Timestamps:
0.29 | Melbourne Beginnings
5.57 | A Real Action Hero
10.39 | US Summer Camp Lessons
18.13 | Bootcamp
28.12 | Middle East Deployment

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0.13 | Marching on to Property
8.21 | Soldier Turned Investor
15.06 | Disciplined Decision Making
16.57 | A Whole Different Game

Resources and Links:

[15:09) Just removing myself from my comfort zone, and then physically going to a different place with different people. And there's nothing there that I know. I think that the whole process within itself is enough to change somebody's mind because you kind of have to adapt.

Tyrone Shum:
This is Property Investory where we talk to successful property investors to find out more about their stories, mindset and strategies.

I’m Tyrone Shum and in this episode we’re speaking to military man Timothy Brown, as he takes us through his personal journey growing up. Discover how he lived in the United States at the age of 22 for a year that changed his life forever and how his unforgettable experiences in the army, gave him the life skills to succeed as a prolific propert y investor. 

Timothy Brown is a remarkably disciplined individual who’s managed to succeed wherever he’s gone. 

[0:29] I currently work for the federal government and have been working for the federal government for most of my working career. And I have become obsessed with property in the journey.

[1:00] I work for the Department of Home Affairs, and one of the sub agencies that deals with immigration. And I deal with a lot of international people that come into the country and day to day just looks like working with the police and how they interact with people from across the borders. But that's only a recent role. I've spent most of my federal government time within the military, the army more specifically.

Spending most of his life in Victoria between a recent stay in Adelaide, Brown shares with us how he never had a major interest in school but still enjoyed growing up in Melbourne. 

[2:43] I grew up in a suburb in Melbourne called Alphington, which is to the east northeast of the city, fairly close to the city. And I've been Victorian, obviously, for a while, but I spent most of my last nine years over in Adelaide, actually. So I've kind of moved around the states a bit, particularly for work in the military.

[3:29] I had no intention of leaving Victoria. I grew up as a, you know, typical Victorian kid and went to a school within the area, high school as well. And pretty much I suppose I spent most of my time doing what everyone else did, you know, hanging around the pool at our house and just hanging out with mates. And I didn't have any intention to leave, as I said, until I decided to join the army after school a few years after school actually, and they pretty much tell you where you're going. So that's just how I ended up in Adelaide.

[4:22] I was physically at school not mentally, it just wasn't me I just I'm a very disciplined, structured and regimental person however just school wasn't wasn't for me and I spend most of my time hanging out with mates whether it's you know, in the pool physically outdoors doing things but also would spend a fair amount of time inside playing you know, PlayStation with the boys and things like that. Very, very typical of the genre of my ideas with all my school friends, but yes, school. Yeah, it wasn't for me. I got along with everyone there and my teachers and stuff but my attentive love was very much not there. And I just, I just rocked up enough to get through it all, to be honest. It's very typical of people who join the military.

Brown reflects on what led him toward his chosen career path in the army and how exactly he followed that path. 

[5:57] I spent most of my childhood playing armies, you know, pretend armies as a kid, and you know, had all the toy guns. And if I didn't have a toy gun, I had my index finger pointed out my thumb up, you know, that was good enough. And I think it just kind of, I was always interested in the military, and, you know, armored vehicles and soldiers and whatnot. And then once they got to an age where they kind of clicked and I just went, I can actually do this myself, now I can actually go and be a soldier and fulfill that kind of childhood dream of what I've been doing in the backyard. So that's kind of the pivotal point where I'm going to do this. It did take a few years for me to actually get in because I was very, very staunch in a specific role I wanted. So I was patient enough to wait for that role to open up, it was quite a competitive time to get in around that, that time of finishing school. 

[6:58} So I wanted to join the cavalry. So that's these days, not horses anymore. But it is armored vehicles, armoured fighting vehicles. And I wanted to fight on top of an AZ lab for an APC. And that's exactly what I ended up doing, which is really good. And I was really glad I was patiently waiting for that specific role, because there were others, they were happy to take me for other positions. But I just, I just didn't want to do that. I just knew what I wanted. And I was headstrong, and I was just going for it. So it was a few years of just sitting on the sidelines waiting until it could really get in there. So it just made it all the sweeter when I finally was able to be recruited.

[8:29] It was straight out of high school, I had a few limitations on, in my mind, whether I wanted to do full time to be honest, I was a bit nervous to go full time. So I was thinking about maybe doing reserves, but you know, my dad and my mom who were very supportive of that really kind of nurtured and coached me to just do it, put in the full time but I did get knocked back the first time they said, you know, go away grow up for a bit, which is quite common for you know, someone 18 years old, straight out of school. Okay, so that's, that was my first kind of experience, which I was gutted when I got that letter. Oh, absolutely. God, it was a major setback for me.

However, he managed to turn this setback into a valuable experience, taking an opportunity to work in the United States at a summer camp. 

[10:39] I just turned 22 When I actually first got in. So it was, it was a couple years that I didn't have that military career, but what I was doing was just doing other other jobs. I worked with my uncle for a while. And that was just in some installing industrial fitouts. So pallet racking and stuff, so nothing too special, crazy, but um, it was money in the pocket while I waited for this job. And I did a few other things. You know, I was working quite a bit, working at Kohl's and picking up other little rolls every now and again, just testing a few things out. But you know, none of it really fulfilled me. But also, I knew that I knew that I was waiting for something else. So it didn't really bother me as well. It was good to earn some money and enjoy myself. And I took myself on a few trips overseas, one to a couple for just holidays and short stints and I ended up actually going over to the United States and working in a summer camp over there. And that was an amazing experience. And it's probably one of the best things I did prior to joining the army because it kind of really opened up my eyes, in terms of the greater world and really got some good life experience just going by myself to another country and just learning.

[12:08] I had a really good time, it was an amazing experience for me to get out of high school, obviously do a bit of travel, but then do a big trip, which is four to five months, I was away for by myself get overseas, and work in one of these summer camps. It was just really good to meet new people, be out on my own and explore that part of the world, as well as earn a bit of money and do it and travel and whatnot. And it's one of the best things I did prior to joining the army because it really set me up for success in terms of having a better mindset, really honing in and confirming what I wanted to do. When I got back to Australia. It was a big, big game changer for me just being a bit more worldly. And of course, you know, when the army sent me away to grow up a bit more, that's exactly what those sorts of things did.

[13:12] I think the way it worked out was when I first had the application denied for the army, I had to go through a bit of an appeals process. And that was a bit arduous, really, in terms of back and forth with appeal paperwork and documents. And that kind of really put a damper on me as a whole, in my mind, so I can't remember how it came up. To be honest, I think I've just heard somebody say something about it. And I just went to mum and dad and said, ‘What do you think? While I'm waiting for the army, they've told me it's about a year's wait from now and I should be good to go. But what should I do?’ And they just said you're stupid not to basically so they assisted me in kind of arranging that and I just got over there and and just went for it. And it was a really amazing experience. I was employed as a lifeguard. So my role was just driving little Tucker's little kids around on a boat for them to wakeboard around so I got the good lifeguard gig. So it was unreal, the holiday and getting paid to do it. It was the best thing I highly recommend but it's very American. It's so American, but it was really really really fun.

This valuable experience really expanded his worldview and put him in good stead for his future in the military.

[15:09] Just removing myself from my comfort zone, and then physically going to a different place with different people. And there's nothing there that I know. I think that the whole process within itself is enough to change somebody's mind because you kind of have to adapt. Because it's uncomfortable, it's uncomfortable. Being in a new place, we don't know anything, don't know anyone. And I think that's really conducive for changing someone's mind, if you want to let it do that, and then then be forced to integrate with other people. I want to say cultures, but you know, it's America, it's very similar to here, but it's obviously a bit more American. 

[15:48] But this, there's still a bit of assimilation that needs to happen. And then just meeting different people, many people from all around the world because the summer camps are basically where parents send their kids for the summer, their summer, on holidays. And, you know, the kids get to go on these great experiences and adventures and they have all these international what they call counselors come over and look after him, basically. So everyone's in the same boat. Everyone's thinking, what am I doing, everyone's having a great time meeting new people. And it's a really cool environment, I think to start growing within yourself, being comfortable in your own skin, meeting new people from all different cultures and backgrounds, etc. It's really hard not to have a different outlook on life. Because you realize there's a bigger world out there with different problems, different people, different places. If you can really know that in hindsight, it's a real weapon in your mindset.

Joining the army is a daunting task for anyone, and for Brown, it was not any easier. 

[18:13] 2014 is when I got the enlistment date and I was pretty much put on a bus one day in April and sent to what people know is boot camp but it's just recruit training up in Wagga Wagga.

[18:43] I was very very nervous. You know, obviously, kind of just experienced being away and that but this is a different game. This is the military. It's designed exactly to break you down really and rebuild you as a soldier exactly how they want you to be, very regimented and stuff. So sitting on that bus, I've met a few people obviously and I was like we're all in the same boat pretty nervous. But yeah, it was a nerve wracking ride. It felt like a really really long bus ride up to Wagga and pulling into that gate. I just remember my heart through my chest thinking ‘What have I done?’ So yeah, it was it was pretty sketchy for a bit there but once we got going is okay but yeah, I think the whole time at what we call Kapooka was I was holding on I was really holding on it was such a shock to the system it's it's funny and easy now when I think about it, but it was scary.

[20:11] It's a firehose of information and a new way of life. So, at the time there, it's tough and it's hard, it's arduous, and it's scary. It's unknown. But sitting here now looking back at it, it was a breeze. And it was easy, particularly once you experience you know, the real army world outside, outside military training. But at that time, when you know nothing, nothing else, it is hectic, that's a way to experience the way to describe it is this hectic. So you know, just just learning everything from ironing your your cams, and your clothes, probably from making your bed to the most precision measurements or marching on the jewel square shooting weapons pack marching for for hours, and hours and hours with heavyweight, what, whatever it is learning navigation, the whole range of military skills and tactics is quite big. 

[21:02] And it's really, really hard to get your head around quickly, when you have to do that you have to adapt and get your skills and knowledge up to scratch. Yet to be able to, you know, march out on that day as a soldier. Wow. So I say only felt like three years at the time will count in the days of him, me and one of my best mates. In the same room as me we have a little secret makeshift calendar crossing off days. And we were just gone from meal to meal. Trying to just take it, you know, bite chunks. But yeah, it was full on.

Brown explains his transition into the cavalry and what he learned while he was there. 

[22:10] As I said before, I wanted to join the cavalry. So everyone splits off from Kapooka and then goes to their new units. So for me, it was my cavalry training position. So I had a handful of guys who were doing that with me, we all got on the bus and went to pack a Pineal Victoria. And we did our cover armored core training there. And that was about six months. In Parker pineal, for me, it's the experience of seeing the freezing cold to the hot, you know, temperature changes of Parker, as we call it. And that was really cool that yeah, it was really, really cool to be honest, because that's when we really got into the nitty gritty of the job, climbing on armored vehicles and learning the bigger weapons, learning all the different skills to be covering and learning history, and really becoming attached to that role, particularly with knowing the history of, you know, Light Horse and, and being the guys with the, you know, the the feather, as I say inhabits the plumes that you see in a, you know, a hat of a trained soldier. So that was really, really cool to be able to be part of and to learn all those different skill sets to be a cavalryman.

The Army usually has a minimum four year requirement after enlisting. 

[24:45] You stay in until you want to either discharge or move on to a different role or whatnot. But typically within those four years, depending on what you do in your experience, you might be promoted or you deploy or or other things like that, so there can be some moving around. found, if you posted to a different unit in a different location, and we, it seems to be the trend, especially these days that a lot of guys just do their four years, and then they'll discharge. But obviously you have people that range from doing it 4 years to, you know, 30-40 years. So it's really up to the individual to decide how they want to see out their career and where they continue for that long. So and as I said, I did about six, six and a half years with that before I pulled the pin.

[25:53] When I was going to my cavalry training when they were up, they stood up a unit in Adelaide. So they split what was the first regiment from Darwin, and then put a sub unit down in Adelaide. And they were asking pretty much for volunteers to go there. So I ended up raising my hand and said, ‘Yeah, I'll go, I'll do it.’ I didn't have a giant drive to go anywhere else. I thought I'll just give it a crack. So I went over to Adelaide and it ended up being the best choice ever, for a whole number of reasons. But after six months, they flew us to Adelaide and we just joined the unit and then started again, starting from the bottom ranks again. So it was really cool to get to Adelaide and be part of the new sub unit as well. And I was lucky enough myself to get a deployment to the Middle East, as well as a couple of trips into the Pacific region as well, which was a really, really awesome experience and made my career even though it was semi short. really fulfilling for myself.

Brown’s time in the middle east involved a lot of interaction with vehicles in a security and maintenance role.

[28:12] Our day to day role, basically, was to maintain our vehicles and equipment for the role that we had. And also to grow out with our training teams and meet the Iraqi partners or, you know, Iraqi police, whoever will train that week or day, in order to equip them with the skills that they could get within the two weeks that we had them for before they went up and, you know, engaged with ISIS in Mosul, which was that all the time that I was when I was in Iraq. So the day to day consisted of that. 

[28:48] So we do have little gaps in between those tasks where we can look after our own fitness, or, you know, try and get a call at home, or take care of anything personally that we need to do. But I spent a bit of time with the QRF, which is a quick reaction force as well. So that was where we'd kind of be ready to read, maintain a presence on base and be ready for anything that we needed to be called out for. If there was any, any threats or something was not quite right, we'd roll out quickly, we'd always have to be on a short notice to move, meaning that at any moment, we had to be able to jump in our vehicles and react. So that was good as well. I enjoyed that part of it. It felt like we were doing something even though there wasn't much going on, if that makes sense. But overall, it was still a really good experience. You know, it wasn't as hot as one of those deployments that some of the boys had back in the, you know, proper height of the Afghan Iraqi war, but you know, it's still good to be able to get overseas and feel like I was putting in, you know, a bit of work and effort that you're training so long for as a soldier

Reflecting on leaving the army, Brown has some advice for any potential employers out there.

[31:54] I didn't want to just jump out with nothing ready for myself. And as most people were, these days, it is a massive problem for soldiers to jump out and they don't really have anything else to go for that they're full of knowledge full of excellent skill sets really, really just good people with amazing experience who could just kill it in any, you know, invite work environment, and it's hard for them to get a look in because these days, you know, everything's really based on what papers do you have what paperwork Do you have what you need degree when when really in my mind, it doesn't really determine what type of person you are what kind of ethics or or worker you're going to be. I think it's a huge huge miss for any employer who doesn't look in to ex soldiers. Male or female or whatever.

While enjoying his time in the army, Brown was always thinking ahead for what he was going to do when he returned from his service. 

[00:13] The military almost made me push to property because no matter what type of soldier or if you're the best soldier, you're salary capped, you have a government salary. And unless you're promoted in rank or doing specialist roles or whatnot, or keep going up the hierarchy in a different way, your salary is going to be capped by the government so you can be the most outstanding soldier and you're not gonna get any extra pay. And that was a problem for me, because I wanted to be able to build more for my life, because my mind and as I told you, at the start of this, I wasn't built for school, I wasn't built for that typical structure of society, the nine to five, that that's just not me. And I just needed to break out of that. 

[00:57] So I just was brainstorming pretty much every spare second of my life thinking, 'What can I do? How can I do something?' And just thinking of other roles, I didn't want to leave the military at this time, I was like, 'No, this is, this is an awesome job. But I'm not going to do this forever, I need a game plan.' And that led me to investing. And that's when I just started scratching this little itch of investing. And it's opened up this whole new world for me. And it just changed the trajectory of my life completely. And it was the best thing ever. So I spent actually talking about being in the Middle East, every spare moment I had over there, if I wasn't out on task, or if I wasn't in the gym training, I was studying investments, particularly property, it was nonstop. And the obsession just hasn't, hasn't stopped since then. In fact, it's just increased day by day almost. 

[1:48] Yeah, and it was just something different that I wanted. And I had a look at other investment types, stocks and all that stuff. And it just, it didn't, it didn't feel right, I did end up going into the stock market. And I actually built my first house deposit in the stock market, because I'm very analytical and calculated. And I knew that to get into the property investing, I had to get a deposit together. And I wasn't prepared to wait that long for a deposit. Because as people know, particularly these days, the hardest part is just saving, just being diligent and disciplined with your money being organized, capturing that surplus cash and trying to save a deposit. And all while the market is moving on you as well. So yeah, I put some money into the stock market after a lot of research and did quite well with that, and ended up building my first deposit there. And that's where I started the property journey.

After working to build up the capital needed for his deposit, Brown used the services of a buyer's agent to get his foot into the door. 

[3:27] I was using a buyer's agent for most of these properties as well. So straight off the bat, I was prepared and understood the value of a buyer's agent. And that's why that's why I did it. So I'd already built a house with my partner, Georgie, in Adelaide. She actually, credit to her, she actually managed that when I was overseas in Iraq, so she she probably had the most stressful time while I was deployed in Iraq, she was home trying to organize the house being built so props to her for doing that but that was technically our first that we were going to live in that one though. 

While deployed in Iraq, Brown’s partner was back in Australia developing their own home for nine months before his property investments took off. 

[6:09] So we purchased a property through a buyer's agent that put us into a unit in our size of a townhouse Villa kind of thing out in Western Sydney, which, you know, this was the start of my mindset journey around property thinking or, you know, some of these properties, I doesn't necessarily mean I want to live into them. And that's one of the biggest lessons I learned when you think about investing, yeah. It's sexy, it’s cool. You own these big properties on the world map. No, it's a business transaction if the numbers work, and if it's if it suits your personal financial and goal circumstances, then that's that's a decision to be made. So that's what we did that first out west and seeing that's done. That's done considerably well.

Brown explains to us how he managed to be successful in the property investment sphere while only investing in smaller properties. 

[8:21] Most of them are townhouses or units and stuff, just because our because our wages weren't crazy, the servicing wasn't there to be able to buy bigger properties, plus some, you know, the ninja strategy that we employed with our buyer's agent was to leverage off a few more of these type of properties. A lot of the good deals on the market value that we're able to roll on to the next one pull equity pretty much straight away. So really, honestly, we only really put in that one deposit with a bit of saving in between refinancing. And we just rolled on and just kept punching these out. 

[8:58] So we bought four in Queensland in the end. So the first one was in Labrador. And then the next one, I believe, I'm trying to think of the timeline of it all we went up to Townsville, which is a really really awesome spot at the moment, particularly for investing and then a couple more around the place

He reflects on some of the more difficult times in his investing journey. 

[10:29] I remember our first one or two properties, it took a couple of days to get finance and now we're talking and then this time, when it was getting some more eight weeks, sometimes for some banks to get finance around. And it just, it's not conducive with the usual transactions of a property where you have a vendor who's waiting for, you know, finance or a contract or to get settlement dates in and you're still pushing extensions every few weeks, it's it was just nightmarish, and everyone else was experiencing at least so it was a crazy time for finance. And it's slowing down now, but still is pretty, pretty hectic for some banks, particularly. But one of the lows, I guess you could call it, was one we had two properties under management by the one managers in Queensland, and they just weren't managed well at all. And it was a lesson to learn for myself to make sure you have good managers. 

[11:26] So we just, we weren't getting bills paid because we obviously wanted everything to be done by the manager as you employ him to do and we set up all the rates and water and stuff to be sent to them and pay to them and it just wasn't happening. And we were getting, you know, late, late notices and extra fees and this and trying to sort it out was a nightmare trying to contact them was a nightmare. Had a few repairs that needed to be done such as aircon and stuff like that. And, you know, aircon in Queensland like as a, as a tenant, you want to be able to have that so you can maintain that good relationship with a with a tenant, I think that's really, really key. You don't want to be one of these landlords who just treat your tenants like not well at all. And it just wasn't getting done. It was months and months and months just to get simple repairs done. And I felt horrible for the tenant. But I was just pushing so hard and obviously resigning in Adelaide at the time, I wasn't physically there to be able to do anything. 

[12:22] And there was a lot of back and forth between the managers to kind of determine to turn to a point where it's just I've pretty much sat in the mud, there's no way I'm putting any assets under your management anymore because it's just it's very, very, very poor management. I think that's a massive lesson for us. Because it just caused so much headache for something that's meant to be dealt with, you know, holy by them. I'd much rather pay triple for good managers than pay cheap for poor managers because it pays dividends when things go wrong. Absolutely it is 100% a key component of any future strategies or purchasing properties for me right now

[13:56] It does take a bit of resilience to push through and you know, if it's your first it was probably our third or fourth or that was really happening but if that's your first property if that's your first experience of property investing, it can be full on and you need to really be robust in what you're doing and really have your goals set out so you can see through those obstacles because if if you if you're not looking that far ahead that can be really detrimental to your success in investing.

Through his experiences, Brown has learned about working with a variety of property professionals and shares his advice on mortgage broking. 

[15:06] If that broker is not right for you, then it's still not it's not a good scenario. So I think the key is to understand if they're good at what they're doing, competent and experienced. And if that competency and experience suits you, your position and your goals, I think there's got to be compatibility there. So I think, during my obsessive research all these years before, I was pretty knowledgeable, and all the buyers agents and all the people in the property space out there, and some of them were absolutely loved, and I loved what they were doing. But I didn't go with them, because they just weren't doing the things that suited my position currently. And also, the things I wanted to achieve. So I think that's really, really key is not only understanding what they can do for them, and other people, but what they can do for you in your scenario and your circumstances. So really just Yeah, even if it's a phone call, just just get onto them and, and try and understand their vibes and see if it's a match for you.

After learning his lessons about different property professionals, Brown shares with us what that moment was when he realised this was the path forward for him. 

[16:57] When you pull significant equity. And you're thinking, and I'm thinking, that's, that's my year's wage. And it's been a couple months, like, hang on, and then just my brain is ticking the more this is happening, this is this weird. And you get, and you understand that it's just a different game. It's a whole new way of thinking, and you got it. Yeah, that was the aha moment for me like, Oh, this is mad, this is so good. And then just deploy that cash, back out into the marketplace and try and do it again. That's, that's what really kind of set it off for me if like, ‘Yep, I think I'm doing the right thing here. You know, instead of trading my time for money, I'm gonna get this equity in cash, from just putting my money in the right place,’ you know, putting a bit of time and energy into getting loans up and talking to people and whatnot. And then that's it. So yeah, that was really it.

Brown explains to us the freedom he gains from his investment strategy and his mindset towards his property investments. 

[18:54] If you don't know what you want, and where you're going, you're not going to send how to get there. And I think, I think that's a massive thing. So for me, my why is freedom in terms of time, I don't as I said a couple times now it's, it's this nine to five structure that I just don't like. I want to be able to have my own time. And, and with that becomes options and experiences and I want to be able to spend that time where I want and how I want and that means to me more time for my family more time traveling overseas and seeing the world and learning that history of the world and, and going places and doing things I want to do that that's that's what it is to me just being able to be free and out of the system of nine to five work until you're 60-65-75 and then you get your freedom. It just feels it feels like slavery to me really like if I think about it, they've been off and I just wanted to be out of that as quick as possible.

[19:53] And I think if you can delay gratification and put the things in place now then it's so achievable. And I think just getting that abundance mindset and getting rid of that, you know, limited mindset really lets you know, oh, this is achievable, we can do it you can get to where you want to go, particularly coming from someone you know who's had a capped income. And I'm thinking that I just can't do it. This is a big boys game. This is a rich man's game, I can't do this. You can't Yeah, absolutely can you just get your wits about you get disciplined, discipline is freedom. And not many people understand that unless they are disciplined. So if you can really, you know, develop that really abundance mindset, you can get to your wise and my why, it’s that time, freedom and time.

Brown credits his time in the army for his remarkable discipline in his property journey and acknowledges the influences and advice he’s received in his life. 

[21:29] [The Army] put steroids on that in terms of the discipline, and the structure and the regimen to nurse and stuff and I think that's why I got along so well with Army was that I was, I was happy to, you know, for my PT top 14 centimeters across and 30, centimeters back, etc. Like that, not to an OCD kind of stage of just, you know, just having everything in place. And I'm a very neat and organized person as it is. But I don't think there was any specific one person mentor. And just a really close tight knit family and inner circle that you know, you want to do it for really. 

[24:29] This is really strictly for investing. Basically, we kind of live in a structure that's designed by the wealthy for the wealthy really, that's the way I look at it right? So it's a game that you need to play and that's what I figured out this is a game and you need to be able to put your little pieces in tactical positions to be able to play this game and I think you know that going along with that is where we grow up being told to do certain thing told to save told to put your pennies away don't get into any debt. And I'm and so to do the opposite of that not not saved in terms of just putting money away, and then get into lots of debt with property and do all this stuff, it's, it's a weird thing to do because it's obviously goes against the grain of like, you know, kind of what we're told. So another's go along with that one of the other pieces of vices, no one ever saved their way to wealth. And I love that and if that can land on you and you go, ah, but we're told to save, isn't that what it's like? Oh, okay. It's very conflicting. It was a really conflicting stage for me particularly earlier on where I'm thinking about what is happening to my brain when I'm trying to process two different trains of thoughts and two different kinds of pathways. But yeah, I know, that's probably not like one piece of advice. But that's kind of a concept of what I've learned from different mentors, whether it be a virtual mentor who doesn't even know me or, you know, influences in my life such as, like other people in business or investing.

[26:39] Every investor is the same to start earlier, because you just got a bit of time in that market. And that's the advice I'd give to myself or anyone who's asking, particularly for young guys and gals who are thinking about doing anything, just get started. Just take decisive action now. Because I think the difference between success and knowledge is just taking action, just doing it.

So why invest in property? Brown shares with us an important point. 

[29:57] I think people fail to say it's like the options that it gives you. It's a time that gives you the freedoms that it gives you to then spend time with family. So yeah, are these I think always going to find that balance because you know, you see some people who work to death are so super successful. It's like they never even eat up any of their own fruits they grow. It's like, well, that's the opposite. I think you have to find a good balance.

Thank you to Timothy Brown, our guest on this episode of Property Investory.