I have reduced my property holdings over the last five years, but have recently started to invest in the market again. Just bought two more in the last month, a one bedroonm house and a two bedroom flat. One I will develop and sell, the other I will refurbish and let.
Just remembered what one of those fathers said to me when I told him how much it was going to cost me to put right the damage his darling princess had caused. He said, "well, it's just a skim off he top of what you make, Your only in this for the profit." Well, derrh, of course I'm only in it for the profit, why else would I do it. But, like many, he had a poor grasp of what those profits were. When you think that the revenue earned from the property; about eight hundred a month (seven thousand two hundred in the year), take out interest, insurance, fees etc. the profit was about three or four thousand pounds, on that one property. Then take into account the dilapidation costs, I was looking at about a thousand pounds profit for the year. Wasn't going to be Donald Trump any time soon.
I do have some low cost accommodation and I also work with organisations such as NACRO and some social services departments, to provide some transitional accommodation to some very vulnerable people. Some are ex-offenders, just leaving prison and needing to re-enter society. Some are young people just coming out of care and needing somewhere secure and consistent to live, until they establish themselves. I don't get too directly involved with these tenants, but sometimes I have to and to be honest, most of them are the best tenants I have ever had. But conversely, some have been some of the worst I have ever had, but, thankfully, it doesn't happen very often.
These tenants are the only ones who have a direct line number to my maintenance supervisor and I have told him that these are the highest priority calls. They also have been told that my PA's number is always open to them and I am always, like I am with all my other tenants, open to their input, whether positive or negative (the negative ones don't happen very often, usually it is things that are beyond my control, but you can't please everyone all the time
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