Ex-pats profit from UK property – thanks to Platinum Portfolio Builder

The thriving ex-pat community in the Middle East is proving a prime source of business for South Yorkshire based property investment firm, Platinum Portfolio Builder. Seasoned investor, 49-year-old Chris Alton, who lives with his wife and newborn twins on a military compound in Saudi Arabia, began his first property portfolio with PPB in early 2012. Here he talks about his decision to invest through the company, and why he thinks buying property today will be source of his future wealth and security. 

Says Chris: I live on a high security compound near Dhahran, and work on the military air force base with around 1600 other workers, teaching the Saudis air force technology.

We’re shut off from the outside world on the compound, and everything here is free, except for food and drink. Petrol is only nine pence a litre, and the money we earn is tax-exempt. I make about £45,000 a year, which isn’t a huge amount – especially compared to the six-figure sums that the pilots make, for example – but the money I do earn, I invest wisely. Most recently I’ve been investing in property in Yorkshire through Platinum Portfolio Builder.

Compound Growth

Before I found out about PPB, I already had some experience investing in property through another London-based firm. But I found that putting your money into property in London comes at a premium. On my salary, it became less and less viable to build a sensible portfolio, so I started looking around for a cheaper way make property investments in the UK, which is when, through my own research, I found out about Nick Carlile and his company, PPB.

When I visited the UK, I went along to one of Nick’s seminars, at his head office in South Yorkshire, near Sheffield, and liked their investment model.

I’m the first to admit that, even though I have investment experience, I’m no property expert. What really attracted me to PPB was the fact that I could get at least four properties in my portfolio using just £75,000 of my own money. Apart from signing the mortgage agreements, there was almost nothing else for me to do. PPB finds the properties, buys them at below market value, refurbishes them, finds tenants for them and then manages them. It’s totally passive, and something that works well for ex-pats such as myself.

UK property expertise for the Saudi expat community

Without third party property investment services, I could never have got into property investment on my own, partly because I’m based in Saudi, but also because I don’t have enough knowledge of the sector.  Therefore, the most important thing for me was to find a company with honesty and integrity that could act as an investment vehicle for me. Nick has now visited my compound in Saudi several times, and met with other expats I know who are also keen to do what I have done. We’ve all learnt that Nick is a down to earth guy, who has integrity in spades, and there is total trust between us. I feel comfortable with my investment choices through PPB.

Early foundations

Chris adds: PPB is based in South Yorkshire, and Nick and his team have an intimate working knowledge of the area. They know where to look, what to look for, and how to calculate the entire transaction to ensure client satisfaction. In addition, they have great relationships with local banks and mortgage brokers, estate agents, solicitors and the councils, which helps them cover everything from finding the right properties, to buying them and renting them out – a labour intensive process.

I’m delighted that we’ve already got my portfolio underway. I now have one house, which will be refinanced to allow for the purchase of another, and then another, until the portfolio reaches the income and equity levels outlined in my business plan. It usually takes four properties to complete a single portfolio.

Income flows from Yorkshire to the desert

The great thing with PPB is that all of the properties they secure for their clients are cash flow positive from day one. In real terms that means there’s excess rent after you’ve paid the mortgage and the management fees. So your property investments start paying you back straightaway, not in three years or five years time. For us ex-pats, that’s a real bonus. Because the UK has a nil rate band of £7.5k, we can generate a modest income from the properties up to that figure without paying tax. But the real returns will inevitably be in the equity build up over the long term.

Property pension

I think that too many people rely on company pensions, which to me are just different forms of investment and speculation, but without guarantees. Pensions never mature as you expect them to, property provides a greater level of security, in my opinion.

I think the best thing is getting passive income through rental yields, and lump sums realised when you remortgage.

My plan is to get about 16 properties in total that I can use to support my family, and pass down to my children when in the future.