Krystil Ryan

In Focus: Krystil Ryan

Meet Krystil Ryan, Chief Operations Officer, mother of two, property investor and part-time student.

After enduring a messy divorce and loss of work due to company mismanagement, Krystil has managed to support her two children, save her family home, accumulate four investment properties and study to acquire an Advanced Diploma in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration Degree.

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going

It took quite a while for Krystil to sort through the mess of separation and divorce in 1999. "I had two beautiful children to take care of and I wanted stability for them". The family home was valued at $250,000 with a $200,000 mortgage. So, the split on a 50/50 basis was only $25,000. Krystil knew the value of keeping the home but her situation wasn't looking good. Her income was too low to secure the loan she needed. Determination was the key "I was not about to give up everything I had worked for that easily."  Krystil swallowed her pride and boldly approached her boss for a pay rise which enabled her to scrape in a bank loan for $210,000. In a desperate effort to save her home, she then offered to pay her ex husband $10,000 (from the loan) and forgo child maintenance payments for the remaining $15,000 equity. A raw deal for Krystil you may think, however this gave her and her young family the chance she needed to start over again.

Ask a Busy Woman

By 2002 Krystil had completed an accounting qualification and a Graduate Diploma in Management."I was still working full time. My 9 y.o. son had baseball on Saturdays and my 12 y.o. daughter did dancing, so weekends were pretty busy and the weekdays were full of work, study, homework help and housework on a continuous cycle".

At the same time, Krystil could see that the market was moving and knew that her home had grown in value, so she tentatively asked the bank if she could borrow more. "They told me they could lend me about $250,000.So, I started hunting".

One Property Turns into Two

After spending several weeks searching Krystil finally found a 3 bedroom house on an 800m block in Oxenford which she bought for $160,000. Whilst negotiating on this property an enthusiastic agent rang wanting to show Krystil a unit in Labrador. Krystil wasn't keen on units but with a 9% return, she was hooked. She decided to add it to her portfolio at a purchase price of $102,500. A total of $273,000 was needed to cover stamp duty and costs. "Whoops! I was over budget".

To secure the loan, Krystil convinced her boss that she needed another increase in salary. By penny pinching and even doing her own conveyancing, Krystil scraped through. All went smoothly and by May 2002 she was the proud owner of two positively geared properties.

Loss Of Income Did Not Slow Krystil Down

Not long after the purchase of her two investment properties, Krystil was suddenly out of work due to the company she worked for going into liquidation. Although a scary experience, Krystil stayed afloat using her accumulated leave pay and finding work within the month.

It was now time to move forward with investment property purchase number three, this time in Ipswich for $72,000 in late 2002. This property needed some TLC and both her parents and children pitched in to help in addition to the contract work by other suppliers at a cost of $8,000. It was all worthwhile because a year later Krystil sold the property for $150,000. Property number four was a house and land package at Narangba for $181,500, sold 12 months later for $299,000.

Lightning Strikes Twice

After enjoying a few weeks of annual leave, Krystil returned to work to find all doors locked and the place empty. Krystil was out of work again, this time for five months. She managed to keep afloat with the profits from the two sales. Her determination never faltered despite the blow which left her feeling shaken. She moved on to other work opportunities further developing her education and skills along the way. The profit from the sales also allowed Krystil to reduce her bad debt (non tax deductible debt) even though she borrowed more to buy again (good debt). In 2007, Krystil bought her next investment property in Upper Coomera for $370,000, currently worth around $450,000.

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

Things haven't been easy for Krystil. Disaster has struck several times in the form of job losses, personal problems and more recently the classic tenant from hell who trashed her property at Oxenford and absconded without paying 3 months rent. But undaunted, Krystil and her children got straight to work, cleaning and repairing the damages and even adding a deck that increased the value of the property and the rent. The property is now worth about $400,000 and both she and her children have been empowered by the experience.

Education is the Key to Success

Krystil used her continuing education to improve skill levels, increase her earning capacity and in turn increase her borrowing capacity. She used her property education to understand the market and how to use her cash flow to service the liabilities. For Krystil "Cash flow is King".

In only eight years Krystil has accumulated over $1million in net worth thanks to her property investing, has two degrees, has almost completed a third, and has progressed in her career from Accountant to Chief Operations Officer.

Krystil's children are both doing well with one is in his final year of school and the other just completing a traineeship and Certificate IV in Real Estate.

For Krystil life has been full of challenges "but I have become all the stronger for them and there is no doubt that I and my family are definitely better off for all the effort".

Krystil's Tips

• Believe in your own ability and take responsibility for your outcomes. Otherwise, you are handing over control of your life to others.
• The only limitations that exist are ones you place on yourself
• You are stronger and smarter than you think; you are the solution to your problems.
• Educate yourself, do your research and do the numbers. Then if it feels right just do it
• Trust your instincts and when the nay sayers are around plug your ears
• Never feel sorry for a tenant, being lenient can result in your biggest nightmare, but if the worst happens take it in your stride and move forward.
• Never settle for less than you want, and never overlook what you already have.