The Franchise Magazine – April 2011
discovery days
Discover in 3 minutes how a Platinum Discovery Day can equip you to make the most from property.
A franchise with foundations in success
Case Study: Paul & Linda Cronin – Marketbeating returns and a better quality of life…
After building an impressive corporate career in the IT world, Paul Cronin felt the urge to run his own business. He and his wife, Linda, now own a Platinum Property Partners franchise, through which they are building a highly profitable property portfolio in Berkshire and Surrey.
Paul explains: “When we first ventured into the world of property investment, a few years ago, we were buying and selling and the benefits were fairly intangible. It was an awful lot of effort for not as great a return as we might have hoped.
“Before setting out on our own again, Linda and I recognised that we needed a better return on investment in respect of both our time and money. The PPP franchise and other Platinum investment options on offer, give us not only excellent financial returns – the kind we’ve not seen offered by any other property company – but also the kind of lifestyle we’re looking for.”
Paul and Linda joined PPP in April 2010 and underwent two days of intensive mentoring in May, focusing on the investment locations of Bracknell, Camberley and Frimley. The couple have three houses with multiple occupation (HMO), generating a combined monthly gross profit of around £4,200, for a total capital investment of £264,000. That gives Paul and Linda an overall return of 19 per cent. In time, as they are able to refinance, although the cashflow will reduce slightly, the return on investment will rise, and they will be able to reinvest that money in more of these highly profitable properties.
The couple also get great satisfaction from providing really good quality accommodation for the ever-growing number of people who want to live in shared houses. With their youngest son currently at university, they are all too aware of the amount of sub-standard – and sometimes illegal – properties that are housing young adults. Linda, in particular, is always very keen to ensure that all the properties in their portfolio should be set up and maintained at the kind of standard they’d want their own children to enjoy.
“A large part of our decision to join PPP was down to the integrity of the founders and quality of the network – both professional advisors and the other franchise owners”, says Paul. “Linda and I are enjoying more time together while giving something back; we’ve found a way to address the balance between input and return and are enjoying all the personal and financial rewards of running our own business”.
