundown – which he believes in retrospect was a mistake.

Instead, he bought his first property in Tamworth, nearly four hours away from Coffs Harbour by car.

It was an investment and he used his savings to purchase the home, then rented it out. However, it was negatively geared and cost him around $6,000 to $7,000 per year.

It wasn’t a heap of money, but as Mr Childs pointed out, he wasn’t “making a heap” back then, and he definitely felt the crunch.

In fact, the young beekeeper remained living at home, so that he could comfortably service the gap.

Mr Childs then caught the buying bug and snapped up his second property in Ipswich, Queensland, for $240,000 with a $30,000 deposit. Once again, he rented it out and kept it as a negatively geared investment property.

From there, Mr Childs was able to “use the growth and pull out the equity” from his two properties to buy a place in Brisbane, and it snowballed from there.

Now at 28, he owns eight investment properties.

“It is the first one that is hard to get. Once you’re in it gets easier to keep going,” he told news.com.au.

Mr Childs remained a beekeeper, but after he bought his sixth investment property, he decided to become a mortgage broker as well.

“I thought I’d do it for a few family and friends and then I started posting on TikTok and it really kicked off,” he said.

The property broker now has over 10,000 followers on the social media platform and over 90,000 likes, and he has cultivated an engaged community.

Despite owning eight properties, Mr Childs lives in a granny flat out the back of his father’s home and doesn’t feel the need to buy a place for himself to live in right now.

“It is just me, so living in a big house somewhere doesn’t make any sense, and if I was going to rent I’d just rent a room in a shared house,” he said.

“Buying the family home is something that I want to do but at some point.”

He earned $60,000 when he first started buying. Picture: Instagram/limitless_lending_group

He lives in a granny flat. Picture: Instagram/limitless_lending_group

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Mr Childs isn’t against owning your primary property; he just thinks of it as a numbers game. If it costs less to rent where you want to live than to buy, then you should do that.

If it is cheaper to have a mortgage where you want to live and you see the area has potential for strong capital gains, then he’d suggest you should buy there.

Mr Childs explained that he just wants young Aussies to understand that if you can’t afford to buy where you want to live that doesn’t mean you can’t afford to buy altogether.

“If you can’t get into the market where you want to live buy properties elsewhere instead! So you’re in the market and you’re not missing out,” he advised.

The 28-year-old is really happy that he got into the market when he did. While his properties combined cost him $50,000 yearly, he believes it’ll be worth it in the long-term.

It also means that all his money isn’t invested in one property. He has options and homes in different markets, and he has seen first-hand the joys of capital growth.

He wants young Aussies to understand they can buy. Picture: Instagram/limitless_lending_group

He has hustled. Picture: Instagram/limitless_lending_group

Mr Childs also stressed that most tenants are honest and reliable, he doesn’t have any “horror stories,” and he doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with being a landlord.

“You’re providing people with housing, the landlords that get a bad rap are renting slums, which isn’t right. But a lot of the time, my properties are negatively geared and the tenants are living in the property cheaper for what it’d cost them to own it,” he said.

“Some of them want to own a property, but renting also gives people flexibility; as long as you’re fair and treat the tenant right, then they’ll treat you right.”

Mr Childs is aware of the backlash and the argument that landlords are hoarding houses, but he believes the government couldn’t supply the kind of housing that private landlords do and therefore they are needed.

“I don’t see much of a problem with it,” he said.

The investor has worked hard to own several properties. Picture: iStock

The fact that the property investor is so candid about his property portfolio does cause a divide online.

There are genuine questions such as, “If I have a $550,000 budget, what would you recommend for fast equity?”

But there are also people slamming the idea of owning multiple properties while Australia’s in the middle of a housing crisis.

Someone recently called him actions “eww”, others have told him to get a “real job,” and one critic even wrote that they hope the property investor “loses everything”. But Mr Childs remains focused on his goal.

He has found great purpose in helping young Aussies break into the property market and get ahead, which has been rewarding.

“I think young people don’t know they can do it! They’ll message me and say, ‘I’ve only got $40,000 saved. When should I start looking, but they can look now. They just don’t know it,” he said.

Mr Childs wants to spread “awareness” to young Australians that they can afford to climb the property ladder, but that place just might need to be an investment rather than a primary dwelling.

“The main issue with housing is people don’t realise they can get into it.”