Australian fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) worker Mathew Bellomia credits his four rental properties – two in Brisbane, one in Moreton Bay and another in Perth, with a fifth on the way – to rentvesting, describing it as his golden ticket into the housing market.
Landing a FIFO job on a Western Australia drill rig at 23 put Mr Bellomia in a prime position to boost his income and set himself up financially for life, he told Mortgage Choice.
It was here that he began rentvesting – a strategy where a buyer rents property to live in, while buying a property in a suburb they can afford, and renting it out as an investment.
“I knew that property was the vehicle I needed to use to grow some wealth,” Bellomia said.
“I grew up watching single-income parents trying to raise three kids. That helped me work out from a very early age that you needed multiple forms of income to live a comfortable lifestyle.”
Bellomia learned the ropes of rentvesting the hard way – through trial and error.
After two properties in Bendigo and the mining town of Kalgoorlie underperformed, he was forced to sell.
After this setback, he mapped out his rentvesting journey with a property investment firm and focused on affordable properties suitable for small families, ensuring the rent covered most of the mortgage repayments, which left him with a small repayment to add as an extra on each property.
“I was lucky in that rents have surged over what I budgeted, and the growth has enabled me to purchase more properties,” he told Mortgage Choice.
By claiming same-year deductions such as loan interest, property agency fees, repairs, maintenance, council rates and insurance while the property is being rented out, Bellomia was able to reduce his tax bill.
“It is a great way to be able to reduce your tax bill,” he said.
The FIFO lifestyle comes with gruelling work hours, harsh conditions, and long stretches away from family.
But the long-term perks draw many to the industry.
Bellomia works 180-hour fortnights, with his food, housing, and living costs covered, which allows him to save money and invest it in rentvesting.
“The fly-in-fly-out lifestyle means I’m able to save a lot of money in cost-of-living expenses, because when you’re on site, everything is provided for you,” he said.
“I’m able to save a lot of my wages.”
Now 39, Bellomia is selling one of his properties to take a year off and spend time with his family.
“I’m essentially having a gap year,” he explained.
“Regardless of rate rises that may eventuate over the next year, I’ll have a bit of liquidity behind me from the sale of the property to fund my time off.”