Guest Speaker - Lewis Donaldson - Ironman, property investor and sales professional.
When he‘s not building up a sweat competing or exercising, Lewis is a real estate consultant with Harcourt’s Gold, Papanui, Christ-church, Harcourt’s No.1 office in the world for two years consecutively 2012 to 2014.
A Gen-Y investor, Lewis also manages his own multi-city property portfolio, serves as the President of the Canterbury Property Investors Association and is on the committee of the New Zealand Property Investors Federation.
After leaving Timaru Boys High School, he served an apprenticeship and started his career as a plumber. At the age of 18, encouraged by his father, Lewis ventured into the world of property investment when he purchased two 20-year old concrete block units in Washdyke, just north of Timaru for $84,000 both, he still retains ownership of these units today.
He set himself a simple goal – buy a house a year and he stuck with this plan pretty much until 2009 when the market slowed in the wake of the global financial crisis.
However he says he still loves buying properties. He now has around 15 “rental income streams” with a portfolio which ranges from 2 bedroom units to 3 bedroom family homes, student rentals and a Queenstown apartment.
Lewis’s investment strategy furthered his knowledge of real estate and as his passion for property investing strengthened, he progressed into property sales and switched from plumbing to selling real estate in 2009. He was awarded Harcourt’s Canterbury Top 30 status for the 2014 financial year as well as receiving a Platinum award for his sales performance. A thoughtful and reflective person with a simple philosophy – absolutely everyone matters.
