I am delighted to have Juliet Ashton-Taylor as my NPP this week. Juliet you may recall was the overall winner of the NLA Property Women awards. Here is her story.
1. Please introduce yourself. Say a bit about yourself and your company
I am Juliet Ashton-Taylor (51) from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. I have four adult children and I work full time for the NHS as well as managing my property portfolio. Following winning the NLA Property Woman of the Year title last week I am rebranding as “Jabez Homes” and setting up my website (www.jabez.vpweb.co.uk). I’m also part of a great church in Newcastle called NCLC which very much influences and underpins how I think and conduct my business.
2. How did you first become involved in property?
Following my divorce I rented for a while and then bought a repossessed house by myself. I bought it with a no much-maligned 125% mortgage, but as I didn’t have a deposit I couldn’t have got started without it. I bought cheap and when I sold it 18 months later, it had doubled in price. Encouraged by this, my daughter Libby suggested that I help her buy a flat while she was at University. She rented out the spare room and lived rent free in it. When she was ready to move on I was able to give her a deposit for a new place and then keep the flat as the start of my portfolio and I’ve never looked back.
3. What do you think is your greatest achievement so far?
I just love helping people. I was at a point in my life where I couldn’t get a tenancy as I had no money and no job. I remember how that felt and I knew if I was ever in a better position then I would try to help others. I’ve been able to give a number of people a helping hand into a tenancy and that’s given them the ability to move on with their lives. It’s about people, not profit for me. I really believe that even if it’s just in a small way I can do something to change the world one life at a time.
4. Do you or your company have any exciting plans for the future?
I’m working towards giving up the day job so I can concentrate on property. I would love to help other landlords by doing for them what I do myself. I deliver great properties with great service and I never have voids. I reckon I can take on more properties and do more of the same. I don’t want a letting agency with pictures in the window but I want to go out there and proactively match tenants with properties as quickly as possible. I’ve been on the receiving end of being over-promised and under-delivered and I don’t like it!
5. What do you think are the greatest problems facing the private rented sector today?
I think it’s easy to get swamped by all the legislation that we have to adhere to. I know most of it is there for a good reason but it sometimes seems so onerous. I’m just changing my residential home to an HMO and I’ve been inundated with hoops to jump through. I like to do things well but there’s a fear that there is so much a landlord needs to do that I might have missed something by accident.
Obviously we are in hard financial times right now, so there is the risk that tenants will lose jobs and default on their rent. Hopefully my tenants are able to come and talk to me and we can find a way to work things through together.
6. What do you think are the greatest opportunities?
I think there has never been a better time to rent property. While the economic climate is biting, mortgages are harder to come by and first time buyers are fewer, more single person households exist and there is a lot of immigration. All these factors create a strong market for rentals and, while there is competition, if you give the tenants what they want then you can make a good return.
7. We have a new government. What would you like them to do for the private rented sector?
I think private landlords provide a valuable resource as local authority housing is likely to suffer more cut backs in real terms. I would like the government to acknowledge that by not increasing the burden of legislation any further. I’d also like a scheme that benefits landlords who are helping to assist with some of the hard to place tenants by housing ex-prisoners, rough sleepers, etc. I think we all need to remember that we are so fortunate and and if circumstances were different it could be you or I.
8. Do you use social media (blogs, twitter, LinkedIn etc)? What place do you think it has in the future of the property industry?
I’m a Facebook fan and I have used that to advertise properties although it’s one of a number of methods I’ve used. I’ve had very good results using Gumtree for advertising – it’s free and it’s local and a lot of potential tenants seem to use it. There are so many avenues available out there to promote your business I think it makes sense to use as many as you can manage.
9. What is the most important lesson you have learned during your time in property?
Don’t judge a book by its cover! Just because a person is in poor circumstances doesn’t mean they will be a poor tenant.
10. What advice would you have to someone thinking of entering the property industry today?
Weigh up the risks carefully. Know your market. Think about what your tenants want and don’t always go after what you would like personally. Be the best you can be and treat people as you would like to be treated. Take a deep breath and go for it!
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Thank you Juliet. I wish you all the best for the future.
To read more about Juliet, see her web-site at http://jabez.vpweb.co.uk/.