The property maestro

What does it take for a 21-year-old music student to be the owner and landlord of three properties, with more in the pipeline? According to budding property magnate Warwick Hewson, courage, ingenuity, serious hard work and good advice.

Hewson, with his slim build and wavy hair, projects the perfect image of the concert pianist he eventually hopes to be, rather than that of a property speculator. But appearances can be deceptive and this young man is no slouch.

"I used all my savings, my student loan and teaching money to get together the deposit for my first property," he says. "It is a three- bedroom ex- council maisonette in Stratford, which I bought in February 2001. I paid £102,000 for it, with a mortgage of £95,000. I subsequently remortgaged for £125,000, which values it today at about £130,000. It is let to students at £1,000 a month."

The choice of Stratford for his property portfolio is no accident. "The Channel Tunnel rail-link terminal is being built here and this part of London is changing daily. I talked to estate agent Winkworth and they are very bullish about this area."

Hewson has been shrewd enough to do some good deals on the mortgage front. He will not reveal details, except to say that all are on fixed rates, very sensible if you have high borrowings relative to the properties' value: he won't feel the pinch if interest rates rise.

Assuming he was paying the standard variable rate of around five per cent, his outgoings on the first property, even with the remortgage at £125,000, would be £6,250 a year, which leaves plenty of surplus from the annual rental income of £12,000.

The £30,000 equity withdrawn from the first property allowed him to put down a deposit of £24,000 last year on his second property, a two-bedroom flat at The Heights, Stratford, a new development. He paid £240,000 with a mortgage of £209,000. It is rented for £1,100 a month, which more than covers the monthly mortgage payments of £833. The flat, with its wood floors, fantastic city views, concierge service and security, is eminently lettable.

His third property, in Central House, Stratford, is another new development for which he still has to find a tenant. He paid £195,000, which includes parking, for the two-bedroom flat.

But what happens if recession strikes and one of the tenants defaulted? Hewson has thought of that: "I have a slush fund which would cover at least six months mortgage money, which would give me time to sort things out."

Given Stratford's development, he is not concerned: "Because of the construction of the rail-link terminal it is easy to find wellpaid engineers and construction workers who can afford the rent I charge," he says. "This pocket of London is pretty recession proof, which is one of the reasons I chose this area." Hewson takes a professional view of his business. Why haven't his peers done the same? "They don't have the courage or the energy to take on this sort of commitment," he says, before admitting: "There is a lot of effort involved."