An underutilised property investing strategy has helped one mining sector worker build a mega property portfolio over the last 12 years, growing his wealth along the way.
When Mathew Bellomia landed a job in the mining sector, he was adamant that the boost to his income would be used to help grow his wealth.
The Melburnian relocated to Western Australia at 23, where he works on a drill rig, turning to ‘rentvesting’ at the same time.
The strategy involves buying an investment property in an affordable area, while renting in the place you would rather reside.
“I knew that property was the vehicle I needed to use to grow some wealth,” Mr Bellomia tells Mortgage Choice.
“I grew up watching single income parents trying to raise three kids. That helped me work out from a very early age that you needed multiple forms of income to life a comfortable lifestyle.”
Today, at 39 years of age, Mr Bellomia owns four rental properties – two properties in the suburbs of Brisbane, one in Moreton Bay, and one in Perth.
Mathew Bellomia. Picture: Supplied
Mr Bellomia in also in the process of building of building a fifth investment property, this time in Melbourne.
House hunting
When considering what to buy, Mr Bellomia tends to target affordable properties for small families.
“I was lucky in that rents have surged over what I budgeted, and the growth has enabled me to purchase more properties,” he says.
Mr Bellomia, who rents a property in Perth that he calls home, worked with a property investment firm to map out his rentvesting journey. He then flies into the small mining town of Kalgoorlie, where he lives and works more than 180 hours a fortnight.
Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Picture: Getty
“The fly-in-fly-out lifestyle means I’m able to save a lot of money in cost-of-living expenses, because when you’re on site, everything is provided for you,” he says. “I’m able to save a lot of my wage.”
Lessons learnt
The rentvesting pathway hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Mr Bellomia, however.
Before working with the property investment firm, he purchased a property in Bendigo and the mining town of Kalgoorlie, which didn’t perform well. Ultimately, he sold them both.
Having learnt the error of those early decisions, Mr Bellomia now focusses now on calculating the expected rental return before purchasing a property.
This way, he can ensure the rent covers most of the cost of the mortgage repayments, leaving him with a small repayment to add as an extra to the mortgage repayments on each property.
Being a high-income earner with his FIFO work, Mr Bellomia also has a higher tax bill that rentvesting helps him to offset effectively.
Rental property owners can claim same-year deductions while the property is rented or available for rent, including interest on loans, property agency fees, repairs, maintenance, council rates and insurance.
“It is a great way to be able to reduce your tax bill,” he confirms.
Right now, Mr Bellomia is in the process of selling one of his properties and plans to take a year off to spend time with family.
“I’m essentially having a gap year,” he explains. “Regardless of rate rises that may eventuate over the next year, I’ll have a bit of liquidity behind me from the sale of the property to fund my time off.”
Could you rentvest?
As housing affordability issues remain a challenge for Australians – particularly first home buyers – alternative pathways into home ownership, like rentvesting, are gaining attention.
Rentvesting could work for some people, depending on your financial position, your home ownership goals, tolerance to risk and where you want to live.
One of Mr Bellomia's work sites. Image: Supplied
The term ‘rentvesting’ describes renting and living in a home in a location that suits your lifestyle, while owning a more affordable investment property elsewhere.
This move enables people to enter the property market sooner, build equity and capital growth without the restriction of being locked into purchasing in expensive suburbs.
Rentvesting has become another pathway into home ownership amid skyrocketing property prices and a desire to live in inner-city locations.
Rentvesters can use online property reports to understand which suburbs represent a good investment opportunity compared to suburbs they might want to live in.
According to Westpac, 54% of first-home buyers in 2025 were considering rentvesting as a pathway into the property market, an increase of 4% from the previous year.
Price growth
It’s hardly surprising more people are considering the move given that national home prices increased by another 0.5% in February, taking the national median home value to $897,000, the Proptrack Home Price Index shows.
Prices are now 9.1% higher than they were a year ago, adding around $90,000 to the value of the median home.
The strongest conditions remain concentrated in markets where buyer demand is facing into tight supply, particularly Perth, Darwin, Brisbane and Adelaide.
Home prices in Australia are now 9.1% higher than they were a year ago. Picture: Getty
Interest on the rise
REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh says new analysis of realestate.com.au search and enquiry activity suggests a share of first-home buyers are signalling investment intent, consistent with rentvesting strategies.
“While rentvesting remains a minority strategy, and the majority of first-home buyer search activity remains owner-occupier focused, the pattern of search behaviour aligns closely with Australian Bureau of Statistics housing finance data, and offers insight into how some first home buyers are navigating market conditions,” she says.
Over the latest 12-month period to the end of January 2026, around 7% of first-home buyers searching in Greater Sydney also signalled investment intent.
Sydneysiders are showing increased interest in rentvesting. Picture: Getty
The share was lower in Melbourne (3.7%), and higher across Queensland (6.4%) – notably Brisbane (5.9%) – likely reflecting affordability pressures and deposit hurdles in the fast growing city.
Tips for rentvesters
- Define objectives: Clearly outline the aim of the purchase, including timelines for selling, upgrading or leveraging equity.
- Location: Consider areas where rental yields are robust and investigate what types of properties are in demand in your target areas.
- Crunch the numbers: Make sure you understand how much the potential home would yield in rent and consider the cost of maintenance and upkeep.
- Consider product options: Look at the various home loan types, including options specifically for investors.
This article first appeared on Mortgage Choice and has been republished with permission.
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