Ep 106: How Richard Bharata beat the odds to succeed in property investing

In this episode of the Geared for Growth podcast, Mike welcomes Richard Bharata, Buyers Agent at iProperty Finder, who shares his remarkable journey as a highly successful property investor. Despite facing adversity, Richard managed to acquire 10 properties within just three years, a feat he discusses candidly in this conversation.

Richard’s family resettled in Australia when he was 12, escaping political instability in Indonesia. Raised by a mother who emphasized the importance of thriftiness within their large family, Richard initially embraced these values. However, as he grew older, he encountered challenges with poor spending habits and a penchant for gaming, which temporarily hindered his progress in real estate.

Nevertheless, Richard persevered and earned a degree in Engineering from university, leading to a stable income. Recognizing the potential of capital growth, he swiftly aimed to secure a family home, realizing the power of reinvesting equity in high-growth assets to expand his portfolio.

This engaging conversation delves into Richard’s rapid investment growth journey, touching on key topics such as property versus shares, effective borrowing strategies, overcoming serviceability obstacles—particularly pertinent for self-employed individuals—and his strategies for overcoming setbacks to achieve his financial goals.

This episode of the Geared for Growth podcast is essential listening for anyone looking to build their property portfolio beyond the average 1-2 properties.

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In this episode of the Geared for Growth podcast, Mike welcomes Richard Bharata, Buyers Agent at iProperty Finder, who shares his remarkable journey as a highly successful property investor. Despite facing adversity, Richard managed to acquire 10 properties within just three years, a feat he discusses candidly in this conversation

• Richard’s modest upbringing and how his Mum taught him to save
• Overcoming poor spending habits
• Shares vs property investing
• How Richard purchased 10 properties in 3 years
• Breaking the serviceability barrier
• The importance of surrounding yourself with like-minded people
• What Richard looks for in an investment property

“When you earn more, you’re earning an extra 10 grand because if you can make those 10 grand into an asset that’s 5 – 10 times those 10 grand then you are in a good run for like this compounding madness” 6:44

“I didn’t understand the concept of leverage then because what I knew was with property you have all this maintenance, you have all these tax here and there but when you compare it side by side it seems the properties giving you a better return in the long run” 12:36

“For me it’s pretty simple, if you buy the right asset that grows in value and you have access to funding and you combine the two you can have a journey” 16:03

“Let’s look forward and see what we can do right so we know that property can make you wealthy right and now how do we get there, how do we replicate this strategy” 18:48

“How I did it was obviously surround myself with people who are also investing, people who are more advanced or people who even just started, sometimes they have the brightest ideas but we all know we’re looking at the same goal and using the same vehicle which is properties” 20:34

“What I want to share as well is having the right mortgage broker, in my instance when I was trying to buy that 4th investment property, a lot of brokers were saying no, all the banks were saying no to me but I was hanging out digitally on the property chat forum, this person who actually has now become my broker, opened up that way for investment property” 22:02

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