The Apprentice Property Master

207 Pages·2008·0.77 MB·English

by  Paul Torrisi

The
Apprentice
Property
Master
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TORRISI
PAUL
Finalist in series 1 of BBC TV’s
hugely popular ‘The Apprentice’,
Paul Torrisi tells the story of how he
built the property business that made
him too successful for Sir Alan Sugar!
The
Apprentice
Property
Master
Spring Hill
Published by How To Content,
A division of How To Books Ltd,
Spring Hill House
Spring Hill Road
Begbroke, Oxford OX5 1RX, United Kingdom
Tel: [phone]. Fax: [phone]
[email protected]
www.howtobooks.co.uk

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced
or stored in an information retrieval system (other than for
the purposes of review), without the express permission of the
Publisher given in writing.

The right of Paul Torrisi to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.

© Paul Torrisi 2008

First published in electronic form 2008

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library

ISBN 978 1 84803 295 8

Cover design by Baseline Arts Ltd, Oxford
Produced for How to Books by Deer Park Productions, Tavistock
Typeset by Pantek Arts Ltd, Maidstone, Kent

NOTE: The material contained in this book is set out in good
faith for general guidance and no liability can be accepted
for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying in particular
circumstances on statements made in this book. Laws and
regulations are complex and liable to change, and readers should
check the current position with the relevant authorities before
making personal arrangements.
Contents
Introduction 1
Six years later 3
Finding the business 6
Starting over 7
1 Getting Started in Property Investment 9
Looking for an alternative career 10
How and why? 11
Borrowing money to get started 12
Cracking on 14
Know your market 14
Getting off to a good start 16
2 What Have I Done? 20
The finances 20
Reality strikes 23
What next? 24
Financial responsibility 27
Tenants: the good, the bad and the ugly 28
3 Getting On With It 33
Looking after the properties 34
Keeping track of finances 36
Getting cocky (A Tale of Woe) 38
VI / The Apprentice Property Master
4 The Competition 45
Asian dominance 46
The builders 50
Fixtures and fittings 51
Keeping tenants 53
5 The Business of Business 58
Changing views 58
Paying it off 60
Length of investments 61
Gaining experience 62
Know what you’re good at 63
Getting an advantage 65
Working out the competition 66
Financial aptitude 68
6 A Bit of Luck 70
Making connections 70
Coping alone 74
A changing climate 75
Decision time 78
7 Politics and the Winds of Change 80
The new breed of landlord 82
The new investors 83
Increasing prices 84
What went wrong? 86
8 Exasperated Landlords 92
Housing benefit problems 92
Tenants’ changing position 93
Changes in legislation 94
The North Lincolnshire Landlord Association 95
Ploughing on 99
Expanding my portfolio 100
Contents / VII
9 Taking Stock, Having a Moan, and Moving On 104
Extra responsibilities 104
What was I looking for and how would I know if
I found it? 106
Investigating the area you have chosen 111
10 Found It 114
Gut feelings 114
Surveys 116
Rental options 118
11 London (she’ll make you or she’ll break you) 121
Rising value 121
Moving further afield 125
Valuation differences 126
Investigating London 127
Negotiating 133
Going upmarket 136
Getting help 139
12 Running London 142
Taking stock again 143
Keeping on top of the maintenance 144
Investing again 147
The Council 147
13 Realising Some Capital 151
Making decisions 151
On the market 155
A change of direction 157
14 Overseas Property 158
Florida 159
Orlando 159
The West Coast 160
VIII / The Apprentice Property Master
The Gulf Coast 161
Finding the spot 161
Italy 162
France 164
15 The Bahamas 173
Narrowing the search 173
The Family Islands 175
Back to France 176
Getting back to the Bahamas 176
Doing the deal in France 178
Investigating the Bahamas 180
Looking for land 181
Doing the deals 184
16 Emerging Markets 186
The significance of property 186
Turkey 188
Brazil 190
Dubai 191
17 Over and Out 193
Index 197
Introduction
‘Paul you’re too successful for me. You’ve got your own company and you’re
doing very well. Why would you want to come and work for me?’
Sir Alan Sugar The ApprenticeBBC2
When you were a kid (assuming you’re not one now), what where
you doing in your summer holidays? I bet I know. If your dad
worked for a company, then you would have done what most kids
do in the holidays; dossed around and had a good time. But if
your dad had his own firm, then I bet he took you to work with
him, just like my dad did with me.
At first I thought it was going to be a bit of a lark, messing about
in a textile factory: climbing up things, getting money from people
just for having a cheeky face. But the reality, shall we say, was a
little different. The second I walked in I was put to work. My dad
saw to it that I did jobs that were integral to production: not clear-
ing out cupboards, or serving in the canteen. I, therefore, had a
sense of purpose, knowing that whatever job I did was important.
My dad, I’m sure you have just realised, was crafty. I couldn’t pull a
sickie, or play on Atari, otherwise I’d get ‘Who is going to do your
job today? The order will be late and all the staff will suffer.’ It
seemed this eight-year-old boy was indispensable, a key person,
fundamental to the company. My dad’s factory just couldn’t
manage without me (apart from when I went back to school then
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