Positive Real Estate CEO Sam Saggers bought his first property in 1998 at age 23. He bought in an area where he lived and worked. He had scrupulously saved $30,000 and went out and bought a two bedroom unit in Putney, Sydney for $250K. He had been working in real estate for five years and wanted to make money via investing.
Looking back, Sam says it was his naivety which resulted in buying a dud. He obtained the property well after the growth cycle had hits its ceiling and he failed to negotiate well. Sam explains, “I got caught up by my own emotions and I fell in love with the property and just had to have it. At the time of buying the property I didn’t look at the true income and expense, I didn’t conduct research at arms-length and I had no idea about the cash flow or growth potential. The decision to hand over my life savings of $30,000 as a deposit was entirely emotional. I soon discovered I was out of my depth and that I certainly wasn’t the “unit area expert” that I had built myself up to be.”
Although Sam suffered a huge loss in his first property investing experience – it absolutely did not dampen his passion to invest in property in the future. Sam did not see this experience as negative and it did not cause him to refrain out of fear – in fact it triggered the exact opposite response. Sam was inspired by his surroundings and network of people in the real estate world and the excitement at the prospects of financial success it presented and he now had the benefit of experience. These very valuable lessons early on have impacted every investing decision he has made since.
Sam grew up on the lower end of the middle classes, however was exposed to very rich people who had made money through real estate. His family worked seven days a week including weekends at Paddy’s Market in Sydney, so they could send him to a private school with very wealthy kids.
Sam explains, “I owed it to my parents to adapt to learn from the rich. They encouraged me to do so. The rich kids and their parents influenced me to invest. They knew I was from a poorer background and would teach me and show me what they had done; they would take me to properties they had bought and talk about investment around me!”
Sam’s wealthy friends became his mentors and he was like a sponge, thirsty to learn from those willing to teach. For example, one of his friend’s fathers owned the Franklins supermarket chain and sold it for millions in the 70’s. The family soon used property to continue accumulating their family fortune and bought hundreds of properties. The family now owns some of the best residential and commercial real estate in Australia and has a property portfolio worth billions. It was the wisdom that this family shared with Sam that first encouraged Sam to get into property investment.
Today, Sam Saggers is the Chief Executive Officer of Positive Real Estate, one of Australia’s leading property investment companies and is a very successful property millionaire. Sam has brokered over a billion dollars in real estate over his exciting 19 year career and is a licensed real estate agent in every state of Australia.
Sam Saggers alongside co-founder Jason Whitton has perpetuated the company from its start-up in 2003, transforming it into one of Australia’s largest and most highly regarded real estate groups which has been extended to include educational property investment seminars and programs that teach and empower clients to be successful property investors. Additionally Sam Saggers heads Positive Real Estate’s national buyers agency which annually negotiated $250M+ in property throughout Australia in the 2010 Financial Year alone.
Sam has helped to educate more than 5,000 people in real estate principles through Positive Real Estate. He has featured in Your Property Investor Magazine, Australian Property Investor Magazine. Smart Property Investor Magazine and many of Australia’s top CEO’s, as listed in Business Review Weekly’s Rich 200, often pursue Sam’s advice to understand market-place trends and seek investment guidance.
Sam is the co-author of Think and Grow Rich In Property by Stuart Zadel and How to be in Debt for Millions and Be Happy About It and is currently in the process of writing another book sharing his invaluable insight on successful property investment strategies in Australia.
As a passionate educator, Sam is also a sought-after world class keynote spokesperson on real estate principles and offers his wealth of experience to educate investors on understanding the complexities of real estate investing.
Having experienced every area of purchasing real estate he is amongst Australia’s most experienced property investors and mentors. Sam has a personal property portfolio worth millions of dollars and has personally brokered more than 1600 property deals including developments, subdivisions, strata titling, capital growth, blue-chip, off-the-plan and positive cashflow deals and recently founded the Property Wholesales Cooperative.
Positive Real Estate’s impact on thousands of Australian real estate investors is largely due to Sam Saggers’ driving ambition to, “Help ordinary people do extraordinary things through property investing!”
Sam was influenced by successful, smart and wealthy people from an early age and learnt from many mentors and this has lead to his ultimate success within the real estate investing realms. He says, “By having extreme confidence and grit and by learning through observation and listening to experienced investors, I have learnt what is right and have been able to avoid what is wrong. I believe property investing is no fluke – there are so many aspects to learn. By having a high moral compass and by being slow and steady, I have been able to avoid get rich quick ideas and stick to sensible, methodical and profitable buying.”
In Sam’s core, funnily enough, even though he is a industry icon, presenter and successful entrepreneur – he truly is an introvert and enjoys time on his own to think very carefully about his ideas, thoughts and his strategic investment decisions. Sam is also a highly positive person and highly analytical; combining these traits has helped him to continuously move forward.
Sam explains that his greatest success has been building an amazing business and growing as a person. “Becoming wealthy is about what you discover about yourself along the way! It is not about securing a successful deal, rather it’s about the life that I get to lead from investing wisely.”
“My success is that I can walk down the street every day with my head held high knowing I make a difference in helping people invest correctly in the Australian property market. I know that my success is not driven by me, rather it is driven by the people I have supported. I don’t make me successful, my customers do!”
Sam’s advice to those just starting their property investment journey is to, “Educate yourself! Find a mentor and follow the path of people who have already invested. We all make mistakes. I have learnt you need to pick yourself up and dust yourself off. No one is born a ‘naturally successful property investor’! You need to make mistakes, learn from them and keep powering on.”
Sam Saggers is living his dreams through property investing and through the unique company he has helped create. He loves the opportunities he is exposed to every day. He loves that real estate is not an experiment at Positive Real Estate and that he knows a good property at a glance. He loves the team he has helped shape and helping his clients grow; watching them succeed and do well from the ideals he has instilled.
