{"id":36866,"date":"2022-02-06T11:49:06","date_gmt":"2022-02-05T22:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propertynoise.co.nz\/au\/?p=36866"},"modified":"2022-02-06T11:49:06","modified_gmt":"2022-02-05T22:49:06","slug":"top-article-genius-act-saves-couples-lost-life-savings-must-read","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propertynoise.co.nz\/au\/top-article-genius-act-saves-couples-lost-life-savings-must-read\/","title":{"rendered":"TOP ARTICLE: Genius act saves couple\u2019s lost life savings | MUST READ"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOTO: Marc and Susan Pickering lost half their superannuation during the GFC.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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A southwestern Sydney <\/a>couple were left devastated back in 2008 when they saw their retirement plans go up in smoke.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Marc and Susan Pickering used a self-managed superannuation fund that they had built up over the course of 30 years being in the workforce but 45 per cent of their money was wiped out during the Global Financial Crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like a sucker punch,\u201d Mr Pickering recalled to news.com.au.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes you years to develop a base level of money in the share market.<\/p>\n

\u201c[I realised] there\u2019s not enough time in my working life to recover if I lose half of that. I thought, \u2018How am I going to make that money back?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The dad turned his attention to the property market, realising this might be the only way to salvage their retirement plans.<\/p>\n

Now, in the space of 14 years, he has built up a five-property portfolio worth $3.4 million and is due to retire \u201ccomfortably\u201d next year.<\/p>\n

Mr Pickering, now 64, decided property was his best bet to salvage his future.<\/p>\n

The former apprentice electrician, who called himself \u201cjust an ordinary bloke\u201d, pulled together enough money to buy an investment property in Leumeah, just five kilometres from his own home.<\/p>\n

He purchased the place in 2012 \u2013 he would have been 54 at the time.<\/p>\n

For two years he fixed up the place, all the while reading books on investments and renovations.<\/p>\n

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The couple have managed to salvage their retirement plans.<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n

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He eventually sold the property and conceded \u201cwe did quite nicely\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I sold that one it gave me a base amount of money to feel comfortable to put some skin in the game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, during Mr Pickering\u2019s rigorous reading of investing in property, he realised he had made one huge mistake.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not supposed to buy one close to where you live,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Diversifying your portfolio is key, according to the books he\u2019d read, so he looked much further afield for his next purchase.<\/p>\n

In 2014, the Pickerings forked out around $290,000 for a 499sq m empty lot in Greenvale, Melbourne.<\/p>\n

They spent a further $240,000 to build a dwelling and soon got renters in.<\/p>\n

As of the latest data available, that property is now worth an estimated $775,000.<\/p>\n

Over the next few years, the couple made one more purchase in Melbourne and three more in Brisbane with similar returns.<\/p>\n

Each time, it was a block of land which they built a house on.<\/p>\n

READ MORE VIA NEWS.COM.AU<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CZgBx0vJgTK\/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link<\/p>\n

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