Today we catch up with Dillan, a London-based father of 2.
After being brought up in a financially secure home, he wanted to make sure that he maintained that level of financial independence for his own family.
Having already invested in a few London properties, he decided to diversify his buy-to-let portfolio and buy in the Leeds property market with Lifestyle Property People.
The Background
We met Dillan and Dimple back in 2017 through a referral from an existing client. Dillan, a software engineer, and Dimple, an optician, lived in London with their two children.
Before they started investing in Leeds, they owned two buy-to-let (BTL) properties, both of which were in the East Ham area of London. However, the yield they were getting on them wasn’t great and they were drawn to Leeds because it offered better returns with a much smaller initial investment.
The Why
The couple wanted to expand their BTL portfolio in order to achieve a number of goals. Dillan, was brought up in a family where “money was never a worry” and wanted to make sure that he maintained that level of financial independence for his own family. He also wanted to ensure that his kids were well grounded, but had the best opportunities that life had to offer, so for him, investing in property was a means to achieving this.
For the couple, the BTL investments were a way to build up a healthy retirement pot, and to ensure their spare cash was working harder than it would be if it were sitting in the bank. They also wanted to set their kids up for the future – “some of the monthly returns we get are going into the kids’ junior ISAs” – so they’re building up their own pots of money too.
The couple had enjoyed splurging on holidays and a certain standard of living before having kids and didn’t want this to change, even with the growing outgoings that they have now, so the rest of the returns that come in from the BTL investments are going towards their home and family life, like days out and restaurant meals.
“Some of the monthly returns we get are going into the kids’ junior ISAs” – so they’re building up their own pots of money too.“
The Process
After understanding exactly what they were looking to achieve, and then translating this into a set of property sourcing criteria, we were able to source a two-bedroom mid terrace property in east Leeds, within the Leeds city council regeneration zone.
“We were presented with a curated list of properties available, each with the advantages and disadvantages laid out, and the process clearly outlined,” said Dillan. “Then once we’d made our choice, Lifestyle Property People had the property prepared and all the work done for me, without me ever ever having to go up to Leeds.”
In particular, Dillan & Dimple were impressed at how little effort they had to put into the process and felt reassured “knowing that there’s someone on the other side (in Leeds) keeping an eye on the property and also someone local (in London) who we can talk to if we have any questions. This really allowed us to take a step back and leave the team to it.”
“Once we’d made our choice, Lifestyle Property People had the property prepared and all the work done for me, without me ever ever having to go up to Leeds”
The most surprising element of all was that, to date, they’ve “never actually seen the property in the flesh”, which Dillan commented is “a testament to how efficient the Lifestyle Property People service has been in handling every little thing for us. All they ever needed from us was our signatures on the contract documents, really, and we’ve been seeing the returns in our bank account every month for the last few years!”
The Result
The couple have achieved a level of passive income that has escaped them even with their two London properties.
“With the fully managed Leeds offering, we haven’t had to get our hands dirty at all and this has allowed us to focus on our biggest priority – our family.”
“We’ve been seeing the returns in our bank account every month for the last few years!”
3 words or phrases you would use to describe Lifestyle Property People?
We asked Dillan during our call what 3 words he would use to describe Lifestyle Property People. Below is what he came up with:
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Diligent
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Honest
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Reliable
Overall rating for Lifestyle Property People
10/10
If, like Dillan, you want to create an additional income stream for your future without the heavy lifting, see how you can work with us for our next Property Investment Masterclass here.