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I started investing in property in 1996 with only *500 and now I own a property portfolio of 150 properties worth over *10m. I can already hear you * *it was easier back then!* Ironically it wasn*t.

Let me explain a little more. The buy to let mortgage had just emerged when I first started with only a few banks offering such a product. The banks that did offer such a mortgage were unsure, as this was a new territory for them so they used to knock back a lot of properties that I wanted to buy. It was only really in 2001 that the banks got to grips with the buy to let mortgage and hence I was really able to expand my portfolio of 10 properties to now 150 properties simply by investing in hotspots.

It makes me laugh when I read in the press that buy to let is dead. Well of course it is in most areas! But in some areas it is still waiting to boom. These areas I call hotspots. In 2004 alone I bought 50 properties. I bought in Hull, Stoke on Trent and Grimsby. These properties are no longer hotspots, as they are too expensive now. I*ve experienced 100%+ capital growth in 1 year which is well received but halts my buying sprees.

I intend to buy 100 properties this year EVEN though all the so-called property experts are saying we are heading for a crash. Therefore I am always looking for new hotspots in the UK.

At the beginning of this year, 2005, I bought a property for *3,000 and another property for *9,000. And yes, they were in the UK.

What if I told you I bought these properties without my money * would you believe me? Well its true. I bought it with the bank's money not mine. They even paid my legal costs! I did not put one bit of my savings to acquire these properties.

I am sure you are aware that the loans and mortgages market is an extremely competitive market out there. The banks are desperate to lend and it seems they*re not too fussy about your credit history either! You*ve seen the numerous ads on the TV and the newspapers promising you a decision in minutes and a cheque in days.

Now just imagine if you managed to get 10 or so of these properties. You would be looking at clearing around *2500 per month anywhere between years 1 to year 4. That's *30,000 a year. I remember when I used to earn that working a professional Chartered Accountant for 50 hours a week. I now earn 10 times that working 5 hours a week!

The key to making money out of property is WHERE you invest:

• I don*t care about the national price index, as this is too general.

• I don*t care about Halifax or Nationwide's regional analysis of property prices, as this is too general

• I don*t care what the property press think about where prices are heading

• I don*t care about so-called property hotspots that are going to double in value due to a train station being built in 8 years time

All I*m interested in are properties that make me money NOW. This means that after my borrowing costs there is some left over for me to spend. If the property grows in value then great but if it doesn*t then - So What? If I*m making money every month then the capital growth is just a bonus.

So what happens if the price goes down? Well again - So What? I*m not selling the property as the property makes me money every month. In fact if the price goes down I'll just buy more!

Start with nothing - just like I did!

I'm sure you've all heard the only way to get rich is by using other people's money - and this is very true. Do not believe that if you work hard and pay for everything with your own blood, sweat and hard earned cash you'll get on. That way is the mugs way. You'll be working till you hit retirement age and probably beyond!

When I first started, no one had heard of me and I raised *500 in a day. Back then that was a lot of money to me. I used this *500 to make my first investment. After I caught the bug I started asking for more! I started to ask for *5,000 and more and most would say no but some would say yes! Okay, I had to pay it back, but with the investments I made I paid them back and made 20 times more. I'll show you how you can raise *000s easily and fast.

ONE THING YOU CAN BE SURE OF:

Property values rise in the LONG term.

So not in 1 month, 1 year or even 5 years. But over a period of 10 years or more. So if you are considering investing for a period of longer than 10 years you can be sure that your wealth will grow.

So how can you lock in certain capital growth?

Well you can*t! But you can make a damn good prediction that it will. Take those two properties I bought for *3,000 and *9,000.

How affordable are they? Do you think a first time buyer could afford to pay *3,000? I*m quite sure they could.

How attractive are they as investments? Do you think there are many investors seeking a yield of 100%? I*m quite sure there are.

So if I were to try and sell this property I would get interest from both first time buyers and investors. So what would each of them be willing to pay?

Well the first time buyer could afford 4 times salary * so this would equate to around *60,000.

The investor would be interested in the property if it yielded 10% so this equates to *30,000.

So I could safely say the property is worth anywhere between *30,000 and *60,000 at some point in time. I would reckon 3 to 4 years.

Notice I have not based the predicted price on HISTORICAL growth patterns, as they are IRRELEVANT. The past has nothing to do with the future when it comes to making investment decisions or predictions.