Specialist buy-to-let business, Platinum Property Partners (PPP), was last night featured in a Dispatches documentary investigating the consequences of rapid house price rises for both buyers and sellers.
‘The British Property Boom’, first aired on Monday 1st December at 8pm on Channel 4, asked how 2014’s property boom is changing the face of our towns and cities across the UK.
From showing how thousands of first time buyers are struggling to keep up with the house price explosion to hordes of foreign investors snapping up 75% of new builds in London, the programme aimed to portray the winners and losers of the property boom.
As part of this investigation, the documentary followed the story of PPP Partner Amanda Staton, who currently has a portfolio of four Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in West London. The reason she started investing in property was because it offered a family friendly business and tangible assets that would help her children in the future.
She told producers: “I always wanted to work, so for me, staying at home five days a week was not really an option. But equally, working five days a week was not an option either, so we needed to find something that would work for us.”
Alongside investing in London, the rising property prices means that Amanda has also started to consider the feasibility of expanding her portfolio outside of the capital.
During the programme, Amanda visits Leeds with PPP Founder and Chairman Steve Bolton, to evaluate the price and availability of property.
Steve Bolton comments: “Travelling further afield can give landlords the opportunity to make their money go further. The demand for high quality rented accommodation is not going to go away. As well as providing homes to those who can’t afford to get on the property ladder, privately rented houses also cater for an increasingly mobile workforce who don’t want to live in tiny studio flats.”
Amanda knows that this type of buy-to-let investment model gives her the pension she needs and the flexibility to work when she wants – Amanda describes joining PPP in 2012 as the perfect vehicle for her family’s lifestyle.
Steve Bolton adds: “There are always going to be winners and losers, but we hope we have found one option that fulfils two needs. Our Partners, people like Amanda who have worked hard, bought a home and have some available capital to reinvest, are worried about their pension provision and financial futures. They also have children who will soon be the next generation of struggling first time buyers. Investing in property is one solution to those problems.
“At the other end of the scale are the scores of private renters who spend the majority of their wages on rent. Our high quality shared houses provide lower cost accommodation, with rent (including bills) typically 20% less than renting alone. Therefore, this can give our tenants the opportunity to save more of their income towards a deposit for their first home should they choose to do this. At PPP, we try to help one generation help another.”
You can watch Amanda and Steve in ‘The British Property Boom’ on 4od now.
