An interview with Jeff Turner in the first of our new ‘Investor of the Month’ case studies.

Jeff Turner is a Civil Designer in the mining industry, based in Perth, WA. Jeff first invested through McCarthy Group in 2008.

I first came across McCarthy Group at a time when I needed some support in terms of financial planning. I had a first meeting and the concept sounded really good, and after the second meeting, with Murdoch, I was pretty blown away. It almost sounded too good to be true, yet here I am, a few years later, the proud owner of an investment property, and everything that I was told would happen, has happened, and I am very happy with the outcome.

The clincher for me was the way Murdoch set up the whole proposition. It was really simple, and he explained it to me in layman’s terms. I had many questions, all of which were answered, and I was able to get a handle on everything.

“ With an outlay that minimal,” I thought to myself at the time, “how could you go wrong?” Murdoch took me through the figures, and I asked him 4 times, “Are you sure that’s right?” About $150 to $160 per month was all I would need to find after the tenant paid the rent, and I simply couldn’t believe that I could get into an investment property for such a small amount.

Well, that’s how it’s turned out, and to be honest, if I didn’t spend the money towards the property I’d probably just spend it on something else anyway. I used the equity in my home to get started, and now I am gaining equity on two properties, which feels really positive.

I have a great tenant, and my wish is for her to be happy and comfortable in the home. I see it as her home, as it’s where she lives, so I want her to be happy there. I haven’t visited the property yet, but I am planning to do so, and might combine the visit with a trip to The Australian Open in January. It will give me a chance to see how my tenant is enjoying her new home.

The property is in Doreen, outside Melbourne, and everything went smoothly in terms of the construction. I simply left everything In McCarthy Group’s hands and they took care of things for me.

I live in Perth which made this a pretty long distance process. Initially I felt a bit overwhelmed by things, but I would simply call Deb at McCarthy Group, and they would walk me through everything. I sent though all the paperwork and left it in their hands and they helped me through it. I honestly couldn’t have wished for better service, and even now I keep sending them emails saying “thanks”. Michelle is great as well, and she often calls me up to see how things are going, and we always have a good chat.

As to the future, I feel that I am in the system now, and over the next ten years my goal is to build a portfolio of four properties. It’s what I see as my ‘personal monopoly’. I’m almost ready for my second one now, and I only bought the first one at the end of 2008, so I feel I’m on track.

I want to accumulate the properties as assets, and hold onto them so that they can give me an income in retirement. I want to retire on a golf course, and have created income for when I am not working. The houses are going to pay me! What better way is there to retire than that?

I’ve got lots of confidence in property, and I see it as a wise investment. My parents have a couple of investment properties themselves. Property has performed very well historically, and I see no reason for that to change. I prefer property to stocks, because people tend to panic in the stock market, and it’s too volatile. I haven’t got much faith in superannuation either.

In terms of my experience with property and McCarthy Group, I have told my family, friends and colleagues all about it. In fact I have been raving to everyone! Because it’s worked really well for me, I want to share my experience and what I have learned with others, share the wealth of information that I have gained so far so it can benefit them as well.

A few people I have spoken to have tended to be a bit hesitant, and it’s a kind of “let’s wait and see how it goes for Jeff”, which is fine, as I am happy for them to use me as a 'guinea pig' to see how it all develops. The way I see it, I have just given myself a bit of a head start! In my opinion, with the method employed, there’s very little risk in what I have done, and I am already better off for it!

Overall, I’ve had excellent advice and guidance from McCarthy Group, and excellent service every step of the way. I can recommend McCarthy Group to anyone who is considering investment property as a strategy for building assets and funding retirement. I feel so pleased that I made the decision, and now I’m on my way.