Liverpool father reveals how he built a $1.8million property portfolio despite rough upbringing

A man has revealed how he built a $1.8 million real estate portfolio after growing up on the housing commission and being evicted at age 21.

Father to a Kev Tran is a first-generation migrant whose parents settled in the Western Sydney suburb of Liverpool after leaving Vietnam in the 1980s.

The family lived in social housing in Liverpool, while his parents worked hard to save money to buy their own property.

His parents unfortunately made a series of bad real estate investment decisions – an example that Mr. Tran vowed not to follow.

The 32-year-old, who works as a buyer’s agent with Sydney firm InvestorKit, now owns three properties.

After failing high school, Mr. Tran worked in restaurants, casinos, and factories for minimum wages, crediting his parents for instilling a strong work ethic in him.

“I could see that saving and thrifting was a big part of how our family operated. They worked very hard and they saved a lot.” Mr. Tran told news.com.au.

Mr Tran explained that his parents sold their investment properties in Sydney in the early 2000s – a decision that broke the marriage.

His mother wanted to keep the property, but his father believed that house prices in Sydney would rise and so the couple eventually decided to sell the house.

Prices in Sydney continued to rise, leading to a rift in his parents’ marriage, leading to the couple’s separation during the last years of Mr Tran’s high school.

Young Mr. Tran was on his way to higher education at university, but the broken household caused his grades to plummet, resulting in a mysterious ATAR score – a grade below 30.

His mother met a new partner and moved to Melbourne, while Mr. Tran shared a room with his father as they searched for a place of their own.

At the age of 21, he was kicked out of the house because he couldn’t get along with the woman his father remarried.

Mr. Tran’s life started to change when he got a job as a VIP host at the Star Casino.

He claimed the role “opened his eyes” as he was exposed to a level of money that was the opposite of his austere upbringing.

His interest in real estate grew as he started listening to podcasts and reading books before owning his first property at age 26.

Mr. Tran acquired his first property aged 26 – a $450,000 mansion in the Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne (pictured)

His second real estate purchase was a $380,000 three-bedroom house in the regional Victorian town of Ballarat, which increased in value by more than a quarter of a million dollars in three years.

The property was a $450,000 off-the-plan mansion in the Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne.

“When I settled it I hoped it would have increased in value, but it didn’t. That was unfortunate,” said Mr. Tran.

‘When I bought it I didn’t know much about real estate. I’ve had him the longest and he’s grown the least. It’s not underperforming,” Mr. Tran said.

Mr. Tran decided not to buy any more properties from the plan and wanted to expand his portfolio with properties available for rent for a faster return on investment.

His second real estate purchase was a $380,000 three-bedroom house in the regional Victorian town of Ballarat, which quickly became neutrally focused.

After owning the property for three years, the house was revalued and, to Mr. Tran’s surprise, had increased in value by more than a quarter of a million dollars.

“I was able to refinance those for $650,000,” he said.

For his third purchase, Mr. Tran used the equity from his second investment to pay the full down payment on a property in Towoomba, Queensland.

Mr. Tran wants to make plans to continue building his real estate portfolio, which is now valued at approximately $1.8 million.