Not many investors can claim to have saved money for a house deposit by selling dogs and working on drilling rigs. But Napier’s Jeremy Lawson’s property journey has been unconventional, and these money-making ventures are therefore fitting.

Since early 2019, the 30-year-old has worked in tandem with his partner Katie Nimon to purchase properties across the lower North Island and Christchurch. It’s taken agile thinking and a nimble approach for them to achieve their goals, but they are well set on the path towards ultimate financial success.

A farmer by training and trade, Lawson studied agriculture at Lincoln University, before working on sheep and beef farms on the east coast of Hawke’s Bay. It was during this time that he realised just how valuable property ownership was.

“The catalyst for me [getting into investing] was when the son of the owner of a farm I was working returned home from overseas. The writing was on the wall,” he says. He was replaced by the returned child and left pondering his next move.

Lawson’s aunty is a property investor (“she explained how this had worked well for her”), but it was the loss of work – and the realisation of how vulnerable you can be if you don’t own property – that provided him with the extra push into investment.

So, in 2018, Lawson “sold some dogs” and headed to Australia to work on drilling rigs. The money he raised from both ventures, alongside money that his partner Nimon had saved, provided enough for a deposit on a first investment property.

Lawson’s mum spotted their first property (a five-bedroom place in Palmerston North) online. A bit rundown and in need of TLC, Lawson secured it for $390,000 in 2019. They rented it to a couple for a year, then to a family: it is currently tenanted by a WINZ beneficiary, who is paying $655 a week.

The gross yield on this is 4% but the capital gains have been the biggest win.

“It’s now worth $808,000, according to an app on my phone,” laughs Lawson.

Lawson (who moved into a role at a fertiliser company after leaving farming) and Nimon bought their next property with the help of an inheritance she had received. With this she was able to secure a 1940s four-bedroom weatherboard home, which was terribly dated, for $595,000 in Havelock North. With a “stale pink” bathroom and in a state of general disrepair, it had to be completely revamped. But it currently fetches $580 a week, and is valued at $850,000.

Then it was on to Napier, where the couple now both live.

Nimon was a National candidate in Napier at the last election and they both have strong ties to the region. Their three-bedroom Art Deco home was secured once again by help of family.

“Katie’s mum also had an inheritance after the family member passed away,” says Lawson.

“Rather than popping this into the bank and getting nothing for it, she used it as part of the deposit for the Napier house. We live with flatmates in this house and she gets 20% of the rental we receive from them.”

Purchased in August 2020 (just before the post-Covid-19 property boom) for $709,000 the house was an “emotional” purchase for the pair. They both loved it, but Lawson believes the price was higher than it could have been.

“The owners had a deal fall through and looking back I believe we could have negotiated a bit more,” he says.

There have been some minor cosmetic changes made to the property, but nothing major – other than insulation. It’s been cleaned up a bit and it’s a charming example of its era.

As the property market started to heat up in later 2020, Lawson and Nimon decided to turn their attention further afield. With talk of LVRs coming back up, and homes in even the roughest parts of Hawke’s Bay fetching $600,000 plus, they started putting out feelers.

They found out that there were still possibilities for (relative) bargains in Christchurch. So, they contacted a local expert to help guide them in the right direction.

“We first spoke to Maree Tassell (coowner and founder of iFindProperty), who directed us to Chris McKernan of iFindProperty Christchurch,” says Lawson.

Their brief to McKernan was simple: find a tidy, high-yielding rental that would be easy to tenant in today’s market. After a few disappointments (they were outbid on a couple of properties) Lawson and Nimon purchased a home in Hoon Hay, at the base of the Port Hills, for $470,000 in March this year.

It was a rundown, brick-and-tile four-bedroom home, that wasn’t fire compliant and smelled terrible.

But this allowed them to get $10,000 knocked off the asking price; they then spent $45,000 getting it up to scratch, with new paint, new floors and insulation. It is currently tenanted and bringing in $550 a week, looked after by a local property management company.

Lawson and Nimon have a buy-andhold strategy and haven’t (as yet) done any flipping. But they are keen to try their hand at renovations if the right property comes along.

The Government’s changes to rules around interest deductibility will have an impact on the couple’s bottom line:

“This will be around $5,000 for every $500,000 we have of debt,” Lawson explains

This is part of the reason why they may move from their beloved Napier home to Havelock North. By turning the Art Deco home into an Airbnb they can avoid the pitfalls of the new residential tenancy changes.

It’s a popular spot for holidays and the home is likely to appeal to Deco enthusiasts who flock to the region every year. It will also allow them to be on site in Havelock North for the next project they have planned: the subdivision of the large section that home is sited on.

They have just received conditional approval from the bank for this project, and are excited about launching into a new property adventure.

While Lawson and Nimon both have day jobs, he says full-time property investing would be the dream. They are looking for ways to maximise cashflow given the rule changes (rent rises are likely to be on the cards) and may try their hand at a renovation.

They have never had a policy of buying for capital gains (focusing instead on yields), but Lawson admits the recent gains have been incredible.

“The capital gains in these properties have been unreal,” says Lawson. (The gross yields range from 3.8 to 5%.)

The only advice that Lawson has for wannabe investors is “put emotions aside”. “With the Art Deco home, we both really wanted it, so we didn’t really try to get the price down too much,” he says.

From now on he says they will be focussing on the numbers and working on ways in which to add value to their already impressive portfolio.