Anne White, has been a private landlord for around 20 years owning 23 properties, which she manages herself.
Starting out on the property market aged 33, she remortgaged her own house and bought her first property outright in 1998.
The two bed terrace starter home was on an estate about 20 years old at the time, cost £50,750, which is now worth over £200,000.
After explaining about her first house, I asked about her past careers which included working in a sausage factory, coaching badminton, working in a bank and working as a police officer.
“I got a summer job working in a sausage factory whilst I was at college, but I never really saved my money back then, I was more interested in spending it on clothes or concerts.”
Her face scrunched up in disgust as she pictured the cold, pale sausages in the factory where she used to work.
Notably her job at the bank was what sparked her interest in loans, tax and investment.
“I think this was when my interest in investment came about and I started looking at investing in property.”
Inspired by her father Patrick, a successful business man, Anne explains how she learnt to manage her money.
“My parents came over from Ireland, my dad started his own business and he was very successful. He would never buy anything he couldn’t afford, and thats the same ethic I’ve got, work hard and save up for things.
“He always had a knack for investing well.”
Anne’s determination to be as successful as her father lead to her buying her next four properties a year later.
However a worrying time came about shortly after as the rent for the new properties was only just covering the mortgage and management fees.
Anne’s voice became nervous, she shared with me about the struggle she faced during this hard time.
“The properties were being rented out at £695pcm but overnight dropped to £425pcm due to supply and demand, there was too much supply, 70% of the estate was rental.
“The 4 properties I had bought weren’t being rented out, so I decided to sell. I had a £20,000 buffer in the bank as a contingency fund but my fund decreased to almost nothing by the time I competed on the sale of one of the properties.
“I ended up selling 3 and renting out one, but the same property is only achieving £675 rent pcm 15 years later.”
However she worked hard and reinvested her money into more property which brought her a lot of success.
As our conversation moves on, Anne talks about the ups and downs of her career as a landlord.
She mentions the difficult tenants she has had dealt with in the past.
“Someone did a runner owing £1500 rent and £2000 worth of damage. Another person had a dog, which I didn't allow in the properties, and it peed everywhere, it cost me £2000-3000 to get the house re-carpeted.”
She goes on to explain the changes the government have implemented that have affected the property market hugely.
“The government have picked on property investors in terms of tax and all incentives have been taken away, there used to be a tapper tax relief which encouraged you to hold onto your properties but its gone now, and now their taking away tax reliefs. For example reliefs on interest on loans is being decreased by 25% a year over the next 4 years.
“This is a major cost to any investor.”
However she explains the benefits of it being a good investment and brings in a reasonable income as well as it leading to earlier retirement.
“I’d definitely recommend people to do it.
“I wish I had bought more.
“I did it as a safer, less risky alternative to stocks and shares.”
I asked Anne if she had any tips for someone starting out on the property market.
“Pick a good area where not all the properties in that area are rentals, don’t over invest and be aware of the tax implications.
“Remember it’s a long term thing, not a short term fix, stick at it and it will be rewarding.”
The conversation comes to an end, with me asking what Anne’s future plans were.
“The idea in a few years is to sell some of the properties and buy a property abroad to live in or as a holiday home, hopefully somewhere in Italy and be mortgage free in England.”
Her ears rise as she smiles at the idea of her bright future.