CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
Local millennial, Lyall Yachty (26) says he got sick and tired of people telling him it was his fault he wouldn’t be able to enter the property market in his home city.
Lyall says he was told time and time again that it was by his decadent decisions that he didn’t have enough money to put down a 20% deposit for a home in the city where the average house price is edging closer towards $1.5 million.
He refused to be told it was his fault.
“Jokes on them” he says.
“Don’t underestimate the entrepreneurial spirit of a generation financially locked out by the old guard”
“We’ve got to make it work our way”
After working three years flat chat in a upper-middle finance role, Lyall bought a vacant lot on the west-side of the Blue Mountains, and began building his dream.
“Those three years were tough, especially considering the housing market doubled every 12 months – but I got there…”
“I just had to make a few sacrifices. One, I only designated myself a budget of 50 dollars disposable income each week”
“$15 towards Avocadoes and 2 minute noodles, $8 towards the Netflix subscription so wasn’t tempted by my own youth into going out and to have a beer with friends…”
“…and twenty dollars towards train fares to and from from 6-person sharehouse in a poorly gentrified outer-city enclave just close enough to the CBD that I didn’t have to change trains at any point and put another half hour on my commute each way”
“I changed my phone plan as well, even though I don’t consider that a luxury associated with disposable income”
While the inclusion of the avocado may seem decadent, Lyall had a plan.
“The avocado is one of the healthiest things you can eat, as a young man like me – the seed is also one of the strongest plant-based matters on earth”
After months of weekend work, Lyall managed to build an quaint one-bedroom house out of avocado seeds, just two and a half hours west of the city in a car, and three and a half on a train.
“I’m really proud of what I’ve achieved here. It just goes to show what you can do if you live a life with absolutely zero stimulation and no budget for any form of intimacy.
“Now I can have as many beers as I want, so long as it is on happy hour and I don’t have a 6 am commute the next morning”
“Which is pretty much one night a fortnight, between 6 and 7”
Brought to you in association with Virgin Mobile: while the housing market may not be fair, with Virgin Mobile FairData, you can have your avo on toast and eat it too. It’s the only thing fair about spending the rest of your life in a windowless shack that didn’t receive a DA from the local boomer-heavy council.
