For Love & Money

EPISODE SUMMARY

Dr Dionne Payn went to a retreat for new headshots. She left with the idea for Women4Homes.

Her mission is to inspire one million women to each invest $5,000 by 2030 to end homelessness, while becoming financially empowered along the way. Women over 55 are the fastest-growing group facing homelessness. We talk about Dionne’s path into property, the pandemic-era conversation that opened her eyes to what these women are facing, and the reaction she got when she pitched solar and batteries for a low-income home to a philanthropic organisation.

We also look at the Women4Homes model: beautiful, affordable and dignified co-living homes with private micro apartments and shared spaces, and an investment structure open from $5,000 that targets above-market returns. Dionne explains the win-win for residents and investors, why she chose a for-profit approach that can scale, and how a change to the capital gains tax discount reshaped her original plan. At the time of recording, her first home was fully funded, with more than 25 investors.

Her dream for 2030 is a world map lighting up, country by country, with places that have ended homelessness.

ABOUT DR DIONNE PAYN

Dionne Payn is the founder of Women4Homes, a company whose mission is to inspire one million women to invest $5,000 to end homelessness by 2030, whilst being financially empowered along the way.

Women4Homes has created a model for beautiful, affordable and dignified co-living homes where older women can thrive, with private rooms, ensuites and kitchenettes, and communal spaces that create connection.

Dionne has over 10 years in the property industry, has developed affordable housing projects, has facilitated funding for ethical property developments and has helped over 40 investors achieve double-digit returns through property. She is also the host of the Financially Empowered Women podcast and author of the #1 Amazon best-selling book E.T.H.I.C.A.L Property Investing.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Why Dionne says there is a role for love in business, and why Women4Homes took nine months to take shape
• Growing up in the UK as the child of immigrant parents, and the themes of equality and service that run through her life
• The turning point: a project of 14 one-bedroom townhouses that showed her being of service and making money can go hand in hand
• A phone call with an older woman on the age pension, who had to choose between her rent and the supplements that kept her healthy
• How time out of the workforce, caring roles, divorce and the way superannuation compounds help explain why women over 55 face housing insecurity
• The retreat she attended for the headshots, the cards about resistance, and the idea that arrived in a flash during a tea ceremony
• Why she holds the minimum investment at $5,000 when others suggested going after bigger investors
• How a change to the capital gains tax discount, and advice that a retail fund needed $50 million or more, led her from a tenants-in-common plan to a licensed fund manager that raises money home by home
• The win-win: dignified, affordable homes for residents, a co-living model designed to be cash flow positive for investors, and a revenue model that lets Women4Homes scale
• Why she believes a self-sustaining model matters, and how it differs from a donation-funded one
• What a Women4Homes home looks like: private micro apartments with an ensuite, kitchenette and courtyard, plus shared spaces designed to ease loneliness
• The women who have already invested, and what happens when a group of women come together to do something
• Dionne’s dream for 2030

THE WOMEN4HOMES MODEL AT A GLANCE

• Residents: pay rent for a private micro apartment with its own ensuite, kitchenette, room and courtyard, plus a shared kitchen, laundry, dining room and outdoor space. Dionne says her current financial model shows rent of $340 or $350 a week, which is affordable at an income of around $60,000. She is clear this is not social housing.
• Investors: invest from $5,000, home by home, through a funds manager that holds an Australian Financial Services Licence. Dionne says Women4Homes is targeting above-market returns.
• Women4Homes: earns a percentage on each property it puts forward. Dionne says this covers marketing, the team and the coordination between all parties.
• First home: at the time of recording, Dionne said the first home was 100% funded, with more than 25 investors.

This episode is general information only and is not financial advice.

LINKS AND RESOURCES

• Women4Homes https://women4homes.com/
• Women4Homes links: linker./eewomen4homes
• Financially Empowered Women podcast: financiallyempoweredwomen.podbean.com
• Book: E.T.H.I.C.A.L Property Investing by Dr Dionne Payn

UPCOMING EVENT

Dionne is hosting a one-day workshop in February, bringing together financial empowerment, how to address housing insecurity for women, and what happens when women come together. The date is to be confirmed. Join at women4homes.com for updates.

WORK WITH CAROLYN

• Keynote speaking: carolynbutlermadden.com
• Purpose consulting and facilitation: thecauseeffect.com.au