Joe Ryan

Joseph Ryan

Profile: Married, Aged 39 (honest) and have two young (energetic) children. For the last 17 years my career has been in education and teaching, although most people viewed me as being on holiday for most of the time.

Two years ago my mind was coming up with the recurring question of ‘why with all my [academic] education every single month still ended with my bank account overdrawn’. I knew I lacked financial intelligence and had never tried to make myself wealthier. Being the studious type, the serious work started and I read many excellent books such as ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ and ‘think and grow rich’ and attended plenty of seminars. I realised that there was a core message to begin spending money on the buying of assets and I had to literally begin thinking myself rich. The solution was simple.

Property was the obviously the main asset to buy. So in Autumn 2005, I made my very first investment – buying a low deposit, off-plan investment and paid a total deposit of £5000 to secure a posh 1-bedroom apartment in Sheffield. The apartment is due to be completed in spring 2008 and with a generous valuer (if they exist) it should yield about £25,000 - £35,000 of equity, and have a decent rental income.

My portfolio was building and over the next 18 months, 8 more properties were purchased in fairy quick succession. My early purchases were a bit of a mixed-bag as I sought some security in a diverse range of properties. However, now nearly all my recent purchases have been good old fashioned terraces across West and South Yorkshire. Bricks and mortar offer very good capital growth because they always appeal to first-time buyers and investors.

Last month, I bought a large 3-bedroom ex-council house near Rotherham for £85,000 and my total deposit into this purchase was only £2000. There were even the twin bonuses of a net monthly rental profit of £85 and a massive garden. I am now working on a planning application with a local architect to build a property in the garden. Altogether my £2000 investment should produce equity up to £60,000 from both the properties.

If the property market grows at only 5% per year then my current portfolio would yield me a minimum £75,000 of equity every year for life and make me an equity millionaire within 5 years. I am a regular guy who realised the importance of gaining financial intelligence, following a basic plan and being confident enough to take the plunge. There has been no experience in my life quite as rewarding or exciting as securing my own future financial independence and no longer worrying about my bank account. In the future there will always be cash sums for anything my family needs.

My property investing experiences also made me realise that there were few companies out there that provided the whole package for novice investors (at least not without charging thousands of pounds). No company offered a complete package of sales, education and a portfolio building service. There was also nothing efficient or personal about the early companies I dealt with. Therefore Moneyboxproperty was created to fill the gap in the market. Working with my brother-in-law Nigel is also a massive boost as we complement each other and both have that natural competitive streak.

I would like nothing better than to help you secure your financial future and become a member of our free Mastermind group.