Income Generating Property
Most People Don’t Own an Asset – They Live In One
Why the Real Game Is Income Generating Property
If you’ve just watched the video, you already know:
The house you live in is not the ticket to freedom you were promised.
In the video, I showed you why your primary residence is, for most people, a lifestyle expense, not an investment – and why paying it off faster doesn’t suddenly turn it into a wealth engine.
In this article, I want to take you a step further.
We’re going to zoom out from “Is my house an asset?” and zoom into a much more powerful question:
How do I build a portfolio of Income Generating Property that can replace my income and buy back my freedom?
No fluff. No fairy tales. Just principles, tests, and practical steps you can start applying immediately.
What Is an “Income Generating Property” Really?
Let’s cut through all the marketing.
An Income Generating Property is any property (physical, digital, or intellectual) that:
Puts money into your pocket consistently
Grows your wealth at a rate higher than your Financial Freedom Growth Rate (FFGR)
Does this without trapping you in more hours of work or more debt risk than you understand
If it doesn’t:
Put in income,
Beat your FFGR, and
Reduce your dependence on your job,
…then it isn’t an income generating property. It’s a lifestyle cost wearing an “investment” mask.
Your home might go up in value. That’s nice. But nice doesn’t pay the bills, and nice doesn’t retire you.
Three Tests Every Property Must Pass
Before you call anything an Income Generating Property, put it through these three filters:
1. The Cashflow Test
Question: “After all expenses, does this property pay me every month?”
You only count net income:
Bond / finance payment
Rates & taxes
Insurance
Maintenance
Levies / body corporate
Vacancy allowance
Management fees (if outsourced)
If you’re still negative or barely break-even and you’re just “hoping” capital growth will save you in 10–20 years…
That’s not an income generating property. That’s a speculation.
2. The Control Test
Question: “How much control do I have over this property’s performance?”
You can influence an Income Generating Property. You’re not just a passenger.
You can:
Increase rent by positioning for a better tenant profile
Add value (extra room, better layout, small upgrades that justify higher rent)
Negotiate better finance terms
Restructure ownership for tax efficiency
Systemise management so it doesn’t consume your life
If the only “strategy” is: “Wait and see what the market does” – that’s not investing, that’s lottery thinking.
3. The Growth vs FFGR Test
This is where we bring in a principle I teach in the Property Pro Investment System:
If your Investment Growth Rate (IGR) is not greater than your Financial Freedom Growth Rate (FFGR), that property will not set you free.
FFGR = the minimum growth rate you need on your capital to hit your freedom number in a specific timeframe.
IGR = the real growth you’re getting from the property (cashflow + growth + tax benefits, properly calculated).
If your FFGR is, say, 35%, and your property is realistically giving you 12%…
You can love that property emotionally, but mathematically, it will never get you free.
An Income Generating Property is one where IGR > FFGR. Everything else is a distraction.
Not Just Bricks and Mortar: The 7 Income Producing Property Classes
Most people hear “property” and think: “house + bond + bank.”
That’s the most limited – and often the worst – way to think about property.
In my world, property is much bigger. There are 7 income producing property classes, which fall under three main categories:
Intellectual Property (IP) Properties
Your specialised knowledge
Systems you build (like the Property Pro Investment System)
Training, frameworks, methods
Digital Properties
Websites
Online courses
Email lists
Membership platforms
Digital lead generation systems
Physical Properties
Residential rentals
Multi-lets
Short-term rentals/guest houses
Commercial or mixed-use properties
Here’s the paradigm shift:
The fastest way to own large physical Income Generating Property… is to first build IP and digital properties that throw off cash and give you leverage.
Most people try to start at the end (buying a big physical property) before they’ve developed the skills and systems that make those deals safe and profitable.
The Sequence: From “My Home” to “My Portfolio”
Let me give you a practical roadmap you can follow – even if right now, all you have is a salary, a bond, and a dream.
Step 1: Stop Worshipping Your Primary Residence
You don’t have to hate your home. You just have to see it clearly.
It’s a place of comfort, memories, and family – beautiful.
Financially, however, it’s a consumer item unless it produces income.
Once you see it this way, you stop:
Pouring every spare cent into extra bond payments
Believing “I’m investing” just because you’re reducing debt
Confusing emotional security with financial security
That mental shift alone is worth a fortune.
Step 2: Build Your First Invisible Income Generating Property
Before you rush into buying a second physical property, start with an IP or digital property that can generate surplus cash:
Examples:
A specialised consulting offer based on your existing skills
A short online course teaching something you already know
A small marketing agency serving one niche
A structured side-business that doesn’t require massive capital
This becomes your first Income Generating Property – even though it doesn’t have bricks.
You’re using the Wealth Creators Strategy:
The intelligent use of limited resources to move from where you are to where you want to be, in the shortest possible time, with the least risk.
Your limited resource right now is you – your time, skills, and knowledge.
Turn that into surplus cash.
Step 3: Convert Surplus into Strategic Physical Property
Once you have a consistent surplus, you don’t throw it at your bond “just because”.
You ask:
“Which Income Generating Property can give me the highest IGR with the lowest understood risk?”
“Where can I structure a deal so that the tenant and the tax system help me pay for the property?”
Here’s what a strategic physical Income Generating Property often includes:
Motivated seller (built into my 7 Laws of a Property Investor)
A deal structured so that rental income + tax allowances cover most (if not all) of your financing cost.
A clear plan to improve the property’s cash flow over time.
Proper ownership structures (trusts/companies) to protect the asset.
You’re not buying “a house”.
You’re acquiring a cashflow engine that meets your IGR > FFGR criteria.
Step 4: Systemise, Then Multiply
One good deal won’t set you free.
What does?
A repeatable system
A skillset that lets you confidently say “yes” or “no” to a deal in minutes
A clear formula you can run on any potential Income Generating Property
That’s why I created the Property Pro Investment System in the first place – not to show you random properties, but to give you a repeatable method.
Once you systemise:
Your deal-finding
Your calculations
Your structures
Your management
…you can multiply without multiplying stress.
Common Myths That Keep People Stuck
Let’s quickly demolish a few beliefs that block people from ever owning true Income Generating Property:
Myth 1: “First pay off your house, then invest.”
By the time “then” arrives, inflation has eaten your money, your best years are gone, and you’ve spent decades worshipping the wrong god: debt-free consumption instead of freedom-producing assets.
Myth 2: “Any property is a good investment if you hold long enough.”
No. A bad deal that has been held for 20 years is still a bad deal – it just feels better because time has passed.
Time helps a good strategy. It does not rescue a bad one.
Myth 3: “I need a big salary to start.”
No, you need:
A clear intent
A surplus, even if it’s small
The willingness to build skills before you build size
I started multiple deals with very small amounts – the key was not the capital; it was the strategy and skills behind it. (I share one of those examples in the video.)
So, Where Do You Start?
If you’re reading this and thinking:
“My entire plan so far has been: buy house, pay off house, hope for the best…”
…then this is your wake-up call, not your shame moment.
You don’t fix this by panicking.
You fix it by upgrading your knowledge, skills, and strategy.
That’s exactly why I host the FREE Property Accelerator Masterclass.
In the masterclass, I’ll show you:
How to think like a Wealth Creator, not a consumer
How to analyse whether a property truly qualifies as an Income Generating Property
How I structure deals so that IGR > FFGR – using real numbers, not theory
Why don’t you need millions to start, but you do need a formula
You’ll also see how I used the Wealth Creators Strategy and the Formula for Riches in real life – not as theory, but as a way to achieve financial freedom and build a property portfolio without playing the bank’s game.
👉 Click this link to register for the next Property Accelerator Masterclass.
And when you’re ready to get your personalised plan, simply click 👉 Wealth Creators Roadmap.
This is Hannes Dreyer, signing off.
Until next time — think smarter, act bolder, and live free.
And I’ll see you at the top, where you belong.
