The Masked Tulip Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 There aren’t many investors who can honestly claim to have started out with £500 and built up a portfolio worth £10 million in just 10 years. Ajay Ahuja has done just that – investing in buy-to-let properties.Ajay, aged just 34, currently owns about 150 properties, with numbers rising every week. And when he tells you that his aim is to boost that number up to 1,000 properties in the next five years, the equivalent of a large village’s entire housing stock, you find yourself believing him. He is, after all, one of probably not more than a few hundred people across the UK who have made the transition from small-time owners of one or two homes, rented out on the side to supplement their income, to something far more spectacular. In the process he has also build up a series of lucrative sidelines in property-related services, from maintaining a website and dispensing twice-daily newsletter tips to subscribers, writing books on how to invest in housing, to finding other people residential properties for a fee. Yet the lessons learned by Ajay are universal. They apply just as much to people who are starting out on the buy-to-let path as they do for people ready to move on to the next stage. Moreover, in common with tens of thousands of other property owners who became buy-to-let investors, his conversion to serial ownership of bricks and mortar was accidental, a by-product of needing to find a tenant for his own home. Full article at: How one man turned £500 into £10m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iLegallyBlonde Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 Haven't we come accross this fellow before ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbrent Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 Do you not get the feeling that when one these stories turn up, that there will be something nasty lurking under the carpet, in a few months it will be in the press the rise and fall of *******, it's not that I begrudge anyone making money far from it, but when the stories start appearing like this it always makes me think, remember that guy Sing or something like that convinced everyone he was a successful entrepreneur, including many in government, turns out he was a fantasist, who in reality did not have a pot to pee in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_duke_of_hazzard Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 Do you not get the feeling that when one these stories turn up, that there will be something nasty lurking under the carpet, in a few months it will be in the press the rise and fall of *******, it's not that I begrudge anyone making money far from it, but when the stories start appearing like this it always makes me think, remember that guy Sing or something like that convinced everyone he was a successful entrepreneur, including many in government, turns out he was a fantasist, who in reality did not have a pot to pee in Most entreprenteurs are like this, they rely on borrowed money to fuel their latest gambles and persuade others to cough up. cf Trump. Alan Sugar had the sense to buy property so he couldn't gamble it away. This guy may well be very successful; I'm pretty sure to get a 10m portfolio he must have some understanding of how to "do" BTL beyond guessing. I'd be interested to know simply what his leverage is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 robbrent are you suggesting it is a bit like a celebrity marriage? everytime there is a big spread with two people professing undying love and how time has brought them closer, there is an anonymous friend who has already been briefed to give out 'her side' for the divorce spread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkshock Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 in fairness he gives some useful advice on the last page of the article. but i would question how easy it is to get 12% yield at this stage of the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 AKA BTL King of Singing Pig fame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_duke_of_hazzard Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 (edited) "By 2001, Ajay owned about 25 properties worth about £1 million, on which he owed some £600,000 in mortgages. Today, his 150-strong portfolio is worth £10 million, on which he has about £6 million in outstanding mortgages. It would take a property collapse of exceptional harshness for him not to walk away a millionaire even if he were to give it all up tomorrow and just walk away." This bothers me - rather than consolidate his millionaire status and diversify his investments, he's kept the same leverage and expanded in the same market. 40% is pretty good, though, I reckon if there were a sudden downturn he would know about it and get out in time. Also, with that kind of portfolio, giving money to letting agents could be a mistake - why not poach a competent letting agent and give them a stake in the business? Edited May 29, 2006 by the_duke_of_hazzard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomr Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 AKA BTL King of Singing Pig fame. Are you serious? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 Yes, but is Ajay happy? the more money you make the more problems you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbrent Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 robbrent are you suggesting it is a bit like a celebrity marriage? everytime there is a big spread with two people professing undying love and how time has brought them closer, there is an anonymous friend who has already been briefed to give out 'her side' for the divorce spread. It appears that way, everytime I read something like this, I remember reading a gushing report about the founder of the Gadget Shop, a couple of months later they went belly up As some would say when you see it, it's gone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnd Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 Another VI media story to try and kickstart the newbie BTL market again With the banks/building societies given up on FTB - they need stories like this to expand their first time BTL market They are so simplisitic and hide a lot of detail, risk and, mainly, luck They are tempting to my greed, but, c'mon, I'm not THAT stupid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkshock Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 Another VI media story to try and kickstart the newbie BTL market again With the banks/building societies given up on FTB - they need stories like this to expand their first time BTL market They are so simplisitic and hide a lot of detail, risk and, mainly, luck They are tempting to my greed, but, c'mon, I'm not THAT stupid true, but it could be people like him, who bought when yields were very high, and who continue to expand and not diversify, rather than sell up - defying conventional logic perhaps - who will help prolong this boom indefinitely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbrent Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 Remember the Dot Com companies, the media used to write the same sort of gushing reports Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Its time to buy Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 you should retitle the thread as How one man turned £500 into £6m of debt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Winners and Losers Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 That will be on paper then will it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnd Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 true, but it could be people like him, who bought when yields were very high, and who continue to expand and not diversify, rather than sell up - defying conventional logic perhaps - who will help prolong this boom indefinitely. Yep, you mean a long term landlord - they will always win but how many are out there ATM are? IMO stories like this are aimed at the short term capital gain BTL'ers to, like you say, 'prop up' (as in ricketly old barn) the market... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astos Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 in fairness he gives some useful advice on the last page of the article. but i would question how easy it is to get 12% yield at this stage of the game. He quotes that he would never take on a property with a yield of less than 12% in fact it is his golden rule. He is also living in the past. If you read his book he often refers to buying a property for a palty sum like £65k and when he talks about rent he quotes figures like £1000 pcm. The two just dont add up. It is almost impossible to get a 12% yeild these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Winners and Losers Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 It is almost impossible to get a 12% yeild these days. Not almost - it IS impossible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkshock Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 He quotes that he would never take on a property with a yield of less than 12% in fact it is his golden rule. He is also living in the past. If you read his book he often refers to buying a property for a palty sum like £65k and when he talks about rent he quotes figures like £1000 pcm. The two just dont add up. It is almost impossible to get a 12% yeild these days. that is exactly the problem i have with his advice now. his tip about getting dss tenants due to stability rather than students is sound though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbrent Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 That will be on paper then will it? nice one, that's the thing about money tied up in property (may be not in this case, whu knows) but it does not matter how much a house is worth, it's an illusion, if you can't get the money out (for free) The VI's say that you have so much capital tied up, and by the way do you want a mortgage to release it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnd Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 He quotes that he would never take on a property with a yield of less than 12% in fact it is his golden rule. He is also living in the past. If you read his book he often refers to buying a property for a palty sum like £65k and when he talks about rent he quotes figures like £1000 pcm. The two just dont add up. It is almost impossible to get a 12% yeild these days. This is nearly as bad as the BBC now running property investment programmes made 2 or 3 years ago Desperate VI media hype... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkshock Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 (edited) Yep, you mean a long term landlord - they will always win but how many are out there ATM are? IMO stories like this are aimed at the short term capital gain BTL'ers to, like you say, 'prop up' (as in ricketly old barn) the market... yes, but he wants 1,000 properties which, due to the way he is approaching this, maintaining a low LTV ratio, and the harsh reality of compound interest, is possible. not saying 1,000 properties on its own will support the market, but if there were say 10-20 characters like him out there, surely it would be a sizeable chunk of housing stock accounted for? nice one, that's the thing about money tied up in property (may be not in this case, whu knows) but it does not matter how much a house is worth, it's an illusion, if you can't get the money out (for free) The VI's say that you have so much capital tied up, and by the way do you want a mortgage to release it! yes but to be fair to him, he seems far more interested in the rental income he generates rather than the paper value of the properties. he could sell up now for a huge profit if he was, as his LTV is very low - and it seems he intends to keep it that way. Edited May 29, 2006 by Milkshock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnd Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 yes, but he wants 1,000 properties which, due to the way he is approaching this, maintaining a low LTV ratio, and the harsh reality of compound interest, is possible. not saying 1,000 properties on its own will support the market, but if there were say 10-20 characters like him out there, surely it would be a sizeable chunk of housing stock accounted for? Scary stuff. The rise of the long term landlord - squeezing the already tight housing supply - keeping prices high until more are built Could last years.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Winners and Losers Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 Could last years.... Unless a HPC pulls the rug from under his gucci slippered feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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