ONE TO WATCH - Investor interview: Liz Leigh

Read the refreshingly candid and real-life story of Liz who is new to property but determined, very determined to make it work.

OTH: Thanks for sitting down with us Liz. Let’s jump right into it, you’re about a year into your property investing journey, in a time where many landlords are saying it’s not worth it anymore, what led to you getting involved in property? What’s your ‘why’?

LIZ: I’m not sure I’m worthy of an article, I did everything wrong and it’s been a tremendous learning curve!

My why? After nearly 40 years in the equestrian industry selling horses, divorce meant the sale of my farm - upon which my job was dependent. Facing 60 and a massive life change, property was the only thing I seriously pondered over. My anchor was gone, I was drifting and needed somewhere safe to dock. Somewhere safe as houses…

In simple terms, I wanted to generate an income and some security. Having always been self-employed, I couldn’t see myself in a 9-5.

OTH: Tell us about your strategy and how you decided on going down that route. You’ve also described the journey as a ‘rocky road’, the reality is, for many it’s not sunshine and rainbows, can you tell us about that as well?

LIZ: Family homes were the way forward for me and I did lots of maths on one hand and spent hours on Rightmove on the other. My broker suggested I look at Blackpool, he’d recently arranged several mortgages for investors and with low prices for great rents, it certainly looked good on paper. I hoped buying tenanted houses would work for me - rent from the get-go, established tenant, no major refurb. How wrong I was! I bought two houses fairly close together. One had (and still has) a lovely mature tenant who’d been there many years and the other I was unable to view as we were still on the edge of Covid and the tenant was ill each time I tried to view. But this house looked a real bargain, a substantial terraced with a kitchen extension, front and back garden, on a quiet street and £93,000. With a rental income of £606pcm and other houses on the street selling above £100,000, what’s not to like? The Estate Agent thought the house was a steal. So I took a chance and bought unseen! Property number three was a sensible cottage in another seaside town, Southport.

Being new to the industry, I thought my best chance of success was to find an agent to take care of the day-to-day running and unfortunately, my naivety slapped me square in the face when I found myself tied to an agent who was in the process of being expelled by the Property Ombudsman’s scheme and with no Client Money Protection. I learned too late that there was a rather long trail of landlords who were unable to recover their rents from him!

Just when you think things can’t get any worse, they did. My £93,000 bargain was housing a tenant from hell. An occasional non-paying trasher with an ASBO!

Within three months I was scratching my head, trying to get out of the contract with the agent and looking at eviction options for my terrible tenant! It was a lot to process but of course, when the going gets tough….

OTH: Oh no, so how did you turn it around? You did turn it around, right…?

LIZ: I educated myself, enlisted (eviction specialist) Mark Dawson to deal with the tenant and worked on losing the agent.

A good clean-up of property number two made me realise it actually was a good choice, despite the stress of the previous months. If I’d actually viewed it beforehand, I definitely wouldn’t have bought it. My daughter helped me with the clean-up and expressed an interest. It was great working with her again, this time on a non-horsey project. Within three weeks, the house was looking smart and had a brand new couple living there with an increase to £715pcm. The refurb cost around £4,500 and the eviction just under £2,000.

OTH: Where do you see your portfolio going in the future? Do you plan to diversify or rinse and repeat?

I could see the market changing. I had money to invest, but with lots of unknowns popping up, I decided to chuck my remaining eggs in one basket and buy a property close to my home town in Pennington, just south of Leigh in Greater Manchester. A substantial three-bedroomed house only 20 years old was bought for cash. Great tenant, professionally managed, this time I was able to check the many things I’d overlooked (discussed below) and felt confident parting with £160,000. With a grateful tenant who wanted to stay and even proposed a rental increase, I thought I’d let the markets settle and enjoy finally having my houses in order. However, I very recently found a bargain house which was ideal for my daughter (33) to get her break in property, so I’m now looking to welcome renter number five. So much for letting the markets settle! This bargain will be the foundation of a portfolio for my daughter.

OTH: What are your big learnings so far? What would you do differently if you started again?

My big takeaway from all this is that tenant choice is paramount. If you have the right person in your property, you’ll have less stress and more money. I check rental history, I want to super-duper check the tenant was in work and had never been in arrears and be a tenant who would readily communicate with me. My cash purchase had a tenant who said “I love this house. I can afford an increase and I’ve always looked after the place”. I hate to be a snob, but I’ve had a bellyful of rough people! I like committed couples and I am probably one of the few landlords who favour those with pets. An intelligent, responsible couple will be a better choice irrespective of pets and it avoids the question later on “can we get a puppy?”, you then have to choose to be a mean landlord, or risk a young and messy new household addition. At least by taking a pet owner, you’ve bypassed the messy stage! But first and foremost, I have to like the applicant. Just warm to them, if you get me.

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