A man who quit his job offshore to become a property investor has completed his most ambitious project yet – bringing a vacant Aberdeen building back to life.
Since he was a teenager, Steven Clark has been interested in building wealth through property.
His quest for financial freedom was sparked by his grandfather dying at the age of 62 and not being able to enjoy his retirement.
He entered the oil and gas sector, hoping it would give him the disposable income to invest.
While working at FMC Technologies – now known as TechnipFMC – in Dunfermline and Aberdeen, he started investing.
Mr Clark said: “When I started at FMC I was an apprentice on £4.36 an hour – but then I was offered Saturday overtime.
“My income suddenly jumped up £400 a month and I was able to buy my first flat aged 20 in 2006.
“I pulled equity out of that to buy a three-bedroom house in Cowdenbeath but the financial crash of 2008 took the wind out of my sails.
“For a few years, I had to work hard to build my equity back up by flipping properties.
“When I left FMC in 2016, the last five years of which were working offshore, I had a portfolio of 10 buy-to-let properties.”
The decision to quit his full-time job was due to his daughter Maia being born and not wanting to miss parts of her childhood. He had no choice but to focus on property full-time.
“It was like a switch clicked in my head,” he said.
“I wanted to scale the property business and quickly realised there was a huge opportunity in Aberdeen.”
Property investments in Aberdeen
Mr Clark believed the Aberdeen market was undervalued due to a lower oil price.
But, with more than 1,000 properties available for rent in the city at a time there were fewer than 50 available in Dundee, it wasn’t an obvious investment hot spot.
He believed part of the problem was the unappealing nature of the flats for rent.
His strategy was to refurbish to a high standard and then rent at a premium price point.
“The properties sitting on the market were magnolia walls and poor furniture. I thought, ‘I can change this’.
“I bought four flats in Union Street and renovated them to a high standard.
“At the time a letting agent told me there are hundreds of one-bedroom flats on the market and they’re struggling to rent at £400 a month.
“I said, no, I’ve got a quality product here, put it on at £550. It rented within 24 hours which was unheard of in Aberdeen at the time.”
Spital development most ambitious
In the past four years, Mr Clark has repeated this formula for success with more than 40 properties in Aberdeen.
He is confident the property market will rebound and is at the “bottom of the cycle”.
And now he is in the final stages of completing his most ambitious project yet – a 28-bedroom development at Spital.
The building at 19 Spital, formerly owned by a housing association, has been vacant for four years. It has six four-bedroom flats, a three-bedroom flat and a one-bedroom flat.
After more than a year of negotiation, he bought the site for £575,000 in November.
Since then it has undergone a £250,000 renovation, with no expense spared on a new heating system, bathrooms and kitchens.
Mr Clark admits the spending has been well in excess of his initial £160,000 refurbishment budget, but he has no regrets.
His 13,000 Instagram followers have tracked every stage of the refurbishment.
He said: “Work started immediately and we’re pretty much at the snagging phase.
“There were many occasions where I’ve spent a bit extra because I’m going to own this for a long time. This could be my daughter’s inheritance, so why skimp?
“It’s exactly the same philosophy as I’ve done with residential properties.
“I’m hoping these student flats will stand head and shoulders above the rest and is not that much more expensive.
“The top penthouse flat we’re going to rent at £2,000. The other flats will rent for between £400 and £500 a room.
“It’s been an intense project, a lot of time, effort and sleepless nights, but I’m really glad I’ve done it.”
Future property plans
Mr Clark, who lives in Dunfermline, said his focus for the next five years will not necessarily be adding dozens more flats to his portfolio. He now gets the most enjoyment from helping others invest in property.
Since the end of 2019, he has been a co-host of the Scottish Property Network podcast, which has more than 3,000 downloads a week.
It also holds monthly meet-ups for property investors in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. He also runs a three-day property training course a couple of times a year.
He adds: “I may grow my portfolio a little more in Aberdeen but I’ve really enjoyed helping other people to not have to rely on the 9-5 and have a back-up plan with property.
“When I started in property there really weren’t a lot of people about who could help you.
“Through the podcast and the training, we now have a real community of property investors in Scotland who help each other.”
Conversation