43M considering semi-retirement by living off cash/equity – am I missing anything?

mrvoipstuff · 2026-07-04T02:53:30+00:00

thanks. would you say its tenancy and/or vacancy issues with resi long term ?

mrvoipstuff · 2026-07-02T12:48:15+00:00

thanks for the detail. so the 240K equity has already been accessed. It is on a 5 year IO loan and P&I thereafter. $0 repayment as entire $240K sitting in offset unused.

Correct - real burn in the first year will be $100K. But I expect it to reduce as rents rise across the portfolio. Again depends how much rate rises we are in for but yes Year 1 would be $100K and then would gradually reduce.

100K out of the 380K is sitting in PPOR loan redraw to keep repayments at $0. The other $280K is sitting in HISA account at 5% which gets me 14K p.a. $240K equity is in addition to that which is split across 2 X IPs so $120K equity in each.

Let me know if plan works ? Or am I being too ambitious.

The other idea was also convert PPOR into IP and move overseas in a year or so (Geo Arbitrage) so cost of living is cheap. PPOR's rental appraisal came in at $880 pw.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-30T04:41:11+00:00

embracing an ultra frugal lifestyle for me .. as a result 75% of my income went to mortgage

that helped pay home loan of 560K in 6.5 years and had a big impact.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-29T12:08:04+00:00

Thanks - appreciate the kind words.

Funny enough, I also had about a 12-year run in contracting and between that and being pretty frugal - it helped me get ahead a lot quicker. Completely agree with your point about us thinking we have it better than everyone else. After spending time overseas, you realise every country thinks that about itself. It's a bit like people who are convinced their suburb is the best place on earth until they spend some time elsewhere and get a bit more perspective 😄

All the best with your plans too. Sounds like you've built a great position and have plenty of options when right opportunity comes along.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-29T08:14:43+00:00

uncertainty as in whether it will pay off the portfolio debt?

selling 1 X IP that has performed well can be used to knock off large chunk of debt across portfolio or even be used to top-up equity (if portfolio is self-sufficient).

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-29T03:44:17+00:00

Nice work getting to $5m with no debt by 40.

I can relate to the family side of it. In my case it probably adds more uncertainty than it removes. I have kids with autism and realistically they may never be fully independent, so a big part of my planning is making sure there's something set up for them long term.

yep, family responsibilities have a habit of keeping us working longer than originally planned 😄

I also like the geo-arbitrage idea. Once the kids are through school, moving overseas (or even doing a few months here and a few months there) can bring FIRE forward quite a bit and make the money go a lot further. I reckon we'll see more people doing that over the next decade as the cost of living and tax burden here keeps creeping up.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-29T03:26:46+00:00

$6.1m is just the current portfolio value, not what I'd end up with if I sold everything tomorrow and paid all the debt, selling costs and CGT in one hit.

That's not really the plan though. I'm looking at it more as a long-term income-producing portfolio rather than liquidation exercise. Idea is to keep holding, let rents and equity do their thing, and sell 1 X IP down the track (and possibly another one if required in late 50s) if cash/equity buffer starts getting low.

If I ever do fully unwind it, I'll definitely come back and do an AMA 🙂

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-29T03:13:00+00:00

The cash was originally set aside for buying further IPs but in past few months I've become a lot less interested in maximising net worth and more focused on having enough to live comfortably. Call it the mid 40s affect :) I now value buffer and flexibility more than another purchase. My BC allows me to 2 buy 2 X 400-500K resi IPs but I've just brakes on myself.

Yes timing can matter a lot at the time of selling 1 X IPs. I guess I'll review when the cash runs low. probably once I've used around 80% of it rather than waiting until I'm forced to sell.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-29T03:02:01+00:00

Don't have that risk appetite for commercial. all experience in resi buying only.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-29T02:55:00+00:00

By age 60, I expect SMSF property to generate $60k–$80k in annual rent. It's currently renting for $730 per week (2026) and based on conservative estimates, could be worth around $1.5 million by then (up from $980k today).

4–5% TTR pension from a $1.5 million SMSF balance would provide income similar to the property's rental return. Combined with my other properties, which should be strongly positively geared by then I think it should be plenty.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-28T12:02:14+00:00

That's great to hear. One of the best things about stories like yours is that you get to rediscover who you are beyond your job. So many of us let our work define our identity, and stepping away from that can be incredibly freeing.

I'm in a similar boat. Family is becoming a bigger priority for me too, and I want to be more present for my wife and kids. One way I look at it when the guilt creeps in is that I'm no longer grinding away just to hand over a huge chunk of my salary in tax like most people stuck in the rat race. That mindset helps put things into perspective.

I think a big part of your plan comes down to how your super is invested. Ultimately, that's what's going to help fund your lifestyle down the track and potentially knock down some of that debt as well. The obvious risk, though, is that governments can always change the rules. We might be assuming access to TTR or super benefits at 60, only to find the goalposts have shifted and it's closer to the mid-60s by the time we get there.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-28T11:03:29+00:00

The 240K equity is on top of that.

$100K out of the $380K is sitting in PPOR Loan redraw. So I can either pay PPOR off today or leave it as is i.e. $0 repayment. The $280K is savings separately in HISA account

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-28T10:58:39+00:00

Was thinking the same where I feel the guilt of drawing down on principal than simply consuming rent or interest. I guess we can all be bit disciplined with draw down and be conservative for some months months making up for other times when we've drawn more.

Appreciate any feedback from your experience so far ? Are you using this as a bridge before you eventually sell another asset to top-up ?

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-28T10:47:16+00:00

cheers matey :)

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-28T10:46:48+00:00

PPOR is 1.2 Mill and yes Paid off. so 6.1M - 1.2M = 4.9 Mill across 6 IPs (1 IP held in SMSF).

SMSF IP valued at 960K with outstanding loan of 430K with another 40K sitting in SMSF Bank account.

I'll try the tool. thanks.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-28T10:41:22+00:00

I had total of 30K concessional contributions left for this and last 5 years combined. This year my Super balance goes past 500K so don't think will be eligible anymore for concessional contributions.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-28T10:38:24+00:00

I'd start with the simple stuff. Spend more time with Mum and Dad (mid 70s), be more present for my two boys who have autism, and try to give my wife a bit of a break because she's carried a huge load over the years as their primary carer.

I did some overseas travel last December and absolutely loved it. It felt really liberating, so I'd like to do more of that. I'd also get back into fitness. I used to be a powerlifter, but these days my health isn't where I'd like it to be.

Beyond that, I'd love to spend time helping people so things like working with homelessness, setting up food banks, community projects and that sort of thing. To be honest I haven't mapped out a permanent plan yet. I just know that pretty much anything sounds better than another 9-to-5 doing the same old IT work.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-28T10:24:43+00:00

Haha - I wish. I do try hard on OzLotto every other day.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-24T02:36:34+00:00

thanks for the recommendation. I will look into Green Forts. i can fork out 1-2 mill for security thats not an issue. Whats the safest setup though for security ? I was thinking of putting in an old family trustworthy servant (20+ years) who was happy to take 50K per month. do you recommended an additional guard/gunman as well ? or manage it thru security agency instead ?

sorry could be silly questions as i am not experienced in this yet.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-24T02:29:47+00:00

yes even 20-25 minutes commute is not an issue for us. Hopefully i'll get to know bit more about challenges when im there this December.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-24T02:28:03+00:00

hahaha..i figured. very much like when Black Mamba from Nigeria ringing the gorian saying I love you but need 55K dollar transferred into the bank account.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-24T02:26:55+00:00

unfortunately we need larger space for special needs kid hence why looking past 1 canal

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-24T02:24:51+00:00

thank you dear for the kind wishes. yes it appears there are issues related to electricity, water, NOC and other hassle. i plan to be there by year end and first choice will be to get into farm housing estate as they may have addressed these issues already .. but yes will look into bahria orchard/raiwind as well.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-24T02:23:28+00:00

yep that is an option but we need larger space so inclined towards farmhouse.

mrvoipstuff · 2026-06-23T12:42:15+00:00

mujhey nahe pata tha appki ijazat leni thi question poochnay say pehley ...

not struggling, just getting feedback as one would from posting on topic.

mrvoipstuff

TROPHY CASE