Evenin' all!
My name is Paul & I've finally got round to joining the forum. I'm a regular on 'Stinking Pig' so Hi to everyone who knows me from there.
I'm a full time investor after 'stumbling' into property by accident at a young age.
* Long story below... so sorry in advance!
When I was 19 years old I developed severe tendon problems in my hands which rendered me with a partial disability & permenant physical pain for 3 years of my life. The problems were caused by excessive use of my hands from playing musical instruments (I'm a jazz musician) & using the computer too much.
Depressed, I did not know what life held for me, I had to give up on my music career, employers were prejudice against my disability & the motor skills in my fingers had reduced to the stage where I struggled with simple day to day tasks such as putting socks on or brushing my teeth.
As I did not know what to do & faced a potential existance on state benefits, I bought a house with a 100% mortgage & used my student loan to refurbish the house. I did not tell my parents as they were against my wishes. I figured this was a good thing to do to keep me occupied until my hands recovered... my disability affected finger movement - but I could still hold tools & use my hands like clubs to do heavy manual work.
I then proceeded to distract my self from the physical pain I was enduring by staying busy enough not to think about it, or doing labourous work which hurt my knees (but distracted me from the pain in my hands).
* By age 22 I had renovated 5 properties on foot without the knowledge of my family. I was so depressed about losing some of the motor skills in my hands, I hid behind work...
I then contacted a fella named 'Deep' & got introduced to the world of the
PNC. My reason for contact was - he seemed a similar age to myself & was involved in property, I didn't know anyone else in property. Not a soul!
I'd just recovered from physical exhaustion when I contacted Deep & decided to pass my driving test (paid using a 0% credit card). My first 5 properties were all renovated on foot, I'd done silly things like carry carpets 2 miles on my back, move beds several miles at 2am by myself etc... being busy helped me cope with depression.
Why did I not drive? Because I've had no financial handouts in life - 100% self-supported since age 19. My spare money was being spent on medical treatment to try & combat the medical difficulties I was facing.
All property development funding was raised from:
* Student loans, 0% credit cards, 0% student overdrafts (I had 4 at one point!), a personal loan of £15k, remortgaging & being creative with credit.
Essentially NO STARTING CAPITAL as the first house I bought was a 100% mortgage, valuation fees were paid on a credit card & student loan refurbed it. I lived on student overdrafts as income was scarce!
All refurbishment works on my first 6 houses were carried out single handedly by myself. I did EVERYTHING!!! Luckily I enjoy DIY, but am a bit too busy for it nowadays...
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Worst thing I experienced in property was getting a house turned into a drug den, not having the finance to sort it, & being left with 317 used heroin syringes hidden in the premises. I also got slashed with a knife & the windscreen of my van smashed in the same incident. The police didn't assist for 'fear of infection' & the social were not much use either.
* Great fun!
It's much better than being bored & whining about how dismal life can be...
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Anyway - that's the bad bit over with! :P I turned 25 years old in January 2007 & have regained 90% of the motor skills in my hands. I choose to live in my original house that is now worth £70k & use spare capital to continue investing... I could move to a more affluent part of town - but I'd rather live 'within my means' than 'beyond my means', I employ a PA part time & need to pay her wages.
* A bit of a long profile - but hopefully it will explain what drove me to 'end up with 5 houses, age 22 by accident!'. (Actually it didn't 'drive' me as I had no vehicle! I went through a few pairs of running trainers...)
I've taken a bit time out of the game since Dec'05 to get organised with my affairs, get education in avenues I was lacking (business/ tax/ eviction law etc.), & also take care of my health more (I spent 4 months in crutches after renovating my 5th house- not big, not clever!)
Let's see what 2007 brings... :P
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