I'm in a position where I'm late 20's, have a mortgage (I rent out the other room) and have a good solid career. Recently moved to a new job which pays me more, moving from 53k to 60k. I feel this is progressing well.
I've approached a mortgage broker about what my options are about borrowing for an investment property. He said my income is my limiting factor and that I'd need to increase this in order to have any chance of getting a loan. I see a long term future with the company I just joined and like the industry.
Friends who also own property and investment properties have said that I should think about starting a side business. I have an interest in cycling, hiking and the outdoors so they mentioned I could do some sort of side business revolving around that. Coaching, group tours, etc.
However, I really have no desire at all to do something like this. The reason I do these pursuits is to de stress and get away from it all and explore for a while. It takes the stresses of daily life away when I'm outdoors. I therefore don't think that doing a side business is really for me. I appreciate my downtime too and need it to recover and rejuvenate.
So what are my options? I don't have plans to be mega wealthy and would be happy being mortgage free and owning a few rental properties to support travel and working part time in later life. Should I just be patient, work my day job and pay back the mortgage and buy an investment property later in the future when I can? Having a spouse at some stage with double income and also increases in my salary over time would occur to fingers crossed.