We were struggling to begin our real estate journey after making a bad investment, but a simple piece of advice changed everything

A couple who struggled to make returns on their first investment property have revealed how one bit of advice helped them acquire $6million worth of real estate.  

Adam and Belinda Robinson, both aged in their late 40s, live in Sydney’s Northern Beaches and have built an impressive real estate portfolio made up of seven investment properties. 

The couple, who have paid off their mortgage, own three homes each in Melbourne and Brisbane and have set their sights on buying another home in Perth. 

Ms Robinson told Daily Mail Australia they decided to consult leading property investment expert Cam McLellan in a bid to maximise their wealth. 

The mother-of-three said they made the move after they purchased a unit in a ritzy suburb not far from where they live, which ended up ‘going backwards in value’. 

‘It wasn’t a good investment,’ Ms Robinson confessed. 

After the couple met Mr McLellan, who is the director of property investment firm OpenCorp, for dinner one night 10 years ago his advice to invest outside of Sydney completely changed their thinking. 

‘He said you don’t need to drive past and be able to see your investment property,’ Ms Robinson said. 

Adam Robinson (pictured right) and his wife Belinda (pictured left), who live in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, have amassed an impressive real estate portfolio worth $6million

‘That’s what was holding us back because we were just saving and waiting to buy something close to us.’ 

Ms Robinson, who bought her first home when she was just 22, said they started off buying two homes in outer Brisbane. 

She explained that they were advised 10 years ago to buy two houses as investment properties with the equity on their existing home. 

The financial strategy is often used to fund the purchase of an investment property.

Lenders typically give homeowners an amount worth 80 per cent of the current value of their existing property to fund the purchase of real estate.

Ms Robinson said her husband, who is a commodities trader, was hesitant at first but his concerns eased when their areas of growth were identified. 

‘They explained that the reason they got us to buy [in certain places] was because in four years time a hospital is going to be built or they’re going to build schools,’ she said. 

‘So your houses just tick along and suddenly they double in value. I can’t actually believe it’s been ten years and we’ve got that many properties.’

Ms Robinson says now is a good time for Aussies to invest in real estate across the country (pictured one of the couple’s investment properties in Queensland)

Ms Robinson said they realised the value of homes outside of Sydney are worth much more than investing in properties across the harbour city. 

She said the couple experienced this first hand when they sold their Sydney unit for just over $400,000 after they bought the apartment for $390,000 in 2002. 

Despite the soaring cost of properties across Australia, Ms Robinson said now is the right time to be a property investor. 

‘It’s a good time to be a property investor because properties aren’t sitting there vacant… people are fighting to get in them,’ she said. 

‘It’s a good option for someone, if they can’t afford to buy where they want to live.’

Ms Robinson revealed they are planning to buy two or three more properties and sell them over the next decade. They plan to use the income from rent to fund their retirement.

The latest figures from real estate website PropTrack has revealed the prices of houses across Australia grew by 0.3 per cent last month. 

The median price of a house is currently $869,000 with Sydney currently the most expensive capital city to live in with the median price of houses valued at $1.45million.

Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane have registered the fastest growth in property prices over the last two years according to analysis by real estate website property update.

The value of dwellings across Perth has increased by a massive 22.6 per cent over the past year.