From homeless teen to property investor

PHOTO: Tyler Carroll overcame barriers to get onto the property ladder. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

Tyler Carroll was 17 years-old when his family lost their home, forcing the university student to spend months couch surfing while struggling to maintain a busy study schedule and part-time job.

Now aged 24, the marketing manager owns his own home as well as two investment properties generating $15,400 in annual income.

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“A lot of the time, 20-something people who buy investment properties had help from their parents, or had their board covered, but regardless of your circumstances, getting on the property ladder is available to anyone who wants to have a crack at it,” Mr Carroll said.

“With just shy of $40,000 of my own cash invested, I now have three properties totalling a value of more than $1.1 million.

He bought a unit in Varsity Lakes after saving for two years. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

“I did this with no help from family and just on one fulltime salary. All of these loans are 100 per cent in my name too.”

Mr Carroll was one of three brothers raised by a single mum who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and dependent on a disability pension when she was unable to work.

They struggled financially and moved between rentals on the southern Gold Coast more than 20 times during his childhood.

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“Then when I was in my first year of university we had to leave the place we were renting in Palm Beach, again due to a rent raise,” Mr Carroll said.

The family and his eldest brother’s partner rotated staying in a two-bedroom unit, but when no beds were available Mr Carroll had to sleep elsewhere.

Mr Carroll spent months couch surfing

“I was couch surfing at 17, homeless but not on the street.”

He landed a $70,000 salary with a Gold Coast construction equipment company after graduating and saved $25,000 over two years, purchasing a Varsity Lakes unit for $430,000 in 2020 with the first home deposit scheme.

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