Just because you can’t afford where you want to live, doesn't mean you can’t afford to buy.

I have never imagined that I would be able to afford a house. The places I want to live are far too expensive, my income is just not enough to buy in inner-city Sydney or Melbourne and I don’t have the kind of deep pockets needed for an investment property.

What would I do if the hot water system broke? Or the stove? If I can’t even answer these basic questions, the truth is I’m probably not ready to be someone’s landlord.

I look at my friends who have bought homes, or investment properties, and I just can’t really ever picture it. But the older I get, the more I’ve begun to think about how I might be able to start thinking about buying.

While I am not someone who believes that everyone should be looking to buy a property, I do think there are plenty of ways to invest your money — and that not all of them involve a mortgage.

Negative gearing does not appeal to me and risk does not appeal to me. So personally, I didn’t give an investment property a second thought. The fact is, it just never occurred to me that I would find a way to buy property that didn’t stick me with a huge debt or bills I would struggle to pay.

So I ruled it out completely — but to my own surprise, there is one option that even I would consider.

Defence Housing Australia (DHA) offers a long-term housing investment with guaranteed rental income for the life of a nine-to-12 year lease. In fact, even if the property is vacant, the rent is paid.

The homes are also maintained by DHA, so incidentals and repairs are not something I would have to worry about.

And there’s the accountability of knowing that the tenants are Defence personnel and their families.

In some ways, DHA might seem like it’s too good a deal.

1. Buy a house.
2. Someone pays your mortgage off in a guaranteed rental stream for nine or more years,
3. while also taking care of maintenance.
4. At the end of it you get the property back, guaranteed in a good condition.

But it’s true, no investment is perfect for everyone. There will always be reasons why something that appeals to me doesn’t appeal to you.

A DHA house is a long-term plan, in a location that might not be your first choice. That could affect how much the property appreciates, meaning it might not always increase in value as much as you would hope.

There are also management fees to consider as part of the deal, and they are higher than what a private real estate agent would typically charge. But, those fees cover property management, market rent review, repair and maintenance (including emergency maintenance) as well as lease-end restoration. In case you’re wondering: the service fee is calculated as a percentage of the rent and is deducted from your monthly payments.

With all of this in mind, Defence housing seems a good investment for someone like me, who’s risk averse, doesn’t want to live in the property any time in the near future, and who doesn’t really mind about controlling exactly who lives there and how much they pay in rent.

That’s what I like about it.

There are DHA developments and properties all over the country, including a recently purchased site in Sydney’s inner-west that is earmarked for a $100 million plus residential development.

It is a very successful and popular government-run program (which provides even more security on the long-term lease you sign) that enables people to invest in property that is guaranteed to generate rent for a minimum of fuss.

It has certainly got me thinking a lot more seriously about the possibility of finally joining the property market.

What has been your experience of investment properties?