Buying your first home is rarely a straight line — and Joel’s story proves just how much grit, clarity and self-awareness it takes. After arriving in Australia at 18 with no safety net, he spent years building a six-figure share portfolio, saving aggressively, living simply, and planning for long-term wealth. But when his permanent residency finally came through, everything shifted: the dream of buying his first home became real.

In this episode, Joel walks us through the sacrifices, smart strategies, and surprising mindset shifts that helped him secure the keys to his new two-bedroom unit — including why he chose not to touch his share portfolio, the unconventional way he used the First Home Super Saver Scheme, and the habits he built to save consistently for almost a decade. He also opens up about the emotional moments: feeling defeated during the search, questioning his options, and realising he’d been chasing the wrong type of property before the course helped him reset.

You’ll hear the biggest epiphanies that changed Joel’s buying journey, from letting go of the myth that “houses always outperform units,” to understanding how lifestyle and community matter just as much as price and property type. He also shares the near-miss that taught him to take contract reviews seriously — and how spotting unapproved renovations early saved him from a costly mistake.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, behind, or unsure where to start, Joel’s story will help you see what’s possible when you have a plan, the right tools, and the confidence to back yourself.

Episode Highlights

00:00 — Introduction: From Student to Homeowner

01:14 — Meet Joel: A Standout Home Buyer Academy Graduate

02:04 — Joel's Journey: From Shares to Property

04:27 — The Deposit Dilemma: Sacrifices and Strategies

08:49 — Navigating the Property Market: Challenges and Realizations

15:22 — The Final Decision: Choosing the Right Property

22:11 — Joel's Advice and Reflections

28:14 — Conclusion: Join the Community

Course Details:

1. THE First Home Buyer Course is our Step-By-Step, No BS Guide to Every Stage of The Home Buying Process – It’s the next best thing to having your own buyer’s agent. With our expert guidance, you’ll know what to do at every step along the way. Become a home owner faster and easier. Click here: https://homebuyeracademy.com.au/YFHBG

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share the show! There’s more to come, so we hope to have you along with us on this journey!

1. Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFirstHomeBuyerCourse
2. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/your-first-home-buyer-guide-podcast/id1544701825

Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7GyrfXoqvDxjqNRv40NVQs?si=7c8bc4362fab421f

HBA263 - Student case study - Joel

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Veronica Morgan: In this episode, we unpack how one former international student has channeled the same grit strategy and hard won lessons into cracking the property market, including the assumptions he shattered, the mistakes he dodged, and the smart moves that got him to the finish line.

Meighan: ~Down, ~

Speaker: Welcome to your first home buyer. Guide the podcast for first home buyers who want to feel confident, smart, and totally in control of their property journey. I'm Veronica, and that was Megan. And yes, we are probably old enough to be your mom's, which is a good thing because between us, we've got decades of experience and we've got your back every step of the way.

Speaker: You'll wanna hear this episode. I.

​

Meighan Wells: Today we're hearing the story of a recent Home Buyer Academy graduate. Joel is one of our standout home buyer academy students. He came to many campfires and asked such good questions and his story is too good not to share. We are absolutely thrilled to have you with us, so let's dive straight in.

Meighan Wells: Hello Joel. It's good to

Meighan Wells: see you again on the, on the other side now and if anyone's watching the video behind you. Is the building that you bought an apartment in, so well done. Woohoo.

Joel (student): Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. I got the keys

Joel (student): two days ago, actually. It feels like last time to go, but yeah. Yeah. It's cash starving.

Joel (student): Woo. Definitely. Wow.

Veronica Morgan: Definitely now. Can't wipe the smile of your face. I haven't seen you that cheer the whole time.

Joel (student): for sure. No, it

Meighan Wells: Now this didn't all happen by accident. There was a lot of planning that went into this.

Meighan Wells: And let's go back a little bit, because sometimes what we're asked is how do you save your deposit? But even before that, you built a, a really substantial share portfolio before you bought a home. What kind of flipped the switch for you and made property the goal?

Joel (student): I think what made property the goal was it was actually a restriction.

Joel (student): So because of my, because being an international student, having, um, not being able to purchase a property, that's when I decided to put a lot of time and effort into shares to be able to build my wealth. Outside of property. but this year that flipped. So this year I became a permanent resident and I've always had a goal thank you.

Joel (student): As it has now.

Veronica Morgan: That is so focused though, because you know, you've, from the outset, like you're saying that you just were focused on getting to that position, so you sort of took a slightly roundabout way because you couldn't buy here, but what made you so focused on buying a home? is it something that you sort of came to Australia thinking that's what you're gonna do? Or is it when you got here, like, what was the point? No, I

Joel (student): I've been around for quite a while. I didn't, obviously wasn't thinking about property back then. Uh, but I closer to, so I came to study, did my four years of my engineering degree, and closer to the end of my degree, that's when I said, you know what? I really see myself living in Australia. I see myself settling down.

Joel (student): You have to move. But the goal was back then was, you know what, instead of renting, I'd love to be able to call a place home. I'd love to be able to live in a place call and just not have to move every couple of years. and that was, that was why property was such a big motivating factor there was to be able to call a place home in a country that I didn't have a home in, if so to speak.

Meighan Wells: Oh, it's just, I, I love this story. Talk us through the deposit side of things. What kind of things did you sacrifice? What strategies did you have? What were some of the surprises along the way? Because this is the really hard part for a lot of first home buyers is, is pulling that deposit together.

Joel (student): and partially part of that was not being able to buy a property. So I said, you know what? I can't buy a property, but I'm gonna save as much as I can so when the time comes, I'm ready to be able to purchase one. the sacrifices there were sacrifices. Of course, I'd say during COVID, I. There was a lot of, the chunk of my money back then went into super, because that's when I learned about the Supers scheme.

Joel (student): So I said I want to maximize that so when the time comes, I'd eventually be able to pull money out of Super and put that towards my home deposit. but also, you know. I kept saving, kept investing, and I can give you numbers. People are going to hear this or look at this and go, yeah, that's not, that's not for everyone.

Joel (student): So I give myself $300 a month to spend on my splurge. If you know barefoot, investors buckets, that's my splurge. That's your bucket. Wow. That's a,

Veronica Morgan: that's a very, it's a splurge. Restrained,

Meighan Wells: I ate coffee on the weekend. I did everyone near that. I coffee on the weekend, ate coffee

Joel (student): on a Saturday, Saturday morning, you know, coffee at the beach. That's kind of my splurge. And then every now and then, we'll. We'll go out for dinner, but that's very, you know, not very often we don't do takeout. We have a very simple lifestyle.

Joel (student): Mm-hmm. Let's just put it that way. Yeah. and yeah, most of the money, I think, goes to savings and investing. That's my primary goal. and I suppose that goal comes from retiring early. So that's the ultimate goal, is to be able to retire in in the next 20 to 30 years project. My projection at the moment is 50.

Joel (student): So I spoke to financial planner before buying a property to, to make, to see if buying a property was the right pathway for me. And, it was so, and the project at the time, the discussion was, how can I buy, purchase a property along with my investments, be able to pay it off and retire early. And that's still the projection, that's still the pathway that I'm currently on.

Veronica Morgan: Yeah. It sounds like you've had a very single focus, but also I'm curious, do you still have a share portfolio? So are you able to invest as well as save? 'cause a lot of, a lot of financial advisors will say, don't put your home deposit. in the share market, it's too volatile. So we didn't want you to risk it.

Veronica Morgan: Absolutely.

Joel (student): Yeah. Absolutely. And you know, that's, I one of Bedford investors big step is of one of his big sayings is don't invest money that you'll need in the next five years. And my five years kind of turned into 10 years, uh, using that rule. I always said, you know what, I'm not gonna invest the money I need for, for my first, for my property and for my property.

Joel (student): Super. I wouldn't mind touching because I, at the whole intention of doing of salary sacrificing was so that I could use my super money, but my share portfolio. But I didn't touch that at all, so it was just savings and super that kind of helped the, eventually purchase the property.

Meighan Wells: So that was one of the schemes that really helped you along the way.

Meighan Wells: And we have done an episode on the different scheme. I've done numerous episodes on different schemes. What we will remind listeners is if you're thinking about using any of the schemes, just see how they interact with each other. Because you know, one of the lessons that a. One of our clients learned was when you take that super out of the far to use, it actually adds to your, taxable income.

Meighan Wells: And that can change a, a lot of other things. So make sure you get really good advice on your personal situation if you're looking at that. Was there any point along the way, Joel, where you thought, this is impossible? Yeah, it's not gonna happen. I feel defeated and did that change?

Joel (student): And that's when I was like, you know what? But, and I suppose at the same time, it wasn't necessarily I felt defeated and it felt impossible. It was because I was looking for the wrong thing. And that's what the course really helped me narrow down is to look into or look for the right thing, which really helped.

Joel (student): So I was looking, you know, at three bedroom houses, and I was looking at those prices and going, I'm never gonna be able to afford that. But now I've kind of settled on a, or I've kind of got a two bedroom unit, which I'm really happy with. And where the going, thinking about where the market was going, you know.

Joel (student): I need to look more at apartments and units and figure out what within that range will fit my criteria.

Veronica Morgan: That's so interesting. 'cause you can, you can spend a lot of time waste a lot of time like looking for the wrong property in the wrong area with the wrong budget sometimes too. So, we are very pleased to hear the course really helped you get

Joel (student): definitely

Veronica Morgan: quickly on the right track when you started sort of learning how to buy.

Veronica Morgan: I suspect I might know what the answer to this question is, but, you know, what was the biggest myth that you had to let go of?

Joel (student): the biggest myth I realized I had to let go of was that house prices, like land prices increase in value. That was something I was really holding onto, for a very long time, which is what led me down the pathway of buying a house and then realizing, you know what, yes.

Joel (student): So that was the biggest myth that once I realized after doing the course, once I let go of that concept of land, that's when things became a lot more easier and I kind of expanded what I was looking for.

Meighan Wells: Oh, love that. So good, so clever

Meighan Wells: because it is, it is one of those golden myths that, you know, you should buy a house over any apartment or a townhouse regardless of, you know, anything else being not good about it.

Joel (student): I suppose all of it. So competition there were, there were definitely when we were looking, so it was very interesting. on the weekends, you know, for a whole two months. I spent weekends and my partner joined in at one point. We managed to do like 13 houses on a Saturday between the two of us, but we

Meighan Wells: good.

Meighan Wells: Was that after the coffee, the one coffee you had for the food?

Joel (student): Definitely, definitely. It was, it was, it stopped the day started off slow and then we just ended up crashing by the end of it because of how. Crazy. It was. but yeah, we, that was very strategic and when we were doing that. I definitely, the houses that I were inspecting, based on the location, I didn't see as many people.

Joel (student): So that was definitely an eyeopener. But as you know, the more houses you look, the more properties are looked at, the better an idea I got as to what to expect and what kind of market I'm looking at in terms of what family, what families are looking for, what investors are looking for. You could definitely pick out the investors or.

Joel (student): Just young families, young couples. It was very interesting to see the different, uh, markets.

Veronica Morgan: Yeah, yeah. And what did you sort of first pivot on, do you think? Was it the location or the property type, or did you sort of have previously have non-negotiables that became negotiable? What? What do you think was the first thing to give in your search?

Joel (student): and we were thinking about, you know, People like us and me and my partner were talking about it and we were like, you know what? These aren't the communities that we will thrive in. We, we will end up driving to where we currently are because that's where all the people like us are.

Joel (student): And that's a 20 minute drive. So it, that's what had to give, the house had to give first, and then once we realized the suburb that I could afford. Would be a suburb where you could only buy apartments. That's when we started looking at suburbs and apartments specifically.

Veronica Morgan: Which is sort of funny because with that three Ps we talk about the price, the property, the position.

Veronica Morgan: I love that.

Joel (student): Absolutely. Yeah. We got a unit and we have mates living just next door from us. It's a big complex, and they've got a dog and we joke about being like a pet aunt, like aunt opposite their pet, so we can, so you've got a little community

Meighan Wells: there as well.

Joel (student): Yeah. It's already,

Veronica Morgan: I think that sounds like the biggest plot twist in your search. Would you say that other than the house versus unit and that location, we gonna have a better lifestyle there?

Veronica Morgan: Was there any other aha moments that you went Oh, that's, that's something I didn't think of before or, or hadn't, hadn't really understood.

Joel (student): thinking about the future, so for me, for, for us, uh, the property was always gonna end up being a, an investment property down the track. Right. Got it. So taking that into consideration was very important for us because we knew where we currently bought would be a is is a much better.

Joel (student): And suburbs that we would like to live in and just, you know, aspects, how big the rooms need to be, how many bedrooms, all of those things were very important while we were looking for properties. so yeah. Keeping that in mind, this one stood out over time. After two or three months of searching, this one stood out compared to the others.

Meighan Wells: You are a very diligent student, and, and as I mentioned earlier, I, I really enjoyed the questions that you brought to Campfire and how you analyzed the properties. Can you tell me about, the moment when you knew that this one was the property, what was, what was it about this that tipped you over the line to say, yes, this is the one that we need to go for?

Joel (student): I could give you, I could give you the. Short story in a, in a nutshell. So with the first property I looked at, I was really interested in that property.

Joel (student): It was freshly renovated, slightly higher than this current one that I purchased. in a similar suburb, in a similar area. and I know, you know, the, where I live, I know the place really well. been in Wollongong for the last, for the last 10 years, so I, I kind of know the suburbs, I know the streets, I know what it's like.

Joel (student): I put my deposit on the other, on the other property and was kind of almost sweet, talked into. Into putting a deposit into that property by the real estate agent, uh, without realizing it. But then after I read the contract by myself, couldn't find any issues, passed the contract onto my solicitor, and then realized that the renovations that they had done in that, on that property weren't approved by strata.

Veronica Morgan: I know you were, you brought it to Campfire and you're like, Ooh, I dunno about this one.

Joel (student): Yeah. Then Veronica was like, I would not touch that. And I was like, that's very, I wouldn't touch it either.

Joel (student): So we said I'd let that go. and yeah, and then I was a bit disheartened that didn't go to plan. and then after that, a couple of weeks later, I was, I, this property came on the market and it came up on the market.

Joel (student): there was a inspection on Saturday. And I said, you know what? I know this location. I lived around the corner from this when I first came to Australia. I know the suburb pretty well. I know the location. I have a mate that lives in the same building complex. So I had a chat with him as well to get his view on what the complex is like and what it's like living there.

Joel (student): And he said, no, uh, there's, it's most likely gonna sell because there are two people currently interested. And that's in that moment is when I decided, you know what? I've looked at a lot of properties over the last three months. That's what I just, I know you wouldn't approve this, but I, I put an offer in right then and there on that property and without even inspecting it.

Joel (student): And then after the call to the realist, after my offer got accepted or just before it got accepted, I put the 0.25% deposit down and I told him, Hey, I haven't actually inspected this property. Do you mind if I come have a look at it this evening before I actually go ahead and signed the contract or before?

Joel (student): So, so you weren't bound

Meighan Wells: at that point, but you had a verbal trial agreement. Let's make sure that everyone's clear on that. He was not bound

Joel (student): by definitely the

Veronica Morgan: offer at that point.

Joel (student): Definitely. And then went in the, that evening after I'd said I'd take the, Offer on the property.

Joel (student): And yeah, within 48 hours, I've put a offer down on the property because everything checked out. So this one. I wasn't, it didn't take as long due diligence as compared to the other property, the, the previous one that I, that I looked at, but I'm, it all worked out really well.

Veronica Morgan: Well, I guess you had your support crew lined up ready to go.

Veronica Morgan: I did. Absolutely. You also knew you'd researched the market really well and so you, you could work out what that offer should be, you know, in terms of your price research and then it's one thing that is sort of a little bit easier with units. Um, over houses. 'cause often there's, there's sort of history in the block.

Veronica Morgan: So you've gotta understand if you're listening and you're in Queensland or Victoria or Western Australia, wherever you are. How you make offers in every study is very different. There's a, there's an order Now. We don't normally say you make an offer before seeing it. However you were able, it was strategic by the sounds of it, in the sense that you knew that you had to strike and show them you were serious and then that prevailed.

Veronica Morgan: So, congratulations. We're very excited. I'm glad you didn't buy the one that didn't have the approved renovations.

Meighan Wells: but also you knew from the course the things that you had to do in a very quick and very short timeframe, so you understood what your risks were and what you had to do within that timeframe to cover your, to cover yourself.

Meighan Wells: So well done on that. Thank you. You did move with haste, but you did it very carefully and got all the steps. Yeah,

Joel (student): absolutely. And like you said, you know, I had my, I had my team ready, so as soon as I knew I'm interested, I just sent emails out, made phone calls, and I got it done within 48 hours.

Joel (student): Yeah. So it worked out really well.

Veronica Morgan: And so now that you've got a mortgage in hand, how does that actually feel? You got relief, pride, panic,

Joel (student): all the above. Yeah. A a bit of all the above actually. it feels good. I, it's hard to, it's hard. It's a weird feeling to describe. It feels good. Even though there's a big chunk of my money that's no longer because I'm so used to staring at my bank balance for so phone

Joel (student): that bloody no longer exists.

Joel (student): It's now bricks and mortar. It is. Rather than in the bank. Exactly.

Joel (student): But it, it does feel good, you know, there's still a bit of work to do on the property. and as the property came furnished as well, so I'm slowly getting rid of Oh, really? Furniture? Yeah. They, the. Previous, uh, owner just threw it all in. Um, so I was like, sure.

Veronica Morgan: You're planning on this to be an investment. What sort of timeframe have you got in mind for that,

Joel (student): in the next two to three years? So we definitely need one year, as per the government rules to, in order to live in it for, can't remember what the rule is, but it's for one of the criteria of purchasing a first home, I think it was the super service scheme or one of the criteria for the Super service scheme.

Joel (student): And then, yeah, after that, another year or so, and then eventually we might move out. Don't know what life has in store for us, but we do know we eventually, when we do move out, we'll, we'll definitely turn it into an investment problem.

Meighan Wells: So it's potentially a stepping stone to the next one. but that's certainly a long-term hold for you.

Meighan Wells: love that you're thinking about your retirement. You know, you, it's just a long term thinking, don't you like being an engineer?

Meighan Wells: You've just finished the course. Yeah, true,

Meighan Wells: Oh God. Joel, we, um, have absolutely loved having you as part of the course. We've loved having your participation and even the other students in campfire really picked up, good ideas from the questions that you asked. So it was great that you could share that, and that's what we love about Campfire is that, that everyone is sharing their information.

Meighan Wells: and we can give, you know, expert advice, for each question. But what, what advice would you have for somebody who's actually thinking about doing the first time buyer course?

Joel (student): Do it sooner than later. So I, I actually sat on, before I purchased the course, I actually waited a month and I don't know why, I did not know what previous Joel was thinking, but after I bought the course, I was like, I should have done this sooner.

Joel (student): You start at the base, you prepare yourself, get all your gear ready, and then you aim to get to the summit, which is eventually buying a property. what I love about the course is it takes you through each step systematically. So, and you have time. So the modules take, give you time in, you can take time in between modules to set that up, which I think is really important.

Joel (student): if your timeline is six months from starting the course to eventually buying the property. It's a long timeline, but the modules support you through each of those steps. So all the way from preparation down to execution. So the modules are set up in such a way where you can read.

Joel (student): If it's an auction or if it's private treaty, talking to a solicitor, getting, getting a building and pest, all of those things. And the campfire as well helps. compliment those modules, which is really, really useful. So, yeah.

Veronica Morgan: Well, we are delighted. Thanks for that rundown too. And it's really good to know how people use it because that's how we mm-hmm.

Veronica Morgan: Thought it through and how we designed it and, we're so delighted to hear and was delighted to have you in campfire. We're gonna miss you, but that's the whole point really, that you buy a property. So we can't sort of go, I'll stay in campfire and don't buy. That's that sort of defeats purpose. Thank you.

Veronica Morgan: Again, Joel, and thank you so much for sharing your story on the podcast. Thank you. Not all of our students do, in fact, only a small fraction actually do, because everyone's shy, and so don't be shy. Come and for the other ones do not be shy, because it's a great opportunity for other people to be inspired by your journey and to know that it can be done if you just apply yourself.

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Speaker 4: Thanks for joining us. If you've enjoyed this podcast, we encourage you to join our Facebook group. It's called Your First Home Buyer Guide Australia, and it's your opportunity to connect with us and ask us your questions, which we will answer, meaning you can make sure that you are not getting led down the garden path.

Speaker 4: We hope to see you there soon.