Learn tips and tricks to building a property portfolio for as little as £1
The idea of working for yourself is an attractive choice to many - yet it’s often difficult to transform the daydream of being your own boss into reality.
Building a property portfolio is one of the ways that you could plan your exit strategy from the nine to five working week and either work for yourself, or find another form of income to run concurrently to your career.
But with so many different routes available into property investment, and even more conflicting opinions on the best option to pursue, taking the plunge can be a daunting prospect.
That’s where Samuel Leeds enters the conversation. They’re sharing their extensive experience in property investment and management so that others can benefit from their knowledge, and forge their own future in the field.
Founded by brothers Samuel and Russell Leeds, the small team share the ethos that ‘everybody deserves the opportunity to understand property investment.'
The value of investments can fall as well as rise, which could mean getting back less than you originally put in. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Therefore, before deciding to invest, please consult an independent financial adviser to better understand the risks and if such an investment is right for you.
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP PAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.
This article is paid for by Samuel Leeds and does not represent the views of Reach plc.
Since 2014, they’ve been offering their crash courses in property investment up and down the country, and tickets cost as little as £1* to attend.
From there, people can take the knowledge learnt at the conference and apply it themselves, but there is also the option to undertake further online and in-person courses, or become an academy member at an additional cost.
However, there is no set path as training is dependent on the strategy each participant wants to do.
The next crash course tour is taking place from January 19 to January 28, 2024, and is coming to London, Manchester, and Birmingham, with further dates for February also available.
To book your place on the next course, visit the Samuel Leeds website.
‘Before, I felt underpaid and undervalued’
Ross Orrock now runs his own business, Orrock Property (Samuel Leeds)Ross Orrock loved his job in the military, but after 17 years he was struggling to progress. He felt underpaid and undervalued, as well as frustrated that he couldn’t have the life he wanted.
“I was always trying to live a life that I couldn’t afford. My mother said champagne lifestyle, lemonade wages. It was a running joke in the family,” he said.
Previously, Ross had attempted making money in various ways, but had never tried his hand at property investment. However, during deployment in Ukraine to help the war effort, the father-of-one found himself watching YouTube videos on the subject during his downtime.
That’s when he discovered Samuel Leeds, and when he returned to the UK, he signed up to attend the £1* ‘Property Investors’ Crash Course. Afterwards, he was inspired to commit himself ‘all in’ - so much so, that he left the army three years early, forgoing his full pension - and paid to join the Samuel Leeds training academy.
He threw himself into the training, and felt that he had a natural aptitude for the new skills he was acquiring. And while Ross admits that the road to success wasn’t smooth, he praised the support given to him by the academy, and the new friends and fellow entrepreneurs he met during his time on the various courses offered.
“Together you end up finding what works. Ultimately, the key is finding a niche in the market, becoming a specialist and having that real understanding of what you’re doing,” he explained.
Fast forward to the present day, and Ross now runs his own business, Orrock Property, which offers a deal sourcing and project management service in the North East of England. He has also just launched a serviced accommodation management company and is already filling properties with contractors.
He claims that to date, he has made 22 deals, including four last month. He charges £3,000 to £4,000 for each one on average and has been able to buy a house with his earnings.
He accredits this success to the knowledge learnt at the Property Investors Academy, which he is still a part of to this day, keeping in touch with many people he met during his time there, including Samuel Leeds himself.
“I’m a much happier person. I’ve got a much more flexible life now. I see my daughter much more and I earn more,” Ross added.
Samuel Leeds commented: “Ross is one of the most hardworking people you’ll ever find. He’s mastered deal sourcing, BRR, and how to build relationships with estate agents.”
“I’m so glad to see him grow as a person and I look forward to continuing to work with him.”
“Since a young age, we’ve both said we can’t imagine working for someone our whole lives”
Jessica Clark and Alfie Fullbrook now run their property business full time (Samuel Leeds)Before starting their training last year, Jessica Clark and Alfie Fullbrook were working for the NHS and knew nothing about property. Now they have both left their jobs to concentrate on their business full time.
Alfie and Jessica came to one of Samuel Leeds’ £1* crash courses to get an introduction to property investing, but decided to think about it further, before paying to enrol on advanced training a year later.
“We didn’t have the fire to go, let’s start. Our mindset was still in the rut of the nine to five. You work and then you retire - whereas now our life’s completely changed,” Jessica explained.
However, once they had studied the online courses and attended an in-person conference, they decided to commit to building a property business full-time, and chose to leave their careers.
Their strongest reason for wanting to go into property was to give themselves more time to pursue their interests.
Jessica added: “Since a young age, we’ve both said we can’t imagine working for someone our whole lives. We like to travel and do and get what we want when we want. That was a big driving factor."
While Alfie confessed it was disheartening initially when they made no progress, they preserved, and eventually the pieces fell into place for them. The couple found the first of their two rent-to-serviced accommodation properties in Brighton.
The young entrepreneurs pay the landlord £2,400 a month to rent the three-bedroom, three-storey Victorian maisonette which is on the seafront. They then rent it out as furnished accommodation at a higher rate, charging up to £300 a night.
After all their costs, they calculate their average profit per month at £3,000, according to Jessica, with that one deal making them as much as they were earning together previously.
A fortnight after obtaining their first rent-to-rent deal, they clinched another one. They believe that being able to show that they were already managing a rental property made it easier to secure the second one – and they felt more confident ringing agents and landlords.
They also accredit their confidence to the network of friends, and potential business partners, they’ve met as part of the Property Investors Academy.
“The network in the academy has really helped us. We would be the first to say we haven’t done as much as we should have to find our own investors, but we haven’t needed to,” Jessica said.
“Every time you leave a course the energy is unmatchable. When you’re in that environment your energy is high and then you come away and you’re more ready to hit the phones and message people,” Alfie added.
Samuel Leeds expressed his delight that the couple found his course so useful, and have applied the knowledge they learnt to their benefit.
“Jessica and Alfie have done really well. They had no money to start off with, but they wanted to get into property and cracked the code with the strategy they’ve got,” he said.
To find out more, visit the Samuel Leeds website. For Samuel Leeds' full terms and conditions, click here, and for FAQs, click here.
*£100 No-show/late cancellation fee applies. To find out the full terms and conditions, click here.
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