Paul Ribbons is a trader at heart and unlike many investors he does not want to take on huge levels of debt to build a buy to let portfolio. Instead, he prefers to have the cash in the bank. “I don’t like debt, I’ve seen people be crippled by debt”.

Many of our readers will either know or know of Paul, as he’s been a familiar face on the property circuit for some time. However, for the past few years he has taken a back seat from public appearances and enjoyed the lifestyle he’s built for himself. His primary trading strategy in property is to buy properties through estate agents or direct from vendor, often altering their appearance so they look ripe for auction and then sell them for a profit. He started many years ago working as an estate agent and he would find deals for investors. Paul realised this was a skill he was good at and after some time he started working with just one investor, an investor he still works with today.

With 30 years’ experience in the property business Property Investor News is keen to find out what he makes of the recent changes to stamp duty, mortgage interest rate relief and of course Brexit, as this is not the first political shift he’s seen during a long career.

In light of the recent changes to stamp duty charges and mortgage rate relief Paul says we are seeing a ‘double whammy’. In terms of the stamp duty increases it has added a ‘substantial cost’ to his trading transactions. He adds: “I wouldn’t buy 80% of the houses we bought a year ago due to the changes and the impact it is having on buyer demand.”