Hello from Gold Coast, Australia!

[Adam Kennedy]

I'm 21 years old and have been interested in real-estate investing for a few years; it's only really now that I'm looking into it very seriously and hoping to buy my first property within the next two years.

When I was 18 I'd just started University and as I only lived half an hour away from my school, I just used to drive. It worked out to be a lot cheaper for me as the rents for some of the students near campus were ridiculously high. (I didn't get off too lightly still paying rent at home!) Thats when I first saw the potential of real-estate investing, and it's been something that's been on my mind ever since.

When I was growing up, my parents did well for themselves, money was never an issue and we lived a very comfortable lifestyle. When the GFC hit around 2008, my dad's Europe based business completely tanked, instantly, within a month he went from brining in more than enough money to absolutely nothing. At the time my parents didn't think too much of it, my dad had seen failures before and he'd always pick himself up and try something new, and he'd always end up doing well for himself. 

So he decided to try and start again, so my mother got a line of credit against her completely paid off home to fund his business. He tried for 4 years, pouring hundreds of thousands into it every year... until we ran out of money. My mother always trusted that my dad would be successful again so she bled herself dry. We had no income and the bank banging on our door. In 2011 we lost our house.

My dad lives in Beijing, is 73 years old and is being supported by an old friend who probably won't be able to do it for much longer. When his business tanked he had no back up plan, and no property of his own (he doesn't 'believe' in buying property) 

My mother struggled to find work for years (as everyone does in this city) and it's only in the past 2 years she's been able to find a stable job. She's very bitter about the whole experience, she finds it hard to look to the future because she spends all her time regretting her past decisions.

I remain hopeful! Perhaps it's because I have youth on my side unlike my parents but I look at the experience we've gone through as a life saver. I can't imagine the type of person I would have become if nothing had changed. I've experienced riches and poverty and now understand how hard it really can be when you can't even afford to eat. I had to learn from a very young age how to be responsible with money, and at 17 had to take complete control of my mother's finances. I truly believe if it weren't for me seeing my parents lose it all, I wouldn't have the drive to try and do better and learn from their mistakes.

I'm very new to the concept of real-estate investing and I really am as much of a beginner and a beginner can be. BiggerPockets has already opened my eyes to so much and I can't wait to see what I'll learn next.