Emily Tsang

Case in profile

First home buyer turned rent-vestor
Higher income earner – minimising tax
Previously searched for first home for a long time – was feeling stuck

Occupation

Medical Scientist

Objective

Build assets for the future, minimise tax in the short-term

Portfolio

2 properties

I wanted to buy my first home and spent six years looking at properties, without being able to find the right one. With Ironfish, it became so much simpler to get into my first home.

— Emily Tsang

Need help getting on the property ladder?

Buying a first home

Ironfish Brisbane customer Emily Tsang has a fulfilling career as a Medical Scientist and after renting for a number of years, like many of her peers, she decided it was time to buy her first home.

“At the beginning of my search I was looking for a stand-alone house – because when it comes to buying your first home, everyone talks about land or getting into your ‘forever’ family house. So I didn’t even consider other possibilities. I spent six years looking at houses and even got as close as signing a contract before deciding not to proceed. It just felt wrong.”

House or apartment? Off-the-plan vs second-hand?

It took Emily a little while to work out why she couldn’t find a first home that felt right.

“What I realised was buying a big family house on a large block of land just wasn’t something that I needed. And from a financial perspective, buying a house is expensive on one income.”

At a community event, Emily came across Ironfish Brisbane strategist Jade Cattanach, who, like her, was also originally from Hong Kong. After learning about Emily’s struggle and confusion around buying her first home, Jade suggested a few other possibilities.

“Jade invited me along to some of Ironfish’s different property investment seminars, which helped me to learn more about different types of property – for example apartments and townhouses. As well as learning more about off-the-plan property. This really expanded my thinking beyond the traditional second-hand big family house. Learning more about Ironfish and the strength of its partner developers and seeing the quality of some of the properties really changed my thinking around off-the-plan property as well.”

Choosing an off-the-plan townhouse

After considering the various benefits of a house vs apartment vs townhouse, Emily settled on an off-the-plan townhouse, which Jade had recommended. Given the price and timing, the property met the requirements for the first-home-buyer stamp duty concessions and government subsidies which also saved Emily approximately $35,000.

“This made sense to me immediately, it was a very practical decision. A townhouse is the perfect size for one, but with the type of lifestyle offered by a house – and a price that I could easily afford.”

A property investment company you can trust

During the construction and delivery phase of the development, Emily once again felt the Ironfish service difference.

“I received regular construction progress reports from Ironfish which helped to put me at ease as to how my property was progressing. Jade introduced me a to a great broker who made my loan process very smooth. The townhouse settled near Christmas – when most businesses close or offer limited service – and yet Jade and Ironfish continued to communicate with me and the developer throughout to solve any issues or answer questions. I felt supported through the entire process – and I can see that Ironfish has a truly customer-centred culture.”

From first-home-buyer to rentvesting

After Emily had lived in her new home for a year, Jade provided her an annual portfolio review service. In the process, Jade learned another pain point for Emily – as a medical scientist, Emily was earning a higher income, therefore paying higher levels of tax. Jade introduced Emily to the concept of ‘rentvesting’ – essentially renting in her preferred location/property and turning her house into an investment property, to take advantage of any potential tax benefits.

“Jade once again helped me to change my thinking. I realised that property isn’t just housing, but it is also an asset for the long term. This helped me to start thinking about property from an investor’s perspective and set myself financial goals to build assets for my future. I decided to rent out my townhouse and am very satisfied with the result – both in terms of rental income and the tax benefits which have helped with my cashflow.”

Building a property portfolio

Because the rentvesting strategy worked well, coupled with continued efforts on Emily’s part to build her next deposit, two years after successfully buying her first home, Emily added another asset to her property portfolio. This time, an apartment in award-winning apartment developer Aria’s building ‘Treehouse’. Looking to the future, Emily is positive and even more ambitious.

“I am planning to further expand my portfolio in the future and am actively saving for my next investment property – I’m looking to diversify into Sydney or Melbourne. I’m so inspired by Jade, she is not only very professional and supportive – she’s also so encouraging. She started out exactly like me, and now she has four properties.

“During this whole process, Jade was happy to spend a lot of time to guide or encourage me and her personal experience as an investor has been invaluable. She always thinks about my best interests and helps to keep me calm and not stress out – property investment can be complicated and I’m really lucky to have Jade by my side.”

New house – new passion

In addition to building a portfolio of two properties, Emily has also gained a new positive and enthusiastic attitude to life – along with a new passion.

“Jade said to me once that while saving is great, you can only save so much. Broadening your income can help you make significant financial progress. This really stuck with me, and with Jade’s encouragement, I decided to turn one of my hobbies into a side business. I love fitness and especially Zumba. So I decided to get my Zumba instructor’s license and set up my own class.

“It’s not an easy process – students don’t magically appear in your class overnight! But I have a clear goal, and I’m focussed on improving myself and living my best life. In sharing this passion, I hope to have a positive impact on others by helping them live their best, happy, healthy life as well.

“I’m focussed on my goal and I try to move forward step by step.”

Emily’s tips for investors:

Your first home does not have to be a big house on a large block of land. Open your mind to other possibilities that may better suit your current stage of life or future property/financial goals.
Everyone has an opinion on property, but it’s best to listen to those who have successful experience in investing.
You must have a goal and a vision, and at the same time, you must have the effort and persistence to start small and achieve your goals and vision step by step.

01 Your first home does not have to be a big house on a large block of land. Open your mind to other possibilities that may better suit your current stage of life or future property/financial goals.
02 Everyone has an opinion on property, but it’s best to listen to those who have successful experience in investing.
03 You must have a goal and a vision, and at the same time, you must have the effort and persistence to start small and achieve your goals and vision step by step.

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