John Gryphon
Well-Known Member
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| When Neil Robertson heard a friend’s uncle was selling his two-bedroom terrace house in Fitzroy for $7500, he knew he had to buy it. It came fully furnished, with two power points – “one for the toaster and one for the fridge” – but no hot water. It was no dream, but in 1972, Robertson was 24, single, and his uncle, a man who could “turn his hands to anything”, reckoned the house was a terrific buy. “So I sold my car, and I got about $1400 for that, and I put down a $1500 deposit on the house,” the 77-year-old (pictured above by Joe Armao) recalls. By age 30, he had paid it off – and hasn’t had a mortgage since. |
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| Robertson, like many of his generation, did what was expected: he worked hard, bought a home, fixed it up and sold it (or not), then purchased another. Maybe they bought an investment property down the track, a small nest egg for the kids. The decisions of Baby Boomers and those older were rational, measured, humble. “I have huge sympathy for young people today,” Robertson says. “Younger people today need two, maybe three incomes. The prices have just gotten crazy. Back then, you got a job and you’d expect you might have a shot. I couldn’t comprehend taking out a mortgage for a million dollars.” and below is an ad from 1970..half a ****ing pound ffs 25 cents.  |
