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Justin left school early and headed straight to the building sites as a labourer where he developed a talent with wood and got his carpenter and joiner qualifications, but when bad times hit the building trade and the work stopped he began to rebel and get in trouble.
He made the decision to join the army and in his words this turned his life upside down.
After the army he finally found himself in the world of estate agency and quickly worked his way up the ranks before opening his own agency in 2003. He now owns the most successful agency in his area, holds one of the largest rent-to-rent portfolios in the country, and holds his family firmly at the centre of everything he does.
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Investing Strategies
Justin’s portfolio revolves predominantly around rent-to-rent, but what he proves is that this is just the beginning.
Of course he has a focus on HMOs due to the ever increasing demand for high-quality, flexible accommodation in towns and cities across the UK, but he’s also now branched off into the serviced apartment arena.
The logistics of this side of the business are very separate to the HMO side, with laundry, cleaners etc. so in Justin’s case they are run as completely separate businesses, with the serviced apartment arm run by his wife.
The appeal of this side of the business to Justin is the standard of clientèle (typically business men and women), everything is paid up front, and there are no concerns about tenants not vacating at the end of a tenancy.
Biggest Success
When Justin was faced with losing everything during the recession (his estate agency went from selling 30-40 properties per month down to only 2-7 if he was lucky!), he took a few steps back, regrouped and went back to it twice as hard.
He’s done lots of interesting and successful deals, but being able to keep going during this hard time and recover everything he almost lost still stands out in his mind as his biggest success.
What’s Your Favourite Book?
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Total Recall
Trump: The Art of the Deal
Justin Whittemore’s Links & Resources
I-PropertyAcademy.co.uk – Intelligent Property Academy is the training group run by Justin and Mark Beal
Email Justin Whittemore – Got a question or looking for some advice? Get in touch with Justin here.