Case Study: A headstart in property investment

Article Date : Thursday, September 01, 2005

WHILE most 29-year-olds are struggling to get a foot on the property ladder, Daniel Desmond has an investment portfolio comprising two rental properties and is in the process of purchasing a third. The youthful sales manager has never had any problems with his tenants and attributes much of his success to learning the tricks of the trade from older and more experienced investors. “I bought my first investment property with my girlfriend, Michelle O’Keefe, in 2002, while I was still living at home with my mother. We purchased a two-bed mid-terrace town house for €202,500. I rented it for €1,100 a month to a young single mother from Tallaght who was on social welfare. She was a model tenant and I never had any hassle from her. My solicitor helped me draw up a lease so that every angle was covered. She recently came off social welfare and could no longer afford the rent, so I now have a Nigerian lady with two children living in the house. She is also on social welfare and fortunately she is proving to be an excellent tenant as well.” In 2003, Desmond successfully applied to the bank for a top-up on his mortgage and the couple bought a two-bed apartment in Swords. He advertised the vacancy in the newspaper and on Daft.ie. Coincidentally, the successful applicant was also a Nigerian mother of two on social welfare. Desmond says he does not favour those on welfare, but the majority of applicants in search of rental accommodation in the suburbs tend to be foreign and unemployed. The young landlord is careful to operate within the rules of the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB). “If you are serious about becoming a successful property investor and getting the most out of the industry, it’s important to make good contacts and keep up to date with what’s happening. I attend meetings held by The ICES Group, an investment forum, every two weeks. I have received advice about leases, market rental rates, tax issues and registration procedures.” Desmond says the best lesson of all is to be good to your tenants and they will be good to you. He keeps up to date with market rental rates by logging onto Daft.ie. “It’s easy, you compare your properties to others in the same area and make sure you are charging an average price. Rents have been slow to change over the past year anyway, it’s a pretty stagnant market.” The young landlord is also undaunted by the four-year tenancy rule that entitles tenants living in a premises for six months to remain there for a further three and a half years. “A long-term tenant is an ideal one.” Desmond says his long-term goal is to own a property portfolio worth €5m by 2010 and be a full-time landlord. “I would certainly consider employing a letting agency as soon as I felt unable to manage the portfolio efficiently. There is a lot of hard work involved and it is a time-consuming job.” Article by Fiona McGoran in The Times.

View Property News by Country

Australia	Brazil	Bulgaria	Cambodia	Canada
Cape Verde	China	Croatia	Cyprus	Dominica
Dubai	Egypt	England	Estonia	France
Greece	Hungary	India	Iraq	Ireland
Italy	Jamaica	Japan	Kazakhstan	Kenya
Malaysia	Montenegro	Morocco	New Zealand	Nicaragua
Panama	Poland	Portugal	Romania	Russia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	South Africa	Spain	Sweden	Thailand
Turkey	United Arab Emirates	United Kingdom	USA

Case Study: A headstart in property investment

Related Articles

View Property News by Country

Let Us find Property in Spain for You

Subscribe to This Feed

View News by Channel

Property News Search

News Archives

Media/Press Section

See Your News Here