Hello, my name is Sarah and I have just turned 18 on 1st October 2009. My ambition in life is to be financially free and the way I aim to do this is by investing in property. I've been reading books, articles, and magazines to do with property since I was 16 and only recently have taken a definite step towards financial freedom by attending a RichDad weekend seminar, after convincing my dad that this is my future.

From there my business partner (Rhys, also 18) and I have decided that we are going to source leads and/or deals in order to pay for the advanced course in lease options because we don't have money to put down at our age! Our strategy is to source BMV, lease option, and distressed properties to investors. We have started by looking at properties in Croydon and Redhill area, as this is where we are based. We have gone into lettings agent and found out what’s hot and what’s not in the area, along with rent prices for different properties. Currently we are at a stage of looking for properties that meet our criteria.

We are also looking for private loan to raise money towards doing the lease options course if anybody is interested. Interest rates are negotiable and it will be treated as a serious business transaction with written agreement etc.
If any experts out there would like to be our mentor, we are very happy to be mentees for however long you would like us to be.

Any feedback or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for reading.

Hi Sarah, welcome to the forum - you go for it !

I started 8 years ago when I was 19 years old with no money (& no driving licence) & have been 100% full-time in this business since age 22 (when I passed my driving test).


"We are also looking for private loan to raise money towards doing the lease options course"

If you did a university degree in business & used your student loans to fund setting up in business & employed your student peers to work for you, I'm sure you'd be fully up & running by the time you finish your degree.

* I started in the property business funding everything with student loans (because my parents didn't want me to/ couldn't help me financially to buy a house, so I bought 5 without telling them) & employed other students to work for me.

Good luck

__________________
Paul Galbraith - Tel: 0774 861 7840 (Anytime 24/ 7) - "Sleep is for wimps"
* Interested in LHA/ Housing Benefit training seminars? Visit: www.LHAtraining.co.uk
* 15-50%+ packaged BMV deals for sale... !! Interested? Join our mailing list here: www.PropertyDealsForSale.co.uk or Call: (0113) 815 2778 for more info.
ALWAYS looking for property in LEEDS & LONDON regardless of discount

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Tycoon Forum Support
Vadesha Properties Ltd

Thank you Paul.
It's very inspiring to hear from someone who started as young as I am, I wonder if you had a lot of negatives from older people who said "you won't be taken seriously because you look too young". If you did, I'd like to hear what was your response was about it. Personally I don't think motivated sellers really care whether the person they're selling their property to looks old or young, as long as they are trustworthy and can give them what they want. Correct me if I'm wrong on this.

"I started in the property business funding everything with student loans (because my parents didn't want me to/ couldn't help me financially to buy a house, so I bought 5 without telling them) & employed other students to work for me"

That's a very good idea! At the moment I'm considering taking a gap year because I can concentrate on property full time and not having it in the way of my studies and vice versa. I'll have to rethink the pros and cons again..

Can you please tell me whether you bought your first 5 properties all by yourself or using joint venture, and what mortgage did you use (refinanced I presume?), because I've been told that it would be near impossible to get a mortgage from a bank unless I've been earning a steady income of a few thousand pounds a year for a few years.

Sarah

Hello Sarah

Congratulations a big warm welcome to the Property Tycoons Forum.

On here you will find like minded people with varying levels of experience who will only be happy to reply to your posts and give you all the help and advice that you are looking for. We are a very friendly and helpful bunch and are very good at sharing information, advice and experiences.

If I can be of any help or assistance to you, then either PM me or contact me through one of my sites.

Wishing you every future success in your property business.

Ron & Ann Horsfall
Ronan Property Services

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www.rent2buyonline.co.uk

www.ronanpropertyservices.com

Hi Sarah,

Well done on getting started in property so early

I started in my early 20's and I found it a bit of a problem in dealing with estate agents (they wouldn't take me seriously) so I overcame that easily by learning how to find deals without them. I spent a lot of time on forums reading about marketing, especially internet marketing. I then used this knowledge to start doing leaflet campaigns, writing letters to people and it went from there. Someone your age should be using all the web 2.0. and other creative marketing tools that people twice your age generally have no idea about. I'm assuming you use facebook etc - read lots on the web about marketing and you will have a huge advantage over traditional investors.

I recommend meeting up with experienced investors and just watching them do their stuff for at least a year (there are plenty on this forum and I'm sure you will find someone local to you). You won't risk anything apart from your time and you will learn heaps. Go along to landlord meetings . Visit developments. Help out with admin if you can. etc.

Also, you will find the response from more experienced investors will be the same as here - people will be impressed that you have started young and they will be very willing to help you along. All the more if you can find deals for them! and that's how I started. I then built up capital and experience from this and then I started out on my own.

Good luck and make the most of the Tycoons here. We have some of the smartest investors and developers in the country floating around the forums.

__________________
Parmdeep Vadesha
Managing Director
Vadesha Properties Ltd

“the species that survived were not the most intelligent –they were the most adaptable to change” Charles Darwin

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Hi Sarah,

Very good replies have been posted.

I wish you all the best and am sure you will learn and earn financial freedom

Farukh

Thank you very much for your replies. I feel very honoured that I got a personal reply from Parmdeep Vadesha himself!- thank you for your suggestions. I'm definitely going for the internet marketing route- I have some contacts and I've read some books about it. Absolutely unbelievable the way you can generate leads!
However the challenge is investing money in building a lead generating website, so I am thinking of start my marketing with delivering leaflets in local tergeted areas to get some leads and build up capital to invest in web marketing. Or am I going to be wasting my time/straying down the wrong path?

"I recommend meeting up with experienced investors and just watching them do their stuff for at least a year (there are plenty on this forum and I'm sure you will find someone local to you)."
I will definitely follow up on the suggestion. Hopefully I will find someone local to me who are willing to let me watch them or help them with admin etc.

Once again thank you for all of your support!

Sarah

Hi Sarah,

Well done! is all I can say for taking the first step. I live in Croydon as well and are looking for deals in this area so if you find something give me a shout.

You can contact on 07888731569.

Good Luck,
Karry

Hi Sarah

Congratulations on taking your first steps to property investing at such an early age.

I wish you all the very best for the future, let us know how you get on.

Best regards
Darshan

Thank you Darshan. I will most certainly let the world know when I'm financially free!

Karry- I've noted your number down. Mine is 0796 0896 877 if you want to contact me. I would suggest meeting up one day just to discuss ideas and getting to know each other if you would like to? I'm trying to build up a contact base of like minded people (especially in the local area) so it would be great if we could meet up for a cup of coffee.

Let me know

Sarah

Hello and welcome to the forum.

We're a friendly bunch... Please ask if there is anything I can do to help.

David Duckworth

Hi Sarah,

We could meet up next weds at 9.40am. Meet me at Central shopping mall in front of House of Fraser and then we go for coffee afterwards.

Looking forward to meeting you young lady.

Kind Regards,
Karry Rozelaar

Well done Sarah
I will make sure my son reads this. I am so proud of you. I am sure you will do very well

xx

Thank you Cerise and David Your encouragements mean a lot to me.

Karry- I'll meet you next wednesday. Looking forwards to meet you too!

Sarah