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Kayla Rogers, 25, is an online personal trainer who saved around $200,000 to buy her first home.
A 25 year old who changed careers after university to become an online personal trainer also changed tack to crack the tough real estate market.
Kayla Rogers moved to the Gold Coast in February armed with around $200,000 in savings, hoping to buy her first property after 24 years living with her parents and brother in Sydney.
“I’d been saving my whole life,” she said. “I just didn’t know what my best bet was, and that’s why I went with a buyer’s agent.”
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She bought this house in Toowoomba which is rented out while she shares a rental with friends on the Gold Coast.
Within a week she secured her first property by deciding to become a rentvestor – buying a $522,500 three bedroom house in Toowoomba as an investment, while renting with friends at Main Beach on the Gold Coast.
New data from Australia’s largest independent real estate agency Little Real Estate shows enquiries in Queensland were up five-fold, with 50 per cent now made up of investors compared to 30 per cent this time last year.
Agent Vincent McGrath said there was also a 50 per cent increase in the numbers of buyers agents on the hunt in Queensland – mostly representing clients in NSW and Victoria.
Ms Rogers said for her “the whole process was about $150K. I put down a 20 per cent deposit so I didn’t have to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance.”
The house was immediately listed for rent at about $460 a week, which didn’t cover the full cost of mortgage repayments: “No, I have to pay $300 a week. I’ve had the property for about seven months now.”
Kayla Rogers plans to buy a second investment property in 2025.
Ms Rogers has no regrets about leaving Sydney and becoming a rentvestor, with realestate.com.au estimating her house could fetch between $475 to $525 in today’s market.
”I moved in with friends, renting at Main Beach on the Gold Coast. It’s amazing.”
“It was 100 per cent the right decision. My business has grown over 20 per cent in seven months because of the new environment, lots of motivation and just really working hard.”
Ms Rogers, who has her own fitness app and offers training and nutrition programs online, said it was a massive pivot from her university training.
“I help females build muscle, build healthy habits and just start living a healthy, balanced lifestyle with no restrictions,” she said. “It’s three years now. I did a commerce degree, I finished that in 2021 and knew I didn’t want to go down that path. So when I was finishing my degree, I started studying Cert 3 and 4 online to become a personal trainer, then started my business.”
Ms Rogers has no regrets about renting at Main Beach on the Gold Coast where there is always something happening such as the Supercars buildup ahead of this weekend’s Boost Mobile GC 500 event.
Her goal is to take on a second investment property next year.
”I would love to buy another one, probably a little bit cheaper, and definitely keen to buy something within the next year,” she said. “I actually already have a shares portfolio, and I do have a little bit of crypto, so I just wanted to diversify.”
“I just want things working on the side. I’m already busy. I don’t want to have to spend much time having to worry about it again.”
Her tips for those looking to hit personal goals included having a vision: “First, you have to know your why. Then I guess it’s just being disciplined and making some sacrifices. Instead of going out every weekend or always eating out, just put a certain amount of money away in a high interest savings account every single week.”
She said it was also important to get help from experts. “What stopped me for so many years is I didn’t know where to start. I think if you can get some help from people like Lorna, it speeds things up drastically.”
“I wish I did it sooner,” she said. “The goal is essentially just financial freedom. I want to travel. I want to be able to eventually look after my family and just live a really comfortable lifestyle.”