Ex-train driver’s $20m property empire

The then-15-year-old spent the next few years scrimping and saving every single cent he could to put together a modest deposit to fund his first real estate investment.

From that suburban house, Mr Walsh has built a mammoth portfolio comprising 15 properties in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, worth a staggering $20 million.

Unlike many success stories about young people and bricks and mortar, this one doesn’t involve a generous cash gift from family.

Instead, he credits a strict work ethic inherited from his mum and dad, a lot of personal sacrifice, and keeping his eyes on a clear goal.

“For a long time, I wasn’t interested in instant gratification,” Mr Walsh, now 33, said.

“Everything was about sacrificing what I could to save money. I knew life would be good one day if I did the hard yards.”

From little things big things grow

As an apprentice, his take-home pay grew each year as he advanced through his training, but it wasn’t quick enough for the youngster.

“I worked on Saturdays, I did jobs in the [workshop] after hours for bits of extra cash – rebuild a starter motor and that sort of thing,” Mr Walsh recalled.

With a deposit of $35,000, he bought a plot of land in Picton, southwest of Sydney, and built a house on it.

There was no stamp duty because it was a new construction, and he managed to mortgage it with a 95 per cent loan-to-value ratio.

Things were tight and it was a “hard slog” that required further sacrifices, he admitted.

“I kept running short of money towards the end of the build. I sold my car at one point and bought an old Daihatsu Feroza off the side of the road for $1500.

“I kept that car for a long time, but it blew up twice. I rebuilt the head of the engine twice. After that, I got rid of it. I upgraded to a Kia Rio.

“I was into skydiving at the time so I sold all my equipment for about $3000 to be able to finish off the driveway so I could rent the house.”

When completed and leased, the house was worth considerably more than the initial outlay.

Mr Walsh tapped into the equity to buy a second piece of real estate – a mortgagee in possession property just down the road.

“I renovated it, doing the work myself, then rented it out,” he said.

After that, he sat tight for a few years to wait for more equity to grow and to save some money.

“Equity was a big part of it but I also kept saving money like crazy so I wasn’t too over-leveraged,” he said.

He formed a carpool with mates from TAFE, where they took turns shuttling each other around for a month at a time, to save cash on petrol.

He barely drank when he went out, didn’t buy lunch or coffee, and when he eventually moved out of home, it was into a garage…