Case Study
Realising his property ambitions
Meet Nige Howarth. Nige has been investing in property since March 2005. He has a clear strategy for creating and maintaining a successful property portfolio which involves careful research and maintaining an active interest in the UK property market. The time he devotes to his portfolio is proving very successful. Nige has acquired 8 properties in 18 months and is in the process of acquiring 2 more. Of the properties he has completed on 7 are in the UK. All of these have rented out and look set to afford Nige the long term return on investment he desires.
Nige decided to realise his property ambition after a change of lifestyle freed up the time he sought to devote to his passion. He Lives in Surrey with his wife Jan and has 2 grown up children. In 2003 he decided to change career direction. His previous high flying corporate role meant that he had to work long unsociable hours. He decided that he wanted a change of pace and to be able to devote more time to his family and interests. Now running his own successful consultancy business he has a better quality of life and the flexibility he was after to start pursuing his property ambitions.
Nige’s portfolio is predominantly based in the North of England. He has chosen this particular market for two reasons. Firstly the areas he invested in provided excellent rental coverage and secondly he is happy to let a management agent look after his assets as he watches them appreciate from afar. This is not to say that Nige is a “hands off” investor, his investments in Liverpool and Manchester prompted him and his wife to dabble with interior design after they decided to furnish 2 of their buy to let properties themselves. They provided good quality, stylish furniture with the aim of securing a corporate tenant, this they did and the subsequent rental returns were greatly increased.
Nige is a very conscientious investor. Alongside property he invests in the stock market. He sets his analytical business mind to his investments and with his property portfolio has taken the conscious decision to only purchase in developments where the rental will completely cover the mortgage repayments.
“Before I buy in a development I make sure the numbers stack up. I look at the surrounding area and the actual rentals being achieved. When I am confident that the rental income will match my mortgage repayment I go forward with the deal.”
Nige has purchased 4 properties through Property for Life and is in the process of completing on 2 more. He enjoys working alongside the team as it fits in with his 3 pronged strategy providing properties with long term growth, in good rental areas and requiring low money down.
“I use Property for Life as it saves me time and money. They do the initial legwork and research which gives me the grounding I need to look at the market. The properties I have brought through them have been in good rental areas which is something key to my strategy. The way the deals are structured has enabled me to purchase multiple properties with minimum outlay, something I wouldn’t have been able to do had I been investing by myself.”
Property for Life have been working alongside Nige since the beginning of his portfolio. He registered with us in February 2005 and reserved his first property the following May. The team at Property for Life have enjoyed working with Nige over the last 18 months and look forward to a continued working relationship as he realises his dream of obtaining a property portfolio of .around 20 properties over the coming years.
