“At Sourced, franchisees are the foundation upon which our property eco-system is built. We caught up with one of our many successful franchisees; Jason Kay, who was once homeless, is now an experienced property developer, and his career in property began thanks to the support of Sourced’’
He’s shared his story on how he got into the industry, his journey with Sourced and what the future looks like, which shows that you don’t necessarily need a large pot of money to begin with and, whatever your background, you can be successful in property.
Earlier Life
At the young age of 17, Jason sadly became homeless as he was thrown out of the family home for not paying enough rent to his abusive father. He says ‘’When I returned to the house, my father had locked the door and all my belongings were in the garden shed. I never really understood why he would do that’’.
During the period that Jason found himself homeless, he slept in his friends’ houses and in a mini car during the wintertime. Eventually, he got a room in a homeless hostel with housing benefits, but, after a year of living there, he was moved to council accommodation, which he states “was one of the worst places to live! I was on the eleventh floor of a high-rise block, full of gangs and drug dealers!’’. He then got a job at Halfords where he was able to save to buy his first house at 21 with a mortgage, and things started to look better for Jason.
It was later revealed, after a call from the Police, that an investigation was being led against his father for abuse, which he was then sentenced to 9 years in prison for. Jason states “I was embarrassed at first, but I realised that I shouldn’t have to feel bad’’. This was a turning point for Jason, he says “I used the situation as a form of strength to prove I wasn’t anything like him. My mother died when I was 25 and she always had a positive influence on me, and so I also wanted to make her proud’’.
Why Property?
Due to the abuse he faced, Jason decided he wanted to live a better life and wanted to give his children a more positive upbringing and to provide them with the opportunity to live the lives they wanted to lead. Motivation comes in many forms, and every one of our franchisees has their own reason for pursuing a career in property. However, for Jason, his background gave him the determination, resilience, and drive to take responsibility for his own life.
Initially, Jason faced many challenges. After paying over £10,000 for a ‘property mastermind course’, he wasn’t finding the value he needed. He also states, ‘’I’ve had lots [of challenges], with the biggest challenge being funding, and lending was an issue for me starting out in property, even with a very good credit history.’’
Jason wanted to find a company that provided him with the training and support he needed to begin his property journey, but, more importantly, weren’t just trying to sell him something else. He was keen to ensure that he had access to funding to help him to complete the property transactions and renovations that he had identified as being profitable projects.
Sourced
Jason found Sourced, who met all his needs regarding funding, training, and support. Through Sourced, he was able to fund his second commercial conversion property “The Binding House”. He goes on to say ‘’Sourced helped me scale my portfolio massively, the benefits of your support person, and the network of property professionals, is huge.’’
A couple of years later, Jason is now focused on larger projects. His most recent project, Hadley Place in Hull, is now 100% funded with a total raise of £960,000 after just over 2 hours. This project is a redevelopment involving the conversion of a former care home into a 24-bedroom Co-Living HMO, and we’re really excited to see the progress of this over the coming months.
One of the key reasons that Jason joined Sourced was for the access to funding that Sourced provides. This allowed Jason to focus on larger projects and joint ventures, including the George Street project which involved the conversion of a ground floor bookstore and first and second floor offices into 13 residential apartments and two commercial units.
Long Term Goals
Jason’s main goal is to build a portfolio that sustains his lifestyle, which he eventually plans to hand over to his daughters. He states ‘’I set 5-year goals which are reviewed yearly, which I then break down into quarterly goals. I don’t always meet these goals, but you are where you are in life because of the decisions you make, and I go after the things that are in my control.’’ His focus now is commercial conversions and joint ventures with Sourced.
Recommendations
Each person’s journey or reasoning as to why they joined Sourced is different but, Jason shared an insight into his rationale for joining Sourced by saying ‘’I’d recommend it to anybody who is serious about starting or scaling their business. This is for people who are willing to act and put the effort in. Everything you need is there, but you still need to put the effort in to make it work.”
Becoming a Sourced Franchisee comes with a range of benefits, including:
- Onsite and online training programmes tailored to help you drive your own success. Training is ongoing for as long as you are a Sourced Franchisee.
- Ongoing support from your designated support person, as well as our HQ team.
- Joining a network of over 170 Sourced Franchisees.
- Access to up to 100% funding through our Sourced Capital brand.
- Access to property leads from our Sourced Property App and from other Sourced Franchisees.
- Access to a range of comprehensive resources that can help you to plan and execute your projects.
Download our prospectus today and, like Jason Kay, you can become a success in property.
