Sarah Walker

Investment location: Poole & Bournemouth, Dorset

Sarah has worked as an estate agent, a home image consultant and a recruitment consultant, and since 2003 she has also been a television presenter – primarily on BBC1’s ‘To Buy Or Not To Buy’ – and freelance property writer. She currently works freelance part-time within Platinum Property Partners and, as a Franchise Partner, has started to build a portfolio in Poole & Bournemouth.

It was mid-2004 when Sarah first met Steve Bolton, and she spent some time looking into his methods and business proposition. It didn’t take long for her to realise that there was definitely something different and special about Steve, his business partners and the people they were working with, and she started to work freelance for the company on copy writing, publicity and shows & events. In November 2007, having known Steve for three years and worked within the company on a part-time basis for nearly a year, Sarah joined the Franchise.

“I had a fair amount of experience in the property field, but nothing like the knowledge within PPP, particularly on the investment front – it’s a completely different proposition to the residential and holiday home market. And because I like to work on a number of different projects, I simply don’t have the time or inclination to worry about having to research every aspect of the property business, so the Franchise is the perfect solution and, for me, a very cost-effective way of ensuring I make the right investments and have access to the best people to advise me on an ongoing basis. Plus, I’ve made a lot of great new friends and some seriously inspiring mentors and colleagues.”

Sarah was sale agreed on her first property the day after her initial mentoring, completed on that purchase in February 2008 and it was ready to rent as a 6-bedroom House in Multiple Occupation six weeks later. Thanks to a tracker mortgage, that property currently cashflows £1,400 a month. In November 2008 Sarah bought her second HMO – another 6-bedroom property – and that cashflows £660 a month. Those two cashflow figures are after the mortgages and all bills have been paid, allowances have been made for maintenance and voids, franchise management service fees have been paid, and include the cost of employing a property manager. The combined pre-tax profit of around £2,000 a month is therefore virtually passive income, as Sarah only has to spend around 2 hours a week on administering the business.

Albert Road, Poole

Sarah is working with a passive investor, and has made the most of the other investment options offered by PPP. She has invested into a development project in Romania, which is anticipated to give around a 100% return within 3 years, and also entered into a passive loan arrangement with one of the PPP founders, which pays market-leading interest rates on a monthly basis.

For the next few months Sarah will be focusing on the purchase of her own home in Bournemouth and plans to acquire at least one more investment before the end of the year.

Judy Mizen

Investment location: Basingstoke

Judy Mizen, a married mother of three, worked as a physiotherapist, specialising in neurological rehabilitation, until her first child was born eleven years ago. In 2007 she decided to go back to work in order to create a more stable financial future for the family but felt her previous career was no longer a suitable full-time option. Property was something she’d always been interested in, but she hadn’t considered franchising until she came across Platinum Property Partners at a property show.

Immediately impressed by PPP’s founders, Steve Bolton and Nick Carlile, Judy and her husband Chris were intrigued by the concept of a property franchise. The idea of having personal one-to-one mentoring and being able to not only follow proven systems, but also tap into an extensive ‘power team’ of property, legal and financial professionals, gave Judy the confidence and inspiration that this was something she could really excel at. Chris has his own successful business in the film industry, so although he is fully supportive, Judy is running their PPP franchise.

Says Judy,

“When I’ve told people what I’m doing, most have been quite surprised and impressed, and some have even said they wished they’d taken a similar plunge. I’ve currently got 3 highly cash-positive buy to let properties in Basingstoke, which provide a pre-tax monthly profit of around £3,500 and I’m also now mentoring new Franchise Partners in planning and refurbishment, which I’ve had a good deal of experience in.

The property market, and in particular the investment market, has gone through such changes in the time that I’ve been a Franchise Partner, that I can’t imagine how hard it would have been to keep growing my business alone, without the support of PPP. I’ve seen and heard of so many people who have been in property for years, but because they’ve been following just one investment method, their business has floundered. The Franchise offers a tried and tested ‘toolbox’ of options for profiting from property, and as the market alters we are trained and supported in new investment methods, which means we don’t have to spend time and effort trying to find out what the ‘next best thing’ is, or worry about being left behind.

Because the Founders are all so well-connected in the sector and the Franchise has group ‘buying power’, I know that what is being fed down to us and the professional expertise we have access to really is the best of what’s out there. We have 2-day workshops at least four times a year, and there are always expert guest speakers on different aspects of both the property market and business in general. One of the things that is really attractive about the PPP Franchise is its holistic approach to business and life. Since becoming a Franchise Partner I know I’ve not only been able to build a solid property business, but have also improved my overall business and personal skills and reassessed my goals and objectives for the future, thanks to the workshops and coaching facilitated by PPP.”

The nature of the business is such that the working hours are largely flexible, which suits Judy very well, and the rapidly growing franchise community of like-minded people adds to the support network, as well as being a sociable group – lots of new friendships have been forged.

For now Judy is keen to concentrate on building up a cash-positive portfolio, which will provide a good regular income, but is looking forward to moving into developing in the UK in the not too distant future, and knows she will have no problem doing that, with the support of the franchise.