PROPERTY SUCCESS  | | Lea Beven has made her name on the property market |
Birmingham businesswoman Lea Beven has made a small fortune from the buy-to-let market - so why is she selling up and getting out? Has the property bubble burst, or is there still money to be made in the Midlands? Inside Out investigates. When Lea Beven was just 19 years old she bought her first house with her then-boyfriend Adrian. Now aged 32, Lea has bought and sold more homes than most of us would ever dream to own in a lifetime - between 70 and 80 properties nationwide. A housing empire estimated by some to be worth £9m. But after 13 years as a property developer, Lea is growing bored of the business, so it's on to the next venture. Fortunately for us, she's not retiring before offering Inside Out viewers an insight into the success of her career. Career womanLea started small. At the age of 19 she had a bungalow in Wolverhampton and shared a house with her then-boyfriend just outside Telford. She then moved to London and started buying houses and flats that she could sell on for a quick profit, usually tens of thousands of pounds. Soon property development became a career. Lea not only bought up houses for a quick profit, but also worked out a way of finding homes that she could rent out. Lea explains:
"I get bored easily - I'm not very good at keeping a proper job. "With property investment I can pretty much do what I want - get up when I want, go to work when I want, do the things that I want to do." And what she wanted to do was expand her property portfolio, which she soon did, thanks to a boom in the buy-to-let market. It's a simple concept - find an area with a demand for rental property, enlist a letting agent to let it out, and let the tenants pay the mortgage. And for a fee of around £7,000, Lea shares her hard-earned experience with potential investors looking to enjoy the same success.
A bump in the road | | Lea shows Inside Out's Ashley what it's all about |
Having set up her own website, HousemouseUK, Lea has enjoyed the benefits of online marketing as well as reaping the benefits of her property consultancy business. But despite her vast professional knowledge, Lea recently made a very expensive mistake. She lost over £300,000 when 50 luxury apartments she had bought suddenly decreased in value. "I bought them on what I thought was a discounted deal, but it didn't quite work out to plan." Some dropped in value by thousands of pounds, others didn't even make a penny in rent. She explains, "It was a fantastic mistake but I have learnt so much that I can teach people and that is going to help me with my courses and training." In order to pay off her debts and stabilise her business, Lea was forced to sell most of her properties, after some of them were repossessed. But like any good businesswoman, Lea says she didn't let her mistake set her back. "I am quite glad it happened - it has made me stronger. "It is hard work and the last two years have been draining, dealing with agents constantly, trying to sell properties. "The repossessions and court cases have worn me out - it hasn't been much fun."
Pastures new | | Lea's new motor home venture looks set to continue her success |
Having worked in property development for over a decade, Lea is set to leave it all behind in favour of a new venture - investing in motor homes. Lea explains, "I know that I can bring over motor homes as a personal buyer and make a good profit. "I can make £60,000 on a motor home even after using it for a year." It's this kind of confidence which has ensured Lea's success on the property market, and will no doubt continue as she moves on to pastures new. She says: "I don't have it in me to stick at one thing. "I like to explore, I like to try new things and have adventure in my life. "I have built my life so I can do that."
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Inside Out - West Midlands: Monday January 31, 2005