Melbourne man's amazing journey from sleeping in car to homeowner
And the boilermaker's surprising turning point was a trip to McDonalds.
It comes as social housing services groups warn there could be a growing cohort of Victorians who face homelessness on their way path to homeownership.
Father-of-two Kostas Papadimitropoulos, who was born in Australia but later moved to Greece with his parents as child, lost everything when a man posing as a prospective business partner left him in financial ruin.
But after years of hard work, he now owns a home in Melbourne's north and is in the process of buying an investment property.
In 2016-17, about five years after he returned to Australia, Mr Papadimitropoulos met a man who asked for $30,000 so they could build a business together – but the man fled the country.
'He disappeared and he left me with a $60,000 debt with an ANZ business loan,' Mr Papadimitropoulos said.
He reported the matter to police, but was left without his life's savings and a short time later was evicted form his rental and eventually wound up sleeping in his car.
With his wife, Bibi, and daughter, Sinny, who were in China as this happened, he was forced to use the Wi-Fi in cafes to stay in touch with the woman he had met as she holidayed in Greece years before.
His turning point came from a lucky meeting with a divorced mother of two at a McDonalds in 2020.
Mr Papadimitropoulos had seen a social media post about a woman, Anissa Cavallo, who had built a 17-property portfolio after getting divorced.
Hoping she might be able to help him overcome his bleak financial history, he arranged a meeting.
While her children ate Happy Meals, Ms Cavallo told him to focus on work and money, meanwhile the Eda Property founder helped clean up his credit file so he could get a loan.
'Slowly, slowly, I found work and started to build my wealth,' Mr Papadimitropoulos said.
In January 2021, using his savings, money sent from Bibi and borrowing from friends – which he has since paid back – he bought a block of land to build a house on.
He also got the Victorian government's First Home Owner Grant, and the house was built by mid-2023.
Mr Papadimitropoulos, Bibi and Sinny, now 17, have been living there ever since and are now preparing to buy an investment property with the equity from their first home.
Ms Cavallo said the incredible journey proved there was almost always a way to get a home, advising people who want to focus on getting a job and their finances in order before preparing to enter the market.
But there are growing fears more Victorians will face a similarly fraught pathway to housing security.
Melbourne City Mission youth and family homelessness services senior manager Lisa O'Brien said a combination of high rents and low vacancy rates were driving increasing numbers of Victorians to homelessness.
'For some, owning a home may eventually be possible, but for many, just accessing a safe bed is a significant and hard-won milestone in the context of today's housing market,' Ms O'Brien said.
'We have many examples of people and families who have transitioned from rough sleeping, living in cars, sheds or on a couch into autonomous living once more.
'It can be a journey to navigate the housing system and without support it is easy to get lost or left behind.'
The Council to Homeless Persons chief executive Deborah Di Natale said as the Victorian housing crisis intensified, support services had 'seen an alarming surge of working people experiencing homelessness'.
'Unfortunately in the past year we've seen no indication the situation is improving,' Ms Di Natale said.
In March, Infrastructure Victoria recommended the state government urgently build 60,000 new social housing homes to help address the situation.
'Without that kind of decisive action, we'll continue to see more families in crisis, more women and children leaving violence with nowhere to go, and tragically more people dying on our streets,' Ms Di Natale said.
She also called for more investment in Housing First programs which provide long-term rough sleepers with housing and wraparound support services.
TIPS TO GO FROM WORKING HOMELESS TO HOMEOWNER
– Work longer hours to earn more money, overtime can ramp up;
– Save as much money as you can from day-to-day expenses;
– If you're renting, try to find a cheaper rental property;
– Take advantage of existing government help schemes, such as the Victorian government's First Home Owner Grant;
– Don't be afraid to seek advice from industry professionals.
Source: Kostas Papadimitropoulos
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