31/08/2026
Property is so easy!!!
(said no one ever, after their first deal)
In 2018 we bought our 1st buy to let. Steve viewed, we did our numbers, we offered, it was accepted and we bought.
A full refurb then we would get a tenant, simple right?
Bought for £57k on a mortgage, est refurb £8k rent £495pcm.
First thing - it looked like a brothel!!! Attic room was painted scarlet artex with black painted floor & staircase & a 10watt bulb!!! OMG what have we done?
The trades were dire - slow, messy, blaming each other - and unacceptable quality finish.
We had bought 2 other deals within 6 weeks so had 3 on the go as newbies. Mistake no 1!. Spread ourselves too thin. No focus. Delays cost money.
The day before the tenant was moving in, we tested the central heating - and the pipes weren’t connected so the water flooded through the light fitting in the lounge on the new laminate floor.
The day she moved in we were still painting the skirtings whilst she was on the doorstop with her baby as the decorator was slower than a snail.
The £8k estimated refurb? Ended up £16k.
We couldn’t refinance at 6 months as tenant had only been in a month so needed to wait till November. Come November, we couldn’t refinance because we were now portfolio landlords as we owned more than 4 properties. So we have to wait 2 years!.
2 years later, it was going to cost £6k to get back £20k so we didn’t bother! We didn’t refinance until the 5 year fix ended.
By which time, this disaster of a deal, gave us
A new value of £110k (although comps were £125k, the lender downvalued as they said we would get less rent than we said - although we had a 5 year social housing lease signed!)
We got £82,500 back out so all money back with approx £7k extra
Approx £42500 of equity when you use proper comps
£20k of cashflow over the 5 years
So this disaster has actually returned us over £100k in 5 years for a £33k investment. Not bad for a disaster!!!
If you've had a first-deal horror story of your own, tell us in the comments!