I left school at 16 and became a teenage mother, now I own four houses – like this

WITH interest rates soaring and inflation at a 40-year high, getting on the property ladder can seem harder than ever – but it can be done.

In the noughties, Rachel Ollington was so obsessed with buying her own home that she did everything she could to make it happen – despite mortgage rates as high as seven per cent, about half a per cent higher than they are now.

4

4

She says: “Young people might despair at the thought of trying to get on the property ladder, but it’s not impossible.

“When I bought my first home, mortgage rates were higher than they are now.”

Mum-of-three Rachel now lives in her third family property, a £475,000 four-bedroom house in Wickford, Essex, which they bought for £183,000 in 2005.

She and husband Mike, 49, now own three buy-to-let properties, with the latest, in Lincolnshire, completed last week. This despite the fact that you never earn big salaries.

Rachel and Mike, 49, are parents to Abbie, 21, Erin, 15, and Aiden, 11.

Rachel, 40, says: “I bought my first house at 19, my second at 23 and my third at 24 and increased the size of my properties without increasing my mortgage and without earning big wages.

“I now have a rental property portfolio and I’m a partner in a real estate business, which people have said we were crazy to start in the middle of the recession, but I really want to help people do the same as me.

“My husband and I own four properties, for which we paid £183,000, £195,000, £124,000 and £90,000 – a total of £592,000.

“They are now worth £475,000, £260,000, £165,000 and £90,000 – that’s £990,000. And we’re looking at buying more buy-to-lets.”

Rachel left school at 16 for a £100-a-week job at an estate agency and started saving.

After becoming pregnant at 18, she squandered every penny, using envelopes to save money and selling unwanted items from around the house.

In one year, she got enough for the mortgage on her first home.

She had seen her cash-strapped parents – truck driver Derrick and foster carer Wendy – struggle and remembers: “Growing up money was tight. Any extra money after paying the bills was saved for Christmas or birthdays so I know how that feels.”

Her mother, who died of cancer in 2008 aged 48, brought up children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and Rachel says: “Some of them had been homeless. That made me determined to own my own property.

“As soon as I could, at 16, I got a job with a view to going to college, but I fell in love with it and never went back to school.”

Living at home, Rachel managed to save around £500 a month.

After passing her driving test at 17, her weekly pay rose to £175 as she could work weekends and evenings.

She then met Mike, who was then a copy technician, and at the age of 25, she was eight years older than Rachel.

She says: “No boys my age thought about buying a house, and that was my obsession. I knew that as soon as I was 18, I would get a mortgage.

“He had the same interest. So we started saving up. We didn’t go out, we were happy to rent a DVD.”

To be able to bring Abbie back to her own home was all I had wanted, it was why we had worked so hard.

Rachel Ollington

The following year, the couple began looking at houses, when in January 2001, aged 18, Rachel discovered she was pregnant.

“Abbie was a happy accident,” says Rachel. “I had grown up in a large family environment, so it didn’t faze me.

“It made me more determined than ever to buy a home in time for my baby to arrive.”

Five months later the couple had enough money for a £37,000 deposit on a £91,000 two-bed bungalow in Wickford.#

Rachel already had £5,000 and the couple had saved £8,000 together. Mike sold his car for £9,000 and had £15,000 in savings.

She says: “The house was awful. It was what we could afford and that’s why it was right for us.

“I knew we could fix it up and sell it on and move up the property ladder.”

The couple began renovations, replacing floorboards, putting in a new kitchen and bathroom and plastering all the way.

She says: “We didn’t have holidays, or go out for dinner or days out, we had to get the job done.

“We got furniture and appliances from people who knew us, or we bought second-hand from charity shops or car boot sales and upcycled.”

Abbie was born in September 2001 – and friends and family bought the essentials like her cot and pram.

“To be able to bring Abbie back to her own home was all I had wanted, it was the reason we had worked so hard,” she says.

No boys my age thought about buying a house, and that was my obsession. I knew that as soon as I was 18, I would get a mortgage.

Rachel Ollington

“When we told everyone we were engaged in 2003, all our presents were B&Q vouchers.”

In 2004, they sold the house for £187,000, making almost £100,000 in profit, and bought a two-bedroom bungalow for £183,000.

They added a loft extension, two bedrooms, an extra bathroom, a reception room and a conservatory, doing much of the work themselves to a strict budget.

In 2007 Rachel gave birth to the couple’s second child, Erin, and in 2011 they welcomed son AJ.

She began researching the rental market, with the aim of investing in three properties – one for each of her children when they are older.

Rachel, who qualified as a mortgage adviser in 2020, says that when they reached the point of having their forever home, they were able to mortgage rental properties.

She says: “We hadn’t increased our mortgage at all from the first home we bought – so it was only around £57,000.

“This would not only bring us additional income, but also give someone who can’t afford to buy a house the opportunity to make sure their family has a roof over their heads.”

Rachel and Mike had saved £10,000, then in 2017 remortgaged the family home to free up £30,000 and bought a two-bedroom maisonette for £195,000.

The couple now own four homes worth £990,000 after paying £592,000 for them – and have their sights set on buying more buy-to-lets.

We didn’t have holidays, or go out for dinner or days out, we had to get the job done.

Rachel Ollington

Rachel now runs Vesta Essex, a sales and lettings agency, helping people get on the property ladder for the first time.

She says: “My advice to those looking to get on the property ladder is to keep in touch with your mortgage broker as things can change very quickly in terms of what you can borrow and you need to be aware of that when it changes can affect the type of property you can buy.

“You get less property for the same monthly payments because the interest rates are higher.

“I always say that you should look at the long term, but it is different now.

“If this happens to you, look at what you’re doing in terms of the property you’re buying – can you buy one bedroom instead of two? Is the house suitable for the next two years?

“After that, interest rates will probably have fallen or stabilized, and you may be able to borrow more.

“Find a property you can work with, or one outside your key area.

“Look at different options for how you can buy a property that may not tick so many of your boxes.”

4

4