Yes. He bought a two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse for about 550 with a year to settle and a two-year guarantee at a 6% yield. He accepts he may struggle to get 6% when it ends, but three years of breathing room was the win.

Dean still aims to save $1,000 a week, but some now goes into a managed fund instead of the mortgage. The hosts note a saved dollar raises net worth either way, and a fund can return more and stays liquid, so a rental need not be sold in an emergency.

He prefers to hold the four he has and diversify a little into a managed fund, living more in the here and now with his three kids rather than saving every dollar, even upgrading the family home as more of a want than a necessity.

The Dunedin property bought at the peak in late 2021 or 2022 would lose about 100K if sold today. He is topping it up rather than crystallising the loss, and he quietly listed an older apartment but would not drop his price, so he is holding it.

He would seek professional advice earlier. He says he fumbled along and could have structured things better for tax, and he knows he should have split banks but has not, remaining a standard mum and dad investor.