About Us
Find out more about our story and who we are.
Our Story
Starting off with the wrong team
A few years ago, I found a great local bookkeeper that was highly qualified, had glowing recommendations and endorsements and had been in business for years. However, she didn’t understand investment property even after I explained how the accounting worked. In the short time I was with her:
- She got the accounting for 3 property purchases wrong
- She went on holiday and I had no idea of what was going on with my accounts
- I underpaid the postage by a few pennies which resulted in a 6-week delayed delivery by Royal Mail. I didn’t keep copies of what was sent in the post so if it has been lost it would have cost me hundreds if not thousands of Pounds in lost invoices, accounts and time!
I (unsuccessfully) tried to get help from other property investors
I then turned to my property investor friends for help and recommendations and was shown some lovely and fancy websites. Fancy websites were not on my list of important criteria and so I asked 6 friends to open up their laptop and show me the quality of service they were actually receiving from their accountant. I didn’t see anything that would work for me or my portfolio. I was interested in just three things (and in this order):
- Great quality management accounts on a property by property basis
- Paying as little tax as was possible overall, and
- The total cost.
I had a large and growing portfolio and I wanted control, accurate and meaningful management information and clarity on which to base decisions. None of my friends had anything near the level of business information I wanted and needed.
I needed a robust solution
As a last resort, I hired an experienced bookkeeper on a part time basis and trained him in investment property accounting to look after my personal and company portfolios. Some of my investor friends with Excel sheets and overflowing shoeboxes of invoices then asked for help. I started to charge my friends a nominal fee to look after their books with the great idea that I would get my accounts done for free. My friends spoke to their friends and slowly through word of mouth from existing happy customers the business grew to the point I took the bookkeeper on full time.
We are now building something great
We now have a small but growing, full time team managing the day to day activities, bookkeeping and year end preparation as well as two property specialist tax advisors on a retainer who oversee all of our tax work. Having them on a retainer allows us access to all their skills but on a pay as you go basis – thus keeping costs down for our customers.
Meet Our Founder
I am the principal, owner and founder of Property Accounts Limited. I founded the business by accident in late 2017 after I lost control of my portfolio and needed a better solution to the one I had.
I started my property journey in South Africa and subsequently moved to the UK. I have learn many lessons along he way, both first hand and as a property coach, and it feels great to be able to use this to help clients save valuable time, money and stress!
Craig Hopkins
Qualifications & Experience
I am a South African qualified Chartered Accountant and did my training with BDO – the 5th largest accounting firm in the world. I moved to England in late 2006 to work with Ernst & Young LLP in their London real estate audit division. Two of my favourite clients at the time included a Luxembourg based, UK listed property company investing in German real estate and the developers of the UK’s tallest building – The Shard in London.
I then moved to Drivers Jonas (the oldest property surveying firm in the world) to lead the UK accounts team for what was effectively a commercial property letting agent. My team was responsible for collecting several hundred million Pounds in rent, insurance and service charge each year. We managed commercial properties throughout England and Scotland.
We were subsequently acquired by Deloitte eventually forming Deloitte Real Estate. My last real job was with Knight Frank in their commercial and residential property management team team after which I left to pursue property full time and grow my portfolio.
My Personal Property Background
South Africa
I ran a short-term bridging finance company in South Africa that used residential property as security for the loans advanced. From this I was able to purchase my first property, pay for my university studies and acquire one of my favourite toys – a Vespa!
The bridging business allowed me to invest in real estate further and when the business grew, I refinanced my properties to fund the business expansion. I acquired a few other properties including one on a joint venture basis. I eventually sold up everything to invest in the UK.
United Kingdom
In the UK I initially focused on investing in HMO’s and started investing in 2008. I couldn’t have left another £1 on the table if I tried! It was not a great start and due to my foreign passport, I had the bank pulling all my overdraft facilities shortly thereafter. Thankfully I had done my due diligence so I enjoyed good cash flow during this time (despite losing a few hundred thousand Pounds on paper).
When I eventually got my British passport, I started from the bottom again. My main focus was (and still is!) BBLT – Baby Buy to Lets as I call them. I do have a mix of properties, in a mix of locations, with a mix of ownership structures, a mix of tenant types and sourced in various different ways.
Our properties are based locally here in Reading as well as further afield in Sunderland, Newcastle and, when I went through my Superman phase (and thought I could do everything), I was buying in Scotland as well.
It turns out I am not Superman as I eventually discovered! The better your local knowledge the lower the risk and greater the returns. I was spreading myself too thin so I decided to focus on a few small patches in the North East.
Crowdfunding IFISA – a UK First
I’m not sure if I was the first in the UK to do IFISA’s for property, but if not, I was very close to being the first in the UK to do so. In late 2017 I did a peer to peer crowdfunding raise where investors were allowed to invest via their Innovative Financial ISA (IFISA). IFISA’s were introduced in April 2016 and investors are able to invest in ventures they can’t normally with a traditional ISA. This was done to experiment, learn, develop and test this new form of financing which in years to come will disrupt the traditional banking system.
But wait, there's more!
Property Investment is our area of expertise and we want to help you as an investor with all the information you need to succeed. Use the links below to find out things about property investing that no one usually tells you.
The side of property investing no-one tells you about
Property investing can get pretty wild – and not many people talk about this. Read our blog
post on some of the more interesting adventures that have taken place.
Read our blog to find out more
We have written lots of blogs on various topics from business, to investing, to best practices,
etc. These were all inspired by clients or enquiries we’ve had and there will be lots to learn.
How can we help you?
If you would like to discuss your specific situation and how we might be able to help, please
do contact us.
