Everyone is talking about it, but how do you actually do it? Well here at Street Corner, we’ve consulted the experts and done the hard work for you, crunching the numbers on how it might be possible for you to own a home in Sydney. By following the tips in this exclusive Street Corner Listie, you’ll be a property mogul in no time!
Number 1 – Skip your daily coffee.
Did you know that if you don’t buy a takeaway coffee on your way to work every day you could save up to $20 a week? Multiply that by a year and you’d have a cool $1000! With Sydney’s median house price now at $1 million, it means that if you skip your coffee every single day, you’ll save enough money to buy that million dollar house in just 1000 years. Do the maths yourself! Save a thousand dollars a year, for a thousand years and you will have a million dollars. Let’s just hope prices don’t go up in the next millennium!
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Number 2 – Get into the market any way you can.
A lot of young people want to start off with a luxurious apartment or a big family home the size of their parent’s place. Instead of putting off the big purchase because you can’t quite afford what you want, why not look at smaller, entry level options? If you can’t afford a full size house, why not start with a cubby house, or even a doll’s house? Although they are a little bit smaller, with prices in the $50-$300 range, they are a much more affordable way to get into the market and build equity while saving for a bigger place.
Number 3 – Let’s talk caravans and camper vans.
We all want to live by the beach, but in Sydney it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so. But a property loophole, which very few people know about, could be your ticket to beachside living. By simply buying a caravan or campervan, you can park a stone’s throw from one one of Sydney’s exclusive eastern beaches and enjoy the relaxed lifestyle that you’ve dreamed about. With many beaches now offering change rooms and shower facilities, you’ll be all set! And if you’re parked at a beach with a coin-operated barbecue, you’ll have an alfresco kitchen as part of the deal! Your friends will be jealous, and a waterfront view will be all yours.
Number 4 – Buy in Sydney. (But a different Sydney.)
Desperate to be able to say you’re a home owner in Sydney? Well what if we told you it was possible for under $300k? You might think we’re crazy, but the only thing we’re crazy about is the small town of Sydney in Nova Scotia, Canada. This beautiful town with a population of just 33,000 people is on Cape Breton Island. When we searched, you could bag a property there for well under $275,000. Buy up big, and you can tell your friends you own several properties in Sydney. They just won’t know which Sydney. It’ll be our little secret.
Number 5 – Have a falling out with all of your friends.
One of the biggest expenses for young people is the cost of socialising with mates. A round of beers here (or a girls night out there!) quickly adds up and can ruin anyone’s dream of home ownership. The bottom line is that your friends are standing in the way of your dream of owning a home. So how do you get them out of the way? Get them out of your life. Break up with all of your friends. Every. Last. One. Of. Them. Don’t leave the house. Don’t do anything remotely fun. And within 10-15 years you will have enough deposit to buy a studio apartment some 200kms away from the CBD. The studio won’t have room for visitors, which is great because you don’t have any friends left!
Number 6 – Do you really need that holiday?
Today’s Gen-Y have travelled to more places than their parents could ever have dreamed of, but all those Contiki tours and Croatian sailing adventures have left their wallets utterly drained. Travel is fun but it’s the worst enemy of saving. But what about if you could travel AND save? How is it possible? Well, we reckon the best way is by incorporating the exciting side of travel into your every day activities. Instead of dreading the morning commute on the 363 bus, why not pretend you are on a Busabout European Adventurer tour. Really let your imagination take over and take you there. Imagine the hangover and sick stomach going over bumpy roads in the Czech republic! Try to avoid eye contact with fellow passengers as if you’d made out with them at a toga party the night before! And keep asking the bus driver whether he can play that One Direction song one more time. You’ll be imagining your way to savings in no time.
Number 7 – Hold a garage sale
Garage sales have always been a great way to make quick cash, but this tip involves a garage sale with a twist. Wait for your parents to go away on an extended holiday, and then advertise their garage for sale on one of the popular internet Real Estate sites! (Yep, that’s right, the actual garage of their house). With Sydney parking at a premium, garages are a hot commodity and a garage in a popular area can sell for up to $100k, which will be a great help for your deposit savings. One catch is that garages are usually part of the title of the entire property, so you will need a lawyer or conveyancing solicitor to draw up documents which will separate the garage into a second title. Lawyers fees can be expensive, but if you build it into the price of the sold garage, it basically pays for itself. And when your parents get home, everyone will have a big laugh when Dad realises why he can’t unlock the garage door anymore!
Number 8 – Sell stuff on eBay and Gumtree…but…
This tip is a great way to raise some cash, but also helps you get rid of things that you don’t need. Old gym set? Gumtree! Dress you haven’t worn for a while? eBay! But if you really want to make serious money, you need to think laterally about what you can sell. You’ve got to get right to the heart of the matter – and by heart, in this case, we mean kidney. We all get two of the things, but did you know that most of us only need one? Kidneys can have a street value of a quarter of a million dollars, which could be the money you need to become a resident of a swanky inner city suburb. Maybe just check this with a lawyer first. Oh, and get a good surgeon.
Number 9 – Take your lunch to work
We all know that by bringing your lunch from home you can save big $$$. Takeaway lunches and city-priced sandwiches can be financially devastating if you’re saving for a home, so bringing your own can certainly make a lot of sense. But it can also make you a lot more money than you think. How? Well, here’s the plan. You’re gonna need to start eating the smelliest food you can imagine. Think eggs. Think curries. Think tuna. Then combine the lot. Why? Well, by stinking out the entire kitchen (and ideally, your entire office floor), it may lead to co-workers quitting because they just can’t stand the smell anymore. And some of those co-workers may be more senior than you. And with them gone, you might just get promoted to their position. And with the promotion, comes the pay rise. Ching, ching, ching. That egg and tuna curry just bought you an apartment in Surry Hills.
