Giles is a Platinum Property partner from Poole, who wanted to double his six-figure income from property in the next three years.

Since joining the property investment franchise in late 2013, the former Chartered Surveyor has successfully replaced his income by building his own portfolio of t high quality HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation) for professional tenants.

After moving from London to Poole with his wife Ruth and their two young children in 2011, Giles found that there wasn’t a market for the type of specialist work he’d been enjoying in the city – asset managing high value commercial real estate. Even though he was still commuting to his Piccadilly office two or three times a week, he knew this wasn’t sustainable and that he needed to reinvent himself, so he started to consider the viability of residential property investment.

“I knew about property and I knew it could work,” said Giles. “But when I looked into investing in single tenancy buy-to-let flats in Bournemouth and Poole, the numbers just didn’t stack up and the returns weren’t good enough to replace my income.”

Giles also considered holiday lets, but was soon ‘put off’. This was when he was advised to talk to Steve Bolton.

Within three weeks of speaking to Steve for the first time and being introduced to Platinum Property Partners, Giles had attended a discovery Day, conducted thorough due diligence and joined the franchise.

“Just knowing how to use Director’s loans and how Capital Allowances work has saved me a considerable amount in tax.”

Giles’ first HMO was up and running in early 2014. It was a small project that required no major refurbishment, conversion or building work, because he wanted to run before he could walk, but this six-bedroom shared house has turned out to be the best performing in terms of income return. The property is also still home to some of the original housemates three and a half years on.

After that, Giles decided to put his money raising skills to the test and continued to grow his HMO property portfolio with passive investment and joint ventures. He also changed tack and only went for older properties that needed complete renovation so he could achieve greater development profits and an uplift in value.

The one thing that always remained constant was his return on investment goal. Giles commented: “Ever since I attended the discovery day and learned that the average Platinum property generated a net 15% return on investment, I have used that as my benchmark. If a property cannot generate that return as a minimum, I won’t buy it.”

In fact, Giles’ portfolio achieves an average return on investment in excess of 15%. This has enabled him and his family to live comfortably, spend more time together and provide a legacy for their children.

“If I hadn’t had Platinum encouraging me and holding my hand, I might have gone back to employment, got to 60, had an inadequate pension and not taken control of my life.”