5 questions with Chris Tremlett

We asked Source Director and retired England cricketer, Chris Tremlett, 5 questions about his sports career, move to property investment and his best advice for new investors.

After an incredible cricket career, why did you choose property investment?

I was lucky enough to play professional sport for 16 years and during that  time I met many wonderful people and also received a lot of advice. Some of the best advice I received, when I was in my early twenties, was that playing sport is a short career so make the most of it while you can and try to invest your money wisely.

When you are younger, there are plenty of distractions and it’s hard to not get dragged into what everyone else is doing and how they spend their money. At 21 years old, I decided to get on the property ladder as at the time it felt like a good place to put my money. After I made some decent equity on my first property, I repeated this a few times and my property journey went from there. Over 20 years later, I like to think I have done really well with my own portfolio and that property is an asset that I understand and trust in over a long period of time.

When I was playing cricket I didn’t have the time to seek out new investments. However, when I was injured and out of the game, I would turn my attention to my property portfolio. Towards the end of my career, Tom (Jewell) helped me with some investments of my own and when the time came for me to retire it felt right that I went into business with someone with the same mindset as me regarding  the property world. We also both felt like we could help “time poor“ professionals in seeking out property investments and helping manage them all under one umbrella.

How did your journey with Source Begin?

As briefly mentioned above, Tom and I started working together on Source in 2015. Back then it was very much getting our heads down and getting out of our comfort zone. Being a sportsman, I was used to living in a certain type of world and being treated a certain way. It’s very daunting when you’re trying to gain respect and confidence in a completely new industry and this took a few years. Now we are approaching 10 years in business and I feel we have gained a lot of respect in the property industry and am confident that we have provided a great service for people over the years.

Why should investors work with Source?

At Source we have our own opinions on investing in property. I think in this day and age it’s certainly a lot more difficult to make a quick buck with the various rules and taxes in place. Amateur investors are also being taken out of the market now as a lot of them aren’t set up right  from an earnings and tax perspective.

There are many ways to make money in property but at Source we work with investors whose approach aligns with our views and vision. Our approach to investment is certainly a lower risk strategy when buying an asset and a longer term vision to exiting and seeing the most from your investment. Buying property of a newer and higher standard is something we believe will serve the asset best going forward in years to come. We would typically advise against investors buying and flipping a property within a couple of years. Instead we work with those investors who have a 5-10+ year view on what an asset will be worth then and what has it generated along the way.

 How do you think the next 12 months will unfold in the property investment market?

In 2023 things certainly shifted, with significant political changes and the increase in interest rates for owner occupiers and investors. It has certainly made investing in property a bit more difficult if you’re looking to buy an investment with finance and putting down a 25% deposit, with a decent return in mind.

Saying that, I believe interest rates will come down in the next 12 months. As rental incomes are currently so high, profits are also being impacted less by rate changes. Although, the biggest advantage in the next 12 months will be experienced by cash buyers, as there is certainly more opportunity coming to the market at the moment.

Buying “off” plan also makes a lot of sense to me as it allows investors to secure a price in the current market and then hopefully, when it comes to completion, they will see better interest rates and higher market prices. Buyers who can pay cash are obviously in the best position as they can buy in this market of opportunity and if they wish to do so, they can get a mortgage sometime in the future when rates are at a more sustainable level, making it easier to leverage different assets.

What advice would you give to someone making their first investment?

My advice would be to start with something at a fairly basic, low entry level and don’t try to take on too much too soon. A lower asset entry with us would sit around the £130-£175k mark, allowing investors to generate a healthy return and become more familiar with the letting process, whilst not parting with too much money from the outset. 

We typically advise this at Source before moving onto second, third (and so on) properties. This approach works well and clients in time add properties to their portfolios from the different opportunities we show them around the country. The other advantage of using Source is that we have our own lettings team who can let any of our opportunities and keep it all under the same portal –  making life a lot easier for our clients.

Start leveraging opportunities and building your portfolio today. Contact us here.