A year ago, Kush Pardesi was trying to juggle a demanding job with setting up a property business after joining Samuel Leeds’ academy. Now Kush has four rent-to-serviced accommodation properties making him a profit of £4,000 to £5,000 a month. It is reward enough for the hard work he put in initially. But there is an added benefit. The entrepreneur only spends around two hours a week managing his rental portfolio.
Kush bags two rent-to-SAs in a fortnight
Kush has built up a wealth of knowledge about renting out furnished accommodation, having completed the year-long academy programme and gone into property full-time.
“It feels good. It’s been a long time coming but that journey was always going to happen,” says Kush who left his job in October 2023.
His background in project management and automotive design could not be more different to what he does for a living these days. He worked in the industry for ten years, going into it straight from university, but had other ambitions right from the start.
“I always wanted to create my own business and be my own boss. I looked at businesses for sale and what I could start up. I also had an interest in property but didn’t know how to get into it,” recalls Kush.
That changed when he saw one of Samuel Leeds’ YouTube videos about whether to buy a property with a limited company. He watched more of Samuel’s free content and then attended his crash course in Birmingham with his mother.
“A week later I joined the academy. I thought I’m up for this. I want to do this.”
It took about six months for Kush to get his first deal.
“It was quite tough because the thing people need to be ready for, if they do this, is that you might not get results straight away. It’s like delayed gratification.”
When the rookie investor finally did hit the mark, he secured two rent-to-serviced accommodation deals within a fortnight – the first one in his home town of Stafford and the second one in Milton Keynes where he was living at the time.
The academy gave him invaluable support in helping him to land his all-important breakthrough deal. After finishing the live training, he had mentoring calls. He also joined in weekly Mastermind Zoom sessions when students share their successes and give each other tips.
“I was seeing people getting deals and making money. I thought I need to do something different.”
So, Kush gave himself a week to get as many viewings as possible and then found his two SAs, setting them up in two weeks.
At that stage, he was still working full time and trying to run a business. “You have to make the sacrifice and say every spare minute of my weekend and evening is going towards this business. Your family don’t see you. Friends don’t see you. But now it’s all worth it.
“As soon as the first SA went live, and the bookings started coming in, I was thinking let’s see how this goes on and it just took off. The first property makes a profit of about £1,000 a month.”
Although Kush was confident from the outset that he could be successful in property, he admits he wasn’t pushing himself enough.
“I wasn’t putting enough pressure on myself to get as many viewings as I should have been doing. I was doing viewings, but they weren’t consistent every week.”
Seeing other students, who enrolled on the academy at the same time as him, performing better than he was, drove him on.
“It shows you that it is possible. If other people can do it, you can do it. After the first two I thought I can use them as leverage when I’m talking to other landlords. So, it’s much easier now.”
‘All my SAs are three-bedroom houses’
All of Kush’s deals have come through approaching landlords directly on sites like OpenRent.
He makes it clear that it would be his company renting the property, and that he is seeking a minimum three-year let which allows him to rent out the accommodation for short stays.
“I’ve learnt that it needs to be a win-win for them as well. Some people want to be actively involved in their property and have a relationship with the tenant. Other people just want to be hands-off, with no stress. One of my landlords isn’t even in the UK.”
He also emphasises that the property would be maintained to a high standard as if it were a ‘show home,’ pointing out that he needs to do that to attract repeat bookings.
His customer base consists of contractors, business travellers and families who are relocating. For that reason, all his rent-to-rents are three-bedroom houses to accommodate larger groups.
There are other advantages to only taking on houses. As they are usually freehold, there is no head lease in place which might restrict his ability to rent out the accommodation.
Kush has become practised at speaking to landlords and fielding their questions, thanks to his training. However, he confesses it was daunting at first.
“You feel like you’re not getting anywhere but you have to get through that at the start.”
Rather than taking a rejection personally, the businessman has learnt to move on if the deal he is trying to negotiate doesn’t work for the landlord.
His income from property now more than covers what he was earning in his old job for a fraction of the effort, Kush says.
He uses a channel manager, a piece of software, which allows him to create a listing which is then placed on Airbnb, booking.com and Google for people to book his accommodation. A direct booking link is also provided.
“I’ll ring every guest before they check in. I’ll understand why they’re staying with me and the reason for visiting the area. Then I’ll get a direct contact for them. That way I can book them in direct next time and save on commission.”
The system also prevents double bookings, with the systemisation of his business drastically reducing his workload. The entrepreneur says it might sound ‘silly,’ but he spends just two hours a week, if that, on managing the houses under his control once they are set up.
The Serviced Accommodation Intensive course, which he attended as part of the academy programme, gave him not just the knowledge he needed but the connections too. He found his cleaners in Milton Keynes through an academy member. They in turn recommended other cleaners who could look after his accommodation in the north.
“That’s why the Whatsapp group we have is great. You put a question in there and you get so many people who message you back.”
Other investors on the academy gave him advice on how to obtain longer bookings and adjust his online advertisement every day to make it more prominent in searches.
It took about three weeks for the first booking to come through from picking up the keys to the Stafford house to getting it up and running and being advertised.
“It was longer than I wanted it to be, but I was working full time. So, it was [spending] weekends and evenings painting and getting all the furniture. You also have a list of things you have to do to get it right. It takes a long time for that list to be marked off, but once it was done, the bookings kept coming in.”
‘I know the recipe now and how it works’
The fourth SA Kush took on is a detached house with a large garden in Stoke-on-Trent. He pays the landlord £1,200 a month in rent and then rents it out himself to contractors, charging £130 to £160 a night.
He asks his guests where they are working and for how long, and if they can recommend his place or know anyone else who might want to stay there.
His family has backed him in his enterprise. Kush says: “They’ve been in business all their lives. So, they understand the motivation. They’ve been helping with the staging as well. Everyone’s been getting involved. They’re very happy now they can see the results that 12 months of hard work has paid off.”
His fiancée, whom he is marrying next year, has also assisted him with the staging of his rentals, picking the colours and materials – something he enjoys too with his design skills.
It cost Kush £12,000 to join the academy. It wasn’t a hard decision, he says. “I knew I needed the education and the network of people who are doing it.”
He had access to the Whatsapp chat group, where he could ask questions, and mentoring calls which he could book whenever he needed them.
“A lot of the time I’d book a mentor call and get an answer for a question I didn’t even ask. I’d ring up about a deal and be thinking it doesn’t work as an HMO. Let’s go through the numbers. Then one of the mentors would say have you thought about an SA? We’ll brainstorm it.
“Samuel says it’s like having expert eyes over your business and I agree.”
He spent two days at Samuel’s house which gave him more insights into the business, such as how to save on VAT tax.
“It was brilliant. I was listening to everyone else’s stories. I learned a lot and his feedback to them helped me as well.”
Kush’s plan for next year is to complete at least one buy, refurbish, refinance project which he discussed with his coaches at the Accelerated Coaching Performance Programme. He has already started looking for suitable properties on the advice of Samuel Leeds.
“I’ve got BRR viewings around Staffordshire. But if I see good SA deals, I’m going to take them on because I know the recipe now and how it works. I know each one will bring in about £1,000 a month.”
He spent £10,000 on deposits and furnishings for his first two properties. The outlay was worth it to him because he could use that money to generate a passive income.
“The big plus for serviced accommodation is you can put the rules and procedures in place and make it a passive income. It’s not completely passive because at the end of the day it’s still a business. You have to make sure your customers are happy, your adverts are optimised and you check what your competition’s doing.”
He also believes the barrier to entry with a rent-to-SA is relatively low in terms of how much cash you need for the deposit and furnishing it.
Property has given Kush not just financial independence but also the freedom to choose where he lives as he no longer needs to be in Milton Keynes for his work.
“I’m probably going to move back to Stafford and be close to the family because I’m free.”
Kush’s tips
- Believe in yourself. Become the person you admire, and you can make a change.
- Take action. Find people who are successful and just go for it.
Samuel Leeds’ verdict
“Kush has done extremely well. I’m proud of him. He’s also been a massive asset to the academy. For the first six months of his training he was listening and taking notes on the Mastermind calls. Now he’s the one who’s giving everybody suggestions. That’s great to see as well.”
