I bought my first home for £18k & worked 3 jobs to afford mortgage – now I own a £3.5m mansion… here's how I did it | The Sun
A DAD has told how he struggled to buy his first home for just £18,500 – but now owns a £3.5million mansion.
Mat Rees, 43, worked three jobs to scrape together enough to buy his first home at 18, but has since rocketed up the property ladder.
He and his wife Luicida, 32, now live in a beautiful £3,550,000 five-bed home in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
But Mat came from humble beginnings – buying his first home in Moss Side for £18,500 in Moss Side, Manchester.
He told Manchester Evening News: “I worked three jobs which helped me to save up for it.
“I thought this one in Moss Side would rent quite easily and I only needed £1,000 deposit for it so I bought it and rented it out – then that was the start really.
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"By the time I was 25 I had about 25 houses, but when it came to the credit crunch I sold most of them.
"I worked in the pub trade back in the day and I was aiming to be the regional manager which was always my plan, but then when I started buying houses it gave me other ideas.”
The qualified mortgage advisor then met Luicida – and the pair continued to buy and rent out homes.
Late last year they then spotted their dream mansion up for sale – and couldn’t help but take a look.
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He explained: “The road it is on is one that I have always walked down and admired. It’s a prestigious, private road in an area that is popular with footballers and celebrities.
"When we walked in we just loved it. I said, ‘Oh my god, we shouldn’t have come.’
“If you’re not looking to move, don’t ever go and view a house because you’ll just end up wanting to move.
"We fell in love with the house and I put an offer in, it was then accepted and that was that, all in the space of a week.”
The lavish home boasts five reception rooms, a lavish kitchen, a home office, a cinema room, a leisure suite with an indoor swimming pool, sauna and gym, two balconies and a huge garden.
But they still plan on extending and renovating the home in the new year.
Mat explained: “I think once the renovations are done, it will be what we would call a forever home. But at the same time, we’re expecting it to probably double in value so the good risk is that someone will come and offer us a lot of money for it."
Mat now has advice for house hunters who are looking to move up the ladder.
He said: "The advice I’d give is to never give up. Regardless of whether you’re buying your first property to get on the ladder or whether you’re buying your 20th – you’ve just got to keep going and keep looking for those opportunities.
“I lost a lot of hope after the credit crunch when I sold my properties and it would have been easy for me to quit then, but I started again because I knew what I wanted and I went for it.
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“My advice would always be to buy a house as young as you can. I’ll be encouraging my kids when they are old enough because once you own it, it usually starts appreciating in value. I’m really happy that I bought as soon as I could and I wish I’d bought more when I was younger.
“I am very proud of my home and how I’ve got to where I am today, but unfortunately I’m the sort of person who always wants to improve things, so I’m really excited to do the renovation and the plans that we’ve got will make the house phenomenal. I know I’m very luckily to have what I have.”
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