An investor’s family used to own ‘all of Manly’ for £25

“That's a lot of real estate to own for £25 … If only they had it now,” Smart Property Investment’s Phil Tarrant said.

Documents show that the family sold the property 20 years after they have acquired it. Interestingly, the mode of payment is quite unique and might actually be unheard of in present times.

“When they sold it, it had something to do with ... some sort of pound money … and it also had a case of rum involved in it, but the thing that I love the most ... says ... ‘To hold unto the said Daniel Jones, his heirs and assigns forever, yielding and paying, therefore yearly, unto us, the heirs and successors, the quit-rent of one peppercorn ... if ever demanded,’ Jillian shared.

“The next sort of bits go on to say that the land may hereby be required to make public ways, canals, roadways.

“So basically the crown land wanted to pay Daniel Jones in peppercorns as they made public ways and canals and railroads and stuff.”

Presently, Jillian actively engages in the business of creating wealth through property, acquiring three properties worth more than $1 million over a period of time.

While she has made a few investment mistakes, she refuses to sell her assets too soon.

“I've sort of had this idea [when] we started with just going, ‘You just don't tell. You just ride the wave out. Australian property has just always gone up, eventually,’ ” she said.

According to her, this is the valuable property investment lesson that she learned as she studied the documents which showed that her husband’s family used to be the owner of “all of Manly” until they decided to sell it for a lifelong supply of peppercorns. Had they held the property to this day, it would have been worth billions of dollars, regardless of the unpredictable fluctuations of the property market.

Phil said: “[You need to think about] controlling an asset for as long as possible to actually get the real life [out of it].”

His final advice for property investors thinking twice about letting go of one of their assets: “I'd chat [with] some people if I were you. I'd go and see a good accountant that is in the property space.”

“They're not going to tell you what to do and ... but they can probably ... help shape the way you think about that—[they] will go over all the different scenarios … and allowing you to make a really educated decision on what the best thing to do is,” he concluded.

Tune in to Jillian Bullock’s episode on The Smart Property Investment Show to know more about how she balances finances between investing and her business, what happens when property clubs go wrong, and how negative experiences only makes her determination stronger.