110: How this Ex-NRL player built a 16 Property Portfolio - Matt Srama

May 8, 2025

Matt Srama, an ex-NRL player turned buyer's agent, shares his remarkable journey of building a 16-property portfolio after early retirement due to injuries. He discusses the financial lessons learned from his upbringing and his transition from athlete to entrepreneur. Matt dives into the significance of strategic location and market research in property investments. He also reflects on how his career shaped his business philosophy and personal definitions of success, providing insights for aspiring investors navigating their own property journeys.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ADVICE

Make Your Money On The Way In

Negotiate on terms, not just price; create a win-win to secure below-market deals.
Building equity through negotiation often yields the biggest gains on the way in.

ADVICE

Solve Who Before How

Solve 'who' before 'how': hire good brokers and accountants to execute your plan.
Use specialists to design entity structures and borrowing strategies instead of figuring it all out yourself.

INSIGHT

Pay Interest To Buy Market Access

Creative lending and third-tier lenders can extend borrowing when salaried income limits you.
Paying higher interest can be an acceptable short-term cost to secure long-term market exposure.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In this episode we are joined by Ex-NRL player Matt Srama to chat a little bit about his playing career but mainly about how he has managed to build a 16 property portfolio and his own successful business after retiring early due to injuries.

In this chat we discuss the following:
- Matt's early playing career, NRL debut and the money he made.
- How Matt's childhood shaped his trajectory and how he needed to re-learn money and investing habits.
- The first few initial property purchases and Matt's decision around why and how he bought them.
- The struggle with transitioning from an NRL player to starting a career all from scratch.
- How Matt was able to build and grow his property portfolio.
- The structure and lending of Matt's portfolio and how he managed to get to such a large portfolio size.
- Matt's learnings from growing a business and a portfolio and what he would recommend for people on a similar journey.
- Why the asset selection and investing philosophy has changed over the years.
- What he's planning to buy in 2025 and beyond!
- Plus much more!

To check out more about Matt or if you're looking to buy on the Gold Coast, visit:
https://www.thesramagroup.com/about-us

Looking to invest in property? Why not join a team of 9 experts who have experience across 35,000 property transactions over a combined 135 years in the field. We've put together the Property Investment Course for people who want to learn how to buy and build a portfolio, without paying $25k for buyers agents. To learn more, checkout:
www.everythingproperty.au

Facebook: http://facebook.com/everythingproperty.au
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/everythingproperty
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/everythingproperty

Disclaimer: The topics, conversation, opinions and discussion provided in this episode are general in nature. As a listener you should not take or use the information discussed as financial advice. Everything Property and its associates recommend that you always engage in independent financial advice before making any investment or purchasing decision.