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Alan is a former sports journalist turned property professional who specialises in flipping property in South London, Surrey and Kent.
Through his company, Simplify Property, he delivers high quality renovated and converted home with both his own funds and by sourcing and managing properties on behalf of his clients.
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Investing Strategies
Alan is predominantly focussed on flipping property as he didn’t have the financial record when starting out to get buy to let mortgages.
He did explore the options for borrowing through a limited company but the choices were limited so he decided to build up his cash pot by buying to sell using bridging finance, which was much easier to secure than a mortgage.
He’s also not overly keen on the idea of dealing with tenants, and whilst he admits he’ll likely incorporate some form of rental strategy into his portfolio, he wants to become a real expert in his current field of flipping before moving on to the next thing.
Biggest Success
Alan’s biggest success was getting private investors on board who weren’t his family (his mum was one of his earliest investors!).
His first step was to send an email to all of the contacts in his hotmail address book looking for £40,000, and he was shocked when an old friend informed him that his family owned hundreds of flats across London. They had a brief conversation and the guy wrote him a cheque there and then. It just goes to show you never know until you ask!
Biggest Difficulty
Thankfully nothing has gone too badly wrong for Alan so far but he’s had a few minor blips along the way.
One property that he’s just finished renovating hasn’t exactly gone to plan as the first sale fell through just before the referendum and since then he hasn’t been able to find another buyer.
He should still make a decent profit on it, even if it means reducing the price in order to find a buyer, but the bigger cost to Alan is that it’s holding up his capital, preventing him from moving this money into the next deal.
What’s Your Favourite Book?
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The Richest Man in Babylon – George S Clason
What You See Is What You Get – Alan Sugar
Alan Frost’s Links & Resources
simplify-property.co.uk – Find out more about Alan’s business and his current projects
SDLT Calc App – Check out Alan’s recommended app for quickly calculating the new Stamp Duty Land Tax
Email Alan Frost – Got a question or looking for some advice? Get in touch Alan here.