Olympians Turn Their Attention To Property Investment
WhatHouse? speaks exclusive to Steve Backley OBE and Roger Black, retired GB Olympians, who have turned their attention to property investment…
Hi, tell us a bit about yourselves and your upcoming book?
We are both retired GB Olympians who came together some years ago to form a joint consultancy called BackleyBlack, offering B2B support on performance in the workplace. Since that time, we have joined forces with Legacy Education Alliance, Inc. (LEA), one of the world’s leading specialists in professional and personal development training. Together, we created a fantastic new property investment training brand called Perform in Property, fusing our existing passion for property with performance training.
Our new book, entitled The Little Book of Property, is currently only available as an e-book to download, for those who attend our exclusive one-day trainings. The book bridges questions that people might have in relation to our links with property and we show our own experience of learning and investing, live.
The Little Book of Property will be available to buy on Amazon and Kindle from September 2018, priced £7.99. Every single penny will go to Make-A-Wish® UK.
What first interested you in property investment?
Steve: My passion for property derived his father’s lifelong passion for the same. I had been investing for a long time before myself and Roger started working together, making mistakes along the way.
Roger: My enthusiasm and knowledge has built over time, particularly with mine and Steve’s LEA mentoring and visible results.
How long have you been investing, and how have your investments changed over the years?
Steve: I bought my first investment property in 1989 but broke all the rules (or what I now understand to be the ‘rules’). I then rode the interest rate hike in the early nineties and got out at the wrong time which hugely compounded my initial errors. This introduction wasn’t ideal, but it has set me up to be more diligent, gain better knowledge and to understand how to assess deals. In short, it’s why I am so passionate about an education being so vital to success in property. Nowadays I am way more aggressive in terms of the numbers of units I am buying - not because I have more funds but because I am more confident in what I am doing.
Roger has invested over a similar time span but less proactively.
Have the Stamp Duty and recent tax changes made you re-think anything?
It is a factor that needs to be addressed at the purchase stage and how we trade as a company. In my opinion, it has also been a gift to the more educated investor due to the ‘accidental landlord’ being put off. In the grand scheme of things, it probably means there are more opportunities about - as many amateurs see the changes as negative and choose not to do a deal (even if it stacks up!).
Do you feel that new homes are an attractive investment?
New homes can be an attractive investment, particularly if you are able to buy BMV in a great area and/or via a deal with the homebuilder. As professional investors, we have learnt that you need to make your money when you buy, not when you sell so get educated and be creative from the outset.
What property ‘hotspots’ would you recommend?
For us, we would recommend you start small as educated investors and build your portfolio over time. Areas like Leeds or Manchester, for example, will always be in demand but investment deal figures still need to stack up. Down on the South Coast, somewhere like Folkestone is on the up.
Areas to consider should be based on location - hubs like airports or hospitals, together with zones that are being regenerated. Always look at the initial cost, in addition to considering rentability eg cost, location, seasonality, accessibility etc.
Was there anything that your athletics career taught you that has helped with investing?
Gosh, where do we even start! Why don’t you read The Little Book of Property as a starting point! Most importantly, when we were competing at professional level, we knew that our sporting success was built upon a team effort. Our performance was a direct reflection of every action our Power Team did or encouraged on our behalf. Property investing is no different – you work with experts and an extended Power Team of professionals who can advise, help and inspire you along your property investment journey.
Have any of your former teammates shown an interest in property and investments?
Steve: I have lots of discussions with old team mates and colleagues around sport and many are interested and want to get involved. A few have taken the plunge. A big part of the future of Perform in Property will be in sharing the opportunity with fellow athletes and sportspeople. There has been much in the press around the challenges of retiring from sport and how so many struggle (both financially and emotionally). The truth is, property offers the perfect pre and post-retirement work for any sportsman in the same way as it does for so many other people.
Steve Backley OBE and Roger Black MBE are co-founders of Perform in Property. Steve and Roger will be hosting an exclusive one day Perform in Property - Get Started! experience in Birmingham on July 7 2018, where, for the first time in the Midlands, they will appear on stage, together with trusted LEA experts and their extended property Power Team. Every attendee will receive a free pre-publication copy of The Little Book of Property. Tickets to Perform in Property - Get Started! are available here.