Student Landlord, 22, Says There's No Reason Why Young People Can't Buy Houses

A student landlord reckons there's no reason why young people can't buy houses.

Over the decades, home ownership has become an increasingly unobtainable target for many young people - but not Josh Parrott.

He bought his first house for £115,000 ($159,000) when he was just 19, using money he saved up from the two jobs he worked when he wasn't studying.

He rented out the house while paying rent to his parents, saving enough to buy another one for £140,000 ($193,839), aged 21.

SWNS

Josh, from Stockport, Greater Manchester, said he did a £20,000 ($27,000) revamp and saved money by doing most of the labour himself after work, increasing the value by £60,000 ($83,000) .

Now aged 22, he plans to move in soon and already has his eyes on a third property.

As such, he sees no reason why young people can't buy properties - but he admits his lifestyle has been labelled 'boring'.

The trainee mortgage advisor said: "There's no reason people my age can't buy houses. You just have to get past the mindset that there are certain things you do at certain ages.

"It wasn't about being super bright or anything. You just need to make the most out of living at home: it's nothing like as expensive as renting privately or through an agency.

"I just didn't blow money on going out drinking and I spent almost nothing on clothes. My mates all said I was being boring."

Yeah you can keep your bricks and mortar, we'll keep our pints and memories, mate.

Going forwards, he plans to add another property to his portfolio each year, with the goal of owning 10 by the time he is 30 - living in one and renting out the other nine.

By his calculations, this will enable him to semi-retire by 30, and perhaps enjoy himself a bit more.

SWNS

He said: "So long as the houses I buy keep going up in value the plan will work well.

"There are increasing numbers of people needing houses and they aren't being built at the same rate of increase, so the need for them is going up.

"There's always risk, but even if there's a massive crash or something I'll just have to keep going more slowly with savings.

"I'll slow down at 30, I can't retire completely then I'd be bored, but I'd like to get a sail-boat like my grandad and pop over to Italy for the odd six months. Or maybe I'll be a stay-at-home dad.

"I'll need to slow down because I can't just do a day's work, I always push to get more out of myself, and if I keep working like this I'll have the body of a 60-year-old by the time I'm 30."

Don't worry Josh, the rest of us who spend all of our cash on pints are ageing rapidly too - admittedly in a more enjoyable way.

Topics: Money, Interesting, Property, Community

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey