Listen to this episode below:
Marc is a part time landlord who built up a residential buy to let portfolio in London with his wife Rochelle.
Having sold his previous business to BUPA, he wanted to keep the management of his portfolio relatively hands free, so along with past Inside Property Investing guest David Cummin, they decided to build Arthur Online, a complete property management solution for investors, landlords and letting agents.
Show Sponsor
Arthur Online is the property management platform I use to make my life as a landlord as easy as possible. Not sure if a property management solution can make your life easier? Try it out with a 2 month free trial, exclusive to the Inside Property Investing audience.
Audible.co.uk: We’ve teamed up with Audible to give you your first audio book completely free, like Rich Dad, Poor Dad or The E-Myth. Get your free book here.
Investing Strategies
Marc and his wife Rochelle spent 15 years building up a buy-to-let portfolio in and around London. Their focus throughout this time has been on buying properties that deliver strong cash flow which has allowed them to weather a few storms along the way and set them up nicely for future retirement.
They’re no longer actively buying property (and in fact have sold a few recently to take advantage of the heated London market) because they are now at a stage where they are happy with the income they’re generating and understand that property is the means to an end, rather than the end itself.
Continuing to expand their portfolio would require additional borrowing, higher leverage, and more work – none of which they need given they’re achieved their cash flow goals already.
Biggest Success
Every building Marc has bout has been a freehold purchase they he’s been able to add value to. One pub in Lewisham stands out in his mind as his biggest development to date. The landlord was struggling to make a success of the business, so Marc and Rochelle purchased it with the intention of converting it to residential.
They applied for and were granted planning permission for 15 flats, and set about the development work. Marc admits that whilst he can look at a property and visualise the potential, he’s not a natural developer/project manager yet despite problems with builders throughout the project, it turned out to be a very profitable deal.
Biggest Difficulty
Marc thinks back upon two properties as slight mistakes on his part, but with his very pragmatic outlook on life you don’t get the feeling he dwells on them too much.
The first was a property he purchased through auction without fully reading the legal pack. Between exchange and completion he realised there was a clause in the auction pack about a charge on the property which would be transferred with title, meaning he would be liable for clearing the debt.
Pulling out of the deal cost him £20,000, but the potential downside had he proceeded with the sale could have bee a lot worse.
The second mistake he discusses in the show was regarding an interest rate swap on an existing loan. Interest rates were looking as though they were going to increase, so Marc agreed to a 10 year swap which effectively fixed the rate he was paying. Shortly after this the interest rates dropped significantly.
Despite knowing what his payments would be when agreeing to this product, had he not done the swap he reckons he would have been better off to the tune of a seven figure sum over the course of the 10 years.
What’s Your Favourite Book?
[button icon=”hb-moon-book” special_style=”no” color=”carrot” size=”” three_d=”yes” title=”Click Here for Your Free Audiobook” link=”http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-7742959-10449428″ new_tab=”yes” animation=”” animation_delay=”” class=””]
Marc is not an avid reader, but loves Ted Talks and highly recommends video as a medium to consume great content.
Discover some amazing videos today at TED.com
Marc Trup’s Links & Resources
Arthur Online – Find out more about Arthur Online, the amazing property management solution created by Marc and his team. Use code ‘IPI’ for a 2 month free trial of the platform and discover how it can simplify your life as a property investor.