Property investment is an attractive career choice for many, as it can offer an escape from the nine to five working week and the opportunity to be your own boss – accountable only to yourself.
However, navigating the highs and lows of the property market can be challenging for even the most seasoned of investors, let alone those looking to break into the industry.
That’s why the team at Samuel Leeds is sharing their extensive experience in property investment and management, so that others can benefit from their knowledge and forge their own future in the field.
Founded by brothers Samuel and Russell Leeds, the small team share the ethos that ‘everybody deserves the opportunity to understand property investment’.
The value of investments can fall as well as rise, which could mean getting back less than you originally put in. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Therefore, before deciding to invest, please consult an independent financial adviser to better understand the risks and if such an investment is right for you.
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP PAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.
This article is paid for by Samuel Leeds and does not represent the views of Reach plc.
For nearly a decade, they’ve been offering their crash courses in property investment up and down the country, and tickets cost as little as £1* to attend.
From there, people can take the knowledge learnt at the conference and apply it themselves, but there is also the option to undertake further online and in-person courses, or become an academy member at an additional cost. However, there is no set path as training is dependent on the strategy each participant wants to do.
The next crash course tour is taking place from January 19 to January 28, 2024, and is coming to London, Manchester, and Birmingham, with further dates for February also available.
To book your place on the next course, visit the Samuel Leeds website.
‘You’ve got to believe you’re worth it, and people buy into that’
Quitting was never an option for Charlie when he was struggling at the beginning of his property voyage. Coming from a background of playing sport for many years, it is not in him to lose, he said.
Even after ‘hitting a brick wall’, the Samuel Leeds student was determined to keep going. What changed was his approach to sourcing deals for investors.
“I was just sitting at home trying to make money and make this work. I wasn’t in the environment,” Charlie explained.
“So, I got myself back in the environment, going to more networking events, asking more questions, and then showing people I’m out here doing it.”
Choosing to go down the deal sourcing route, as it better suited his financial circumstances at the time, Charlie paid to become a Samuel Leeds academy member. He found that the Samuel Leeds networking events were – and remain to be – a great opportunity to meet like-minded people, and even potential investors.
“I didn’t have much money to invest into, say rent-to serviced accommodations or rent-to-HMOs. I needed some cash behind me.
“The quickest way for me to do that was to go out, find the investor, find a deal, package it up and sell it.”
His reputation has also grown with his success, and often he is referred by word of mouth to potential investors; a landlady he had worked with passed his details onto a friend, and he was able to sell a deal in central London thanks to her recommendation.
Before learning how to identify lucrative property investments, Charlie went to university, studying sports coaching and then worked for a friend in a rugby club providing marquees.
His parents are supportive of his new career choice, and he shares their pride in what he has managed to achieve so far, crediting the academy for giving him a solid grounding to work as a professional deal sourcer.
“You can talk to anyone on the academy chat and say I need advice and people will just help you,” he added.
“I feel like that’s massive in property on its own. In this business you collaborate a lot.”
Commenting on Charlie’s success, Samuel Leeds said: “The first deal is the hardest to get. Once you do that, you have the confidence and know-how to do it again.
“A high percentage of Charlie’s deals come from the academy network where he has also made friends. I look forward to seeing him continue to win.”
‘Once you start thinking outside the box and marketing to the right people, you will do well, wherever it is’
After leaving school at 17, Gavin and Mitch Vaughn spent many years travelling and working temporary jobs, before discovering where their skills could be best applied.
While working abroad, the twins had collectively taken on many poorly paid roles, so when they made the decision to return to the UK, they decided they needed a more lucrative career path.
Gavin first stumbled across Samuel Leeds on YouTube, and a video in which Samuel was talking to Evans Willie, a winner of The Eviction – Property Investors’ annual Apprentice-style competition for budding real estate entrepreneurs – that really captured his imagination.
He showed his brother, and they decided to attend a £1* Property Investors crash course together. After attending the course, the brothers’ interest in property investment was further piqued, and they decided to pay to become members of the Samuel Leeds academy.
Within weeks of attending, they’d secured their first rent-to-rent, and their property portfolio has only expanded since that time.
They’ve also been successful at deal sourcing too – which they stumbled into by accident, when both of them briefly fell ill, and were unable to look at properties.
“It was either we make no money in December or how can we pivot and make money throughout the Christmas period coming into the New Year,” Gavin explained.
“Our 25th deal has just gone through since the end of December, and we’ve got about five bespoke clients.”
They’ve also made use of their local knowledge of their home county of Hertfordshire to further expand their network. While it may seem as though there would be less opportunity than London, Mitch was confident that they could flourish there too.
“Hertfordshire on a map does look like a farm until you start seeing these little areas. Then you just need to dig deeper to see why people would be travelling there.
“Once you start thinking outside the box and marketing to the right people, you will do well, wherever it is.”
The contacts that the twins made at the Samuel Leeds academy have proven invaluable in spreading the word about their company, Vaughan Property Group, and the regular Zoom calls, events and dinners with other academy members are both enjoyable and lucrative.
The speed of their progress has surprised Mitch, but Gavin puts it down to their training.
“All we’ve done is follow the blueprint we’ve been given and taken action,” he said.
Samuel Leeds is inclined to agree. He added: “What Gavin and Mitch have done – which is really good – is that if someone is more successful than them, they will ask questions to learn.
“But also, with people who are starting out in the academy they will happily let them pick their brains. When you add value to the community in that way, people will trust you and do deals with you.”
To find out more, visit the Samuel Leeds website. For Samuel Leeds’ full terms and conditions, click here, and for FAQs, click here
*£100 No-show/late cancellation fee applies. To find out the full terms and conditions, click here
