The Preassure
It was only four months after I had finished my own house. I was thinking, “Shit, I want to buy
this house, but I don’t have any money. How am I going to do this?” I put the offer in and I had
5
no real concept of how I was going to do it. Luckily, I got one of the last 90% loan-to-value
mortgages at the time back in 2008. Now that my house had gone up in value, I was able to draw
some equity out of it to put down as a deposit for this house. The day that it completed, it was all
over Sky News: housing markets had crashed, everybody was pulling out, doom and gloom. My
mum asked, “Are you sure you’ve done the right thing, because it looks like a really bad idea?” I
did briefly wonder if I’d bitten off more than I could chew. But I knew that the mainstream
media will tell you one version of what’s happening in the world; it tends to be quite biased. I
kept that in mind, and I thought, “Unless anything forces my hand, I’m just going to continue
with my plan.” So, I renovated the house, then got it rented out.
In the meantime, I probably had one of the lowest times in my life. I had just finished doing a
four-month refurb on my own house, before I chucked myself in at the deep end again. Most
people buy a standard buy-to-let flat as their first investment purchase, but I was buying a
standard, 3-bed residential house and turning it into a high-spec HMO with no real experience,
no mentors, and no guidance.
I thought, “I am my target market. If I can do things I like, then there’s a high chance that people
like me will want to live there.” I priced it at what I thought was reasonable, rather than a
scientific calculation. I didn’t even look at the market. The second house seriously took it out of
me, as I was still working full-time. I was doing 40 plus hours at work and travelling about 15 to
20 hours a week to get to work and see clients and customers. I was also having to do all the
planning, budgeting, talking to trades people, and having to go out to DIY stores, because I was
trying to keep costs to a minimum. I was doing over 100 hours a week of work. I wasn’t sleeping
much. I was also trying to see friends and family.
I had a breakdown. One
this house, but I don’t have any money. How am I going to do this?” I put the offer in and I had
5
no real concept of how I was going to do it. Luckily, I got one of the last 90% loan-to-value
mortgages at the time back in 2008. Now that my house had gone up in value, I was able to draw
some equity out of it to put down as a deposit for this house. The day that it completed, it was all
over Sky News: housing markets had crashed, everybody was pulling out, doom and gloom. My
mum asked, “Are you sure you’ve done the right thing, because it looks like a really bad idea?” I
did briefly wonder if I’d bitten off more than I could chew. But I knew that the mainstream
media will tell you one version of what’s happening in the world; it tends to be quite biased. I
kept that in mind, and I thought, “Unless anything forces my hand, I’m just going to continue
with my plan.” So, I renovated the house, then got it rented out.
In the meantime, I probably had one of the lowest times in my life. I had just finished doing a
four-month refurb on my own house, before I chucked myself in at the deep end again. Most
people buy a standard buy-to-let flat as their first investment purchase, but I was buying a
standard, 3-bed residential house and turning it into a high-spec HMO with no real experience,
no mentors, and no guidance.
I thought, “I am my target market. If I can do things I like, then there’s a high chance that people
like me will want to live there.” I priced it at what I thought was reasonable, rather than a
scientific calculation. I didn’t even look at the market. The second house seriously took it out of
me, as I was still working full-time. I was doing 40 plus hours at work and travelling about 15 to
20 hours a week to get to work and see clients and customers. I was also having to do all the
planning, budgeting, talking to trades people, and having to go out to DIY stores, because I was
trying to keep costs to a minimum. I was doing over 100 hours a week of work. I wasn’t sleeping
much. I was also trying to see friends and family.
I had a breakdown. One