Broke to $100m: 34yo’s incredible rise to 158 properties

Eddie Dilleen now owns around 158 homes, many of which are in areas similar to the rough neighbourhood he grew up in.

At just 34, this Aussie beat poverty and a rough start in public housing at Mt Druitt, to rack up an incredible 158 homes owned, around 16 bought this year alone.

Eddie Dilleen is among those who beat the odds where he grew up with a single mother, surviving off cheap public housing and Centrelink in one of the roughest neighbourhoods in Sydney’s west.

His horror start in life saw him promise to never be in that situation again, driving him to the point where he just can’t stop buying homes – with his housing investment portfolio increasing a shocking 50 per cent in the past year alone from circa 100 homes this time last year to 158 now.

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Eddie Dilleen said his portfolio is around $100m now in value. Picture: AAP Image / Angelo Velardo.

The secret to his surge in rental count, he told The Courier-Mail, was bulk buying, picking up entire unit blocks of five or six homes at a time – something which he has begun doing in partnership with other buyers to share the Costco-style discounts off mass purchasing and drive his purchasing power further.

“When entire existing complexes of townhouses, villas and unit blocks need to be sold in one line and I can’t personally buy them all I bring clients into the deals.”

“Most have an immediate $200k instant equity within the deal, based of individual valuations, the buyers agency clients pay us a fee of circa $25k, in return they pocket $150-200k instant equity.”

It’s a strategy he used to great effect for himself for years, which has seen him go through a meteoric rise in property numbers.

“I’m personally up to around 158 properties in my portfolio, worth over $100m combined,” he said.

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Eddie Dilleen’ found this Margate purchase in Brisbane intriguing.

It has six units directly opposite the beach in Margate.

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“A couple recent purchases I’ve bought myself are a block of six townhouses – waterfront in Margate, a block of five units in Zillmere, and a block of five units in Melbourne.”

The Margate Parade property in Brisbane’s north has 13 bedrooms, six bathrooms and seven carparking on a 776sq m block. It was sold for $3.6m in April this year – a stunning purchase that would be ripe for future upgrades given its absolute waterfront setting, multi-residential status, durable brick and block build and low maintenance.

When he bought it, the property was fully leased with long term tenants, yielding around $150,000 a year in an area where the median rent is around $510 a week.

Eddie Dilleen’s Zillmere bulk buy has five units.

His Zillmere Road block of units in Brisbane’s northside was bought in March this year for about $1.6m, seeing each unit come in about $320,000. The building is on a huge 812sq m site, housing five units – four two-bedroom units and 1 one-bedroom unit, all tenanted.

“The property is zoned for low-medium density residential use, allowing for potential redevelopment (subject to council approval) into a two to three-storey mixed-use building or the opportunity to renovate the existing units,” was how it was sold to him.

His block of five villas in Melbourne were bought for $1.67m, coming in at “only $334k per villa”, he said.

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Eddie Dilleen’s Tullamarine bulk buy is on a massive 1,011sq m block with subdivision potential.

The Eumarella Street, Tullamarine, property is on a massive 1,011sq m block which changed hands in March this year.

The villas were on one title and ripe for renovation/redevelopment, and even subdivision potential. When he bought it the property was listed as having annual rental return of approximately $100,000.

Each of the units has two bedrooms with built-in robes, some updated, others in original condition, with each having their own private courtyard.

Mr Dilleen said “people need minimum of about $100k savings or available equity to get into a deal like this” with others as part of Dilleen Property’s group bulk buying strategy.

“For example, a $677k deal, 5pc deposit, stamp duty, buyers agency fee comes to less than $90k but they received $200k equity in return, essentially more than doubling their return on capital instantly.”

“This strategy is extremely niche and people can’t do this alone as it requires having unconditional buyers ready and the know how of how to legally structure the deal,” he said.

The move is his latest strategy to constantly find ways to keep buying worthwhile investment properties – many of which he will never see in his lifetime but which will boost his financial position.

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