PR: How did you get into the property industry?
LS: My partner at the time was arranging his pension with an adviser from Abbey Life, and during the discussion, he suggested my boyfriend should become a self-employed pension adviser. It was not right for him but sounded like it might suit me so I gave him a call, got an interview and got the job.
Their strategy at the time was that the first 100 people in your life were your client base, and that didn’t sit right with me. But I liked being an adviser, so when I saw a salaried job at the Pru advertised, I went for it. Unfortunately, applications had closed, so I left my name and number with them and said if anything came up, to give me a call.
Later that day, I got a call saying one of their interviewees had cancelled and could I come in? It was very short notice but I went and I got the job. I was the first woman to work in Prudential’s Dover office, advising on pensions, protection and investments and I was there for around five years when they launched into mortgages, which I found I loved.
I had always been very entrepreneurial - as a child, I made money hiring out books to my friends and was possibly the UK’s youngest Avon lady! So in 1998, when my partner at the time decided to start up an estate agency in Hornchurch, I started an IFA firm on the same premises.
The estate agency moved into lettings, so I started handling more buy-to-let business. Buy to let mortgages were fairly new at the time, but I had learnt a lot about it and, organically, it started to become a large part of the business. I helped several clients build up substantial portfolios and still look after many of them today.
PR: How does Connect differ from its competitors?
LS: Connect has three different arms – our direct to consumer business, our network and the packaging and distribution. Thanks to those early days specialising in buy to let, we do a very high volume of technical and specialist lending. On average, specialist lending will make up about 25% of a broker’s business. For Connect it accounts for about 75% of all business so we have a very high level of specialist knowledge which sets us apart.
Our network offers a brilliant level of administrative support, handling apps and DIPs for brokers so they can concentrate on engaging with their clients. We have also now moved into later life and equity release and already have four brokers have qualified for equity release. There is a huge opportunity in this sector, and we want to bring all the options - later life lending, interest only, equity release, buy to let equity release – together, which will also give us that edge over our competitors.
PR: Landlords have had it rough recently, what advice could you offer for those thinking of leaving the sector?
LS: To landlords thinking of leaving the sector, I would say – what are the alternatives? Despite all the new rules and regulations, property is still a good investment. In our networking group, we are seeing people who are new to property choosing to invest, even with the new rules and regulations in place, as they are only aware of the rules as of today but still see it as a viable investment. I think landlords need to think about what other options have the same potential to give the same level of return?
For those that are still thinking of leaving, I would urge them to look at different ways of making their property investments work harder. For example, commercial, holiday lets (the tax changes do not affect holiday lets) and HMOs for a higher yielding investment.
PR: What are your predictions for the property industry next year?
LS: My prediction is that more people will start to consider their tax position and looking at alternative ways of holding and structuring their property portfolios. I also think we will see a bit of stability. I don’t think there will be many more changes to the property sector, particularly buy to let, as hopefully the Government has recognised they have put enough pressure on, so it will return to business as usual.
PR: Is the current political climate or Brexit having an impact on business?
LS: There is no doubt that the current political climate is generally making people more cautious about purchasing, and some are certainly holding on until things are a bit more settled.
But there is still a great deal or remortgage activity, this is because serious investors, those with 100+ properties – won’t wait. They have spent a great deal of time thinking about their businesses, so will still be purchasing properties, often within limited companies, because they are professional business people. Brexit or no Brexit, they are still looking to expand their portfolios.
PR: If you could read one property related headline in the news what would you want it to be?
LS: Something along the lines of ‘landlords who are operating professional, reputable portfolio business are recognised for the contribution they make to the market.’ Landlords have had a lot thrown at them, many have left the market, and rogue landlords are starting to be weaned out, but there are some fantastic, professional landlords out there, and they should be appreciated for what they do and what they bring.
