Today I’m delighted to welcome Charlene Turkington to the show, who claims to be our first guest from Northern Ireland – and with my terrible memory, I’m certainly in no position to dispute her claim! She started investing at a young age in Belfast, was hit hard by the 2008 recession, and then made a fresh start flipping houses in a small Yorkshire town.
After completing 14 flips, she started to hold on to some of them and grow her buy to let portfolio, as well as embark upon an amazing new build back in Northern Ireland that will become their family home.
A lot of Charlene’s approach is the perfect model for people interested in flipping houses: a strategy we don’t discuss anywhere near as much as I’d like on the show. So hopefully for those of you looking to do something similar either as your main strategy, or to raise your investment pot for further buy and hold deals, you’ll find a lot of great insight and information in today’s show.
Listen to this episode below:
Here’s a sneak peek at what discussed this time:
4.38 – From a career in IT to buying her first home in Belfast, Charlene talks about life before property.
8.21 – As a hard worker with a real savvy side, Charlene didn’t take the ordinary route for her first house purchase.
9.44 – How the success of the first purchase led her fairly quickly to her second property.
11.01 – But shortly after the purchase of her second house, the recession hit leaving a financially-stretched Charlene struggling.
17.29 – How turning 30 led Charlene to reassess her priorities and take a break form the stresses of juggling her two properties in a recession-hit market.
“I got tired of it all, I turned 30 – is this really what I want from life, just sitting here paying off the mortgage?!”
18.30 – How a move to Manchester provided some welcome relief and allowed Charlene to re-focus.
19.54 – Charlene talks about how her natural passion for houses, alongside meeting her property-loving husband and the birth of their child, led her back to property.
22.14 – How buying her first house in Manchester further reignited Charlene’s passion.
27.16 – Charlene talks about how the experience led to some key learnings: buy locally, know your market and get the price right!
“For us our approach has always been to make a modest profit, but to make it quite quickly.”
30.13 – How her second property purchase changed the game for Charlene, allowing her to develop a strong reputation locally and a new flipping strategy.
36.02 – Why flipping houses in today’s market is achievable, even with comparatively low investment.
39.38 – There are lots of different strategies within the property market, and it’s not a competition! Charlene discusses the importance of finding what works for you, your budget and priorities.
41.53 – How Charlene’s strategy has changed through meting other investors and seeking out education opportunities.
45.48 – Charlene explains how, through hard work, local knowledge and connections, her houses are in demand, leading her to consider partnering with other local investors to create their own high-quality property brand.
48.58 – Charlene and her family move back to Northern Ireland to embark on a personal self-build project.
55.21 – Despite coronavirus, the market is moving, and Charlene is continuing to plan her next investment.
57.07 – Charlene talks about how Northern Ireland may be a different and slightly more difficult market, but she understands its potential and has her sights set on creating HMO’s in Belfast in the future.
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Links Mentioned
Follow Charlene on Instagram (@rua_property) to find out more about her current self-build in Northern Ireland.