I bought my original target £1million worth of property during 2006 so the rest of the plan was to let it grow over 10 years till it was worth £2m with that £850k in mortgages on it. But opportunities kept coming along and by mid 2008 I had reached £2m worth of property (based on RICS valuations at purchase). Then reality set in at the same time as the credit crunch and it all went pear-shaped. Mortgages came out of fixed rate and went up £200 a month, the reality of grossly over-valued flats on new developments became apparent and at best my £2m worth of property is worth £1.5m with mortgages of £1.5m to match. I got seriously in arrears because of continuing negative cash flow and my credit rating was screwed.

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I still have those 13 properties but three have suspended possession orders and two are being handed over to an LPA (Law of Property Act) receiver. I have some trackers so my current cash flow has been improving, with the full effect of the 0.5% base rate being passed on by June (Birmingham Midshires) at the latest. However the trackers run out in the autumn so I have a very small window to make a recovery and it is already too late for some of the properties. I would hope to come out of this still owning that magic 10 properties that you aim for. What I would have really liked is to buy some more in this market to offset those bought on a high in 2006/7. The current climate holds such opportunity for those who are still creditworthy or cash rich. But I am neither of those things.

So that, in essence, is why you haven’t heard from me. I have to bide my time, probably for several years.