Alan's Backstory

The Alan Jones backstory…

Oh dear, how did I arrive here. As of Spring 2024, late 50’s, no private pension, incomplete state one, no career but ‘at least I have a house’ even though it’s still majority owned by a ‘lending institution’ on a high interest only rate mortgage. A house is an asset, isn’t it?

The future could be bleak. However as a Buddha, I know I can turn it around and live a life without regrets. And I intend to document the journey in doing so. But first let’s go back to look at life before June 2008.

It was good, full of work and seemingly full of wealth and promise. Buying and selling property, redeveloping commercial and residential properties and on my way to my first multi-million pound development of 15 apartments and 3 shops. I’d the sense to keep my borrowing at 60% loan to value and had sold off nearly all of my ‘buy-to-let’ properties to pocket the cash gains. I was stepping up into a different league.

One aspect of ‘stepping up’ was being fed up with managing property and tenants. I’d determined to own property but not manage them by putting businesses inside them run by others. So in the case of first ‘big’ development I was working with a local short letting company who would manage all aspects of the property. Due to its location on one of Belfast’s interfaces, I even had state agency development and tourist board grants.

Stepping up included flying off to Hackney Wick, East London to buy apartments which were overlooking the then, unbuilt Olympic stadium. Lot's to write about this episode, one regret was not selling up in Belfast and buying for cash a penthouse apartment overlooking the Stadium but that's another story for another time.

Stepping up was also to be multi-currency, I flew to Paris and bought a leasehold apartment, which opened the door to another tier of lending to buy more Paris apartments and work with an excellent short term letting company. Banks and opportunities come to you once people know you’ve got some cash.

Indeed, I’d also begun to look at buying a building in Manhattan to get into the short let accommodation business in the Big Apple. I’d thought, wow, I could live in Manhattan for a while, wouldn’t that be interesting. We flew to NYC to have a look around various buildings. Staying near Times Square, eating breakfast at a musical Deli and Dim-Sum for lunch in Chinatown. We walked around lower Manhattan to visit Wall Street and the Church where people sought refuge after 9/11 and pray I guess, over the Lehmann Brothers weekend in autumn 2008. There were apartments for sale on Wall Street, imagine that. Ah those where the days...

I’ve lots more stories like this, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia in 2005-2006 feature. But I’ll leave all these for another time.

In 2008, my wheels came off, the plates stopped spinning, the world stopped.

I’d ‘sensed’ ‘things’ were changing in Spring 2008. I’d be all right I thought, safe lending ratios, 6 figures in cash in the bank. Then I went to my Bank and asked them for £80k to buy a care franchise so I’d have cash flow and salary to tide me over. They said NO, and said the immortal line, ‘we’re reviewing all our lending at the moment.’ I didn’t take the lift, I walked down the stairs, through security and walked out into the spring sun and thought to myself, that’s a bit odd, what’s going on?

By June 08, I knew I was in trouble. By Summer 08, everyone I knew in the same ‘business’ world were in deep trouble. By Autumn 08, the whole world knew it was in deep trouble. And so my life and that of millions of others had changed. Thankfully, I didn’t end it, like a number of men I knew did.

Now 16 years later, I’m still broke, but I’m a wiser, more courageous and compassionate man than before. A better man. Thankfully in relative good mental and physical shape even with a dodgy hip! 50 is the new 30 after all…

We all have a story to tell, I’m sure you have one too. I’d like to hear it someday. I’ll share more of my journey pre and post 2008 but the most important part is the one I’m starting today. Forging a new life, even now, it’s not too late my friend. To forge a new life without regrets. Battle scars are sexy after all. (Joking)

As the Japanese say, ‘Ho-nim-myo’, from this moment on. Let’s forge a new chapter together. Who wants to journey in life on their own.

Alan.