Transcription
Or what does your business turnover on average per year?
Uh, about half a million.
In my 34 years of my life, I did not earn as much as I earned now in my last two years since joining the academy. How many properties do you have now in total?
Then 11.
Which is 11,360 a month profit?
What's the occupancy right?
When you 100%.
I bought it for 16,000 and we sell it for 56. I mean, the government are giving hundreds of millions, billions. Yeah, yeah. I now still own the property and I just had it valuated for 526. See, this is the problem. We help to buy. You're buying it when it's shiny. You're borrowing money from the government. It's not a gift, it's a loan.
That property was making between, uh, 5 to 9,000, especially in the summer months. 8,900 in a month. Al loan for the rent, it's only 2,200.
I'm going to be controversial here and say rents are low in London. If the end of the world is coming, go to Romania. There is another 50 years to leave. They pay on a nightly basis. How much do they pay? It varies between 100 and 150 a night.
Do you think this is a sustainable long-term strategy? There's a massive opportunity right now in the market to make money using social housing as a strategy. Social housing is where you provide housing to vulnerable people, homeless people, through the council, and the council have got massive budgets for this. So I'm going about to interview Yolanda. Yolanda is a registered provider. She's making half a million pound a year turnover with just 11 properties across London using social housing and emergency accommodation. And in this discussion, you're going to learn exactly how she's doing it. And there's no excuses because Yolanda's from a very, very, um, poor background. She was raised in Romania. I met her only a couple of years ago, and she's managed to absolutely scale her business using this new strategy. So this is one you're going to really enjoy. And don't forget to subscribe. Drop your comments below in the interview, and I'll try and answer as many questions as I can. Let's go.
Yolanda, where were you born and how old were you when you moved to the UK?
I was born in Romania and I was 24 when I moved to the UK.
What was it like in Romania?
Uh, was not easy. We didn't had a very, um, good lifestyle. We, we had lots of things missing from our lives. So, um, most of the time, uh, when I was going to school, I didn't had lunch. Lunch, it, it wasn't there. We didn't.
Oh, wow. So you were very poor growing up?
Yes. That probably made me, uh, who I am today.
Yeah, sorry. How, how, how? So, um, so we lived in a like a studio, um, well, I grew up with my grandmother before I turned 15. When I was 15, I moved to my mom and my dad, and we lived in a small, it was just like a room. That was the living room, the room, everything. We just had sofa beds. We put them up and down in the daytime. And, um, yeah, it wasn't easy. And I really wanted to just do something for them. So, um, that was it was emotional for me to get out of there and do something for them, just to make them happy.
Yeah, and you must have done really proud now. And you've also been able to now give back to your parents?
Yes. I bought them a house.
That's amazing. Well, it was an apartment. It was a rundown apartment. I'm not sure if you're interested to go into investing in Romania, but, um, Sean said, uh, he would actually like to live there. It's a very beautiful country. Um, and it was, I bought it for 16,000 and we sold it for 56. In not, not long. Was from 2016 and we sold it just when I joined the academy.
Okay, that's great. Is that how you managed to get the money to join the academy?
Um, no, I had some savings. Um, but for, for the money with the money that we had from that house, we actually, um, building a home back in the countryside. Um, now they, they're building it in my father's town village.
Where, where are you getting your money from now? Where does most of your money come from?
Well, everything now is from property. I earn so much more. Before, I didn't earn. In my 34 years of my life, I did, did not earn as much as I earn now in my last two years since joining the academy.
What do you make? Um, what, or what does your business turnover on average per year?
Right now, uh, about half a million.
Half a million pounds?
Yes. Per year? Yes. And that's incredible. How, how much? Going to break that down? And I want, I want to find out how, because I know it's not been easy for you. Your life has not been easy. Yes. Um, of that, of that £500,000, how much of that would you say roughly is profit?
Uh, it's about 11,000 a month profit.
Profit? So between 25 to 30% from it?
That's solid. Yes. That's really solid. It's insane.
And what strategy have you used? I know you own some property, you also control property, but what, what's the main strategy? How are you getting such high turnover rent?
Um, so it's the rent to rent, obviously, the strategy. Um, and I went onto social housing. So I now, uh, house people for the emergency housing. There is in the database about 33,000 just in one of the boroughs in London. Yes. Of people that needs to be housing. And, um, obviously I come into place where I provide everything from what we do with the service accommodation. The houses are all, uh, furnished, all ready for them to go and live there. Um, at the beginning, once they are in there, it's called emergency accommodation. Then it goes into temporary, and it can go from, uh, 10 months plus to 12 years. Years. MH. So, um, I managed to become the provider with the council. Huge. That is like, I, I wouldn't have been able to do it without the knowledge. Like, it's impossible. You know, after you done the social, um, housing course on the academy, I was like, I, I was straight on it in like two days. I, I finished everything.
Wow. You, the whole training program in two days? That's incredible. But the thing is, um, in property, it's always about finding rather. What, what a lot of people do is they'll swim against the tide. So if the government is are making it very difficult to do buy to let, a lot of landlords will protest and complain, and they'll be doing the old school way. Why not? Why not swim with where, where the tide is going? And social housing, I mean, the government are giving, um, hundreds of millions, billions. Have 11 billions on their budget for the emergency. They actually have different budgets for different things. So, um, I know for a fact that the budget for the, it's actually higher than that would be for the LHA rate. You know, the local housing allowance. It's actually below, um, than what they have for the emergency. So for me, when they actually, when the council approach you, obviously they want to give you the LHA rate. But I, you have to make sure when you approach them, don't let them guide you, you guide them. So eventually I got into this smoother. I, I did say initially, I can help with that, which I did. I also provided, I, um, not in London, cuz London, it's a bit, uh, the market rent, it's higher than the LHA, much higher. So it's not touchable. But outside, they give you incentives. So I actually, uh, source them properties. Um, for example, for a four-bedroom room, let's say in Dudley, it's about 1,000 a month for the LHA. Most of the rents, it's about 1,100, 1,200 for those type of properties. And I just found, find landlords for that, and they give you an incentive. It varies between 2,000 and 7,000. And that gets paid to me from the 2,000 to 7,000 rent from the council for one house in Dudley? Yes. They give you the upfront payment. So that I actually, uh, give some of it to the landlord and some of it to myself.
Why aren't all landlords passing you their houses?
Uh, uh, to be honest, I'm approaching loads of landlords. They are, they are.
What, what councils are you working with then? You said you've become a, um, with Brand Council, Ealing, Maron, a few councils. So around the London area?
London area. Right. But they do move outside for the, they go all over the UK.
How do you become registered?
That is not easy. It, it took. I even say that on the training. I even say, look, becoming registered is not easy. You don't have to become registered. Here's how you do it. But, but you went the full. When I received my PO, which is a purchase order, which is a number allocated to you as a company, with money that they provide you, and I saw, I was like, oh my God, this obviously I can't use it unless I house people. So it's just for the company, it's not for myself. But it's insane how much they have allocated for each company just to help, uh, homeless people, people that are in housing needs.
So, so you're not only making a lot of profit and helping landlords that are struggling, yes, to make money on their properties, but also you're directly helping homeless people get off the streets?
Um, that's really interesting because a lot of people think that property investors, in fact, the rent to rent business gets a lot of stick because people think that, oh, you're taking off houses, you're just, you're, you're ruining the economy, you're, you're pushing people out the market. But you're helping the very lowest. And people don't understand the family that I go and house. When I go and check them in, um, their story is so touchable. I, I, especially a family. I was so, it, it hurted me when I heard their story because, um, they worked for 12 years. They, they were just renting from private landlords, nothing from the council. But, just a year before they become homeless, he couldn't go working because his daughter had leukemia. And obviously he lost his job. So it's not that he become homeless because he wanted to, but he was there for his daughter. He couldn't go to work anymore. So, um, when the council housed them, it was just in the day that they actually were homeless. So that's how they work. And that's when the emergency accommodation comes into place. Yes. So that's when they contact me. Can you do today? And it's literally on the day.
So, just to get this right in people's minds that are watching this that might not understand how emergency accommodation works. So the council have got billions of pounds. They do, which they have got in a pot to give to registered providers to give to people that have got accommodation for homeless people or for vulnerable people. And there, and there's lots of different types of associations. So you've got houses, and then the council say to you, right, oh, there's someone that needs help. There's some, and they then give you money, and then you house those people.
They pay on a nightly basis. How much do they pay?
It varies between 100 and 150 a night.
And is that, do you have apartment houses?
Apartment houses. It's a mix.
And do you put multiple people in one house?
Or do you? I only at the moment deal with families because, uh, most of the houses are between two and four bedroom houses.
Right. So if you're getting 100 and 150 to 50 per night for a house, how are you, how are you benefiting from that?
So I have to pay the landlord, I have to pay the bills, and it's between, uh, 800 to 1,200 profit per month per each property.
So, if, so how does that work then? Because if you're getting 100 to 50 a night, that's on average about four, five grand. How much are you paying rent to the landlord? Because they, landlord, those properties are in London. The rent are not as little as it would be. If that's what I'm thinking. So how much? So, um, some of the properties I have to pay 2,600, some of them 2,200, some of them, uh, it varies between 1,800.
And you're paying the bills?
And I'm paying the bills.
But, but you're still, what's the occupancy right?
When you 100%.
How is it? Once they're in, they're in for minimum 10 months.
Oh, yes. So, okay. So it's 100 to 50 a night, but that's every night, fixed for like 10 months?
Yes. That's madness.
Wow. And I know for a fact, um, it will be actually for longer than 10 months.
Mhm. How'd you know that?
I, um, you know, when you keep saying build rapport, build relationships. So I obviously, um, got a connection, and he's actually telling me how exactly these things work from the inside. So I understand it from their point. And obviously, as much as we all want to help, we also have to understand how business works on from their perspective.
Yes. So let's say you were starting out, which you were, not too long ago, because when did you get start? When did you start with this business?
2023, February. So it was only last year. The year and eight months.
So what did, how did you get started? Tell me, tell me this. Tell me the beginning. How did you get into this and what happened?
Um, so the first, obviously, is, um, me. Look, it was in December actually, 2022, when I first come for the, uh, crash course. And I, I was looking at YouTube from probably September, I think I found you. It was, um, because I was looking for my buy to let property, what I can do, how can I rent it out? I just wanted to see what options are. And I think you come on my Instagram, as you said, probably no one remembers where they saw me first. I do know it was Instagram. And then I, um, looked at your, uh, YouTube channel and everything. And then in December, the seventh, I think it was, the crash course. And then I joined for the training, advanced training. And it's funny because I thought the, um, advanced training was actually the full academy because you were offering so many. It was like so many things into just one training. So I said, oh, this is, this is amazing. I really need to join. I need to, to do this. So, um, Sean was with me there, and he said, okay, you go. You, it's probably you. You're, because he wasn't necessarily into property. So he said, go for it. Um, and then I realized after that that it wasn't the full academy. So I, I said, I wanted to be full. I wanted to commit to, to the academy with everything. With everything. Yes. Um, so before I even went to the advanced training, I paid for the academy. I didn't went on February because it was the deal sourcing that I did. I didn't went to the advanced training. I just paid before I joined, before I did advanced training. And then I realized you were saying when you buy to lets, you can have super rent, you can increase your rent by so much. You shouldn't, just rent on an A. So I, I was looking into it. I then managed to do the service accommodation for my property. I staged it, I did everything. And by March 28th, I had my first guest. And then everything was starting to come. And that property was making between, uh, 5 to 9,000, especially in the summer months. 8,900 in a month. I was like, you can't make that alone for the rent. It's only 2,200. Just normal AST. MH. So, um, I started with that property. Then I had that, that to say that's incredible. Alone. So you had one property that you were making a couple of grand from in the rent, and you just bought that as a buy to let? Yes. And your plan was to scale your buy to lets? And then you realized, actually, I've just run it for the academy. I'm learning about service accommodation. Let me switch this up a bit. And it went from two grand to like eight grand? Yes. Wow. That is that is that's financial freedom from one. Yes. It was. And that I can see why you want to see the academy though. Because just to say, when you're at the crash course and you roll into the advanced training, and you're right, you get a lot just on the advanced training. You, you get a lot. But the academy is 12 months and it's unlimited mentorship and stuff for a whole year. It's more intimate. You come around my house. It's, it's a different level. But I can see why you wanted to go on the St, on the academy, cuz that one deal alone, just by changing it and turning it into a service accommodation, that's paid for your academy membership. It was overwhelming at the beginning, but I said, this, I have to commit to it. And I, I know I'm going to make it work. And honestly, what I've gained in my last 34 years is nothing compared to my last years of my life. Wow. Yes. So that first property then was at the moment when you knew this is, this is what I want to do? Yes. Um, so I did, uh, had by July, I had five properties. Serv. Rent to rent. So you're then going to landlords. What are you saying to the landlords? And how are you, with a brand new startup company, how are you gaining trust with the landlord?
I believe it's just being yourself. Just talk to them. Explain what it is. Because just taking a property from a landlord on a company L, it is way much, much better than just renting on AST. Although not many understand it, some will. And, um, I had the luck to to find those that actually understood it.
Yeah, and you just went out and did it? Yes. And you follow. And that, what you say is interesting because in your mind, you're saying, of course, it's good for the landlord. It's much better, right? But because you're sold, because you've been trained and you're sold and you know what you're talking about and you know the contracts and you know the benefits to the landlord, it's easy to sell. Of course. But when you're thinking, oh, I just watched a YouTube video and I'm going to try and get one and I'm doing something a bit naughty. Say, hi, do you do rent to for chance? Like, of course they're going to say no. Yes. Because you're not even sold. And they can sense it. They can tell that you know what we're talking about. Yes. Of course. And 100% doing with through a company, you got more rights renting it through a company, right? As a landlord? You have a landlord.
How many properties do you have now in total then?
11.
11 with yours? So, so you've got 10 rent to rent and then you got your one that you own? Yes. And then across the board, they're doing half a million pounds a year? Yes. Turnover? Madness. Which is 11,360 a month profit?
How much profit? 11,360.
Wow. It must feel good to say it?
Yes.
So what were you do when you first came?
I learned from you on the ACBP. You have to fill it. And I know I'm, I'm so grateful. Like, honestly, Samuel, I wouldn't have been able to do this without the knowledge, without everything I gained from the academy, from the mentors, and everyone else that helps you along the way. Because you have questions, there is always someone to just answer that question. And I'm happy. I, I would always, I said, I'm going to be in the academy forever.
Well, you know what though? I think because of where you've come from and because of your background and you came with that hunger, you really utilized your academy membership. And, you know, you're a massive credit to the academy and to the property community. I love the fact that you're making lots of money, but you're very humble. You're, you're, you're a beautiful person.
I want to know when you first came from Romania, what were you doing?
So I was working in hospitality. Um, I worked in sales, uh, also, um, doing the bookings. Funny enough, probably all the property and experience that I have now also comes from that, uh, because doing the reservations, making sure, um, it was a restaurant on top of the roof. Not sure if you ever been, uh, but it was really nice. Then I worked in, um, some, uh, places like a shortage in some bars. Um, I also worked, um, as an event planner. I was doing birthday, birthday parties for kids. I've done a few. I was a self-employed. So I've done quite a few, um, things to survive. I was by myself. I obviously wanted to work as much as possible. I wanted to just make money.
Did you save up and buy your first buy to let? Just the traditional way?
I actually bought it as a residential. Um, remember I mentioned it was a, I bought it with a help to buy scheme. So, yeah.
I do remember you telling this because, obviously, the help to buy scheme is generally a little bit of a sham. And it's more tailored towards the developer, yes, than it is towards the buyer. But you said to me, actually, Sammy, W, I did the help to buy, and it was the best thing I ever did. Yes. Which is great. But I think ultimately, when you're doing the help to buy, listen, if you're buying a property, it's, you're probably going to end up making money. Sure. There's a lot of cons, as long as you go in with a, with a clear mind. But, but tell me your experience of the help to buy, which is obviously a different spin to what I normally say. Yes.
Well, um, when you buy, obviously the price, it's always premium because you buy new. Um, so the property was all new. The, I remember the purchase price in London, cuz it's in Wembley, was 450. Um, I obviously didn't had all the money. Even with the, uh, job, it wasn't covering my mortgage, cuz it's 4, 4.5, yeah, the actual. So if your annual salary is 30 grand, you're going to borrow, I don't know, maybe about 120. Yeah, it, it wasn't. In fact, my mortgage was 134. So I couldn't cover all of the amount. So the help to buy comes into place. Um, I had a solicitor explaining how actually works. So the, in London, usually the government gives 40%. So you have to cover the 60% from the total purchase price. And when I did the refinance, the first five years, it's interest free. So you don't have to pay anything. But after, just before I comp, um, finished the five years, I actually refinanced. And they come with the risk valuation. And the risk came to from 450 to 370. So it was very, very below than what I initially purchased.
See, this is the problem. We help to buy. Yes. This is the sham. That is buying it when it's shiny. You're borrowing money from the government. It's not a gift, it's a loan. You have to pay them back. By the time you go to pay them back, the values drop. Because you, this is the problem. It was, uh, you know, Ricks goes by, bricks and mortar with the sizes. So it wasn't obviously what I purchased was 70,000. Actually 80,000 less than that. That's terrible. But what I did, because I never sold, when I refinanced, I had to give them the 40% of the actual value. Uh-huh. So the 370. Now, the 40% of the 370 was only 138. Although initially it was 180. Now I only had to give them back 138. So I've made 32,000 from that transaction alone. Plus, I now still own the property. And I just had it valuated.
What for? 526? Hang on, I'm confused. So that, that's brilliant, by the way. Congrats. So, so if you borrow money from the government for help to buy a scheme, and then the value drops, does the amount of money you have to pay them back drop as well?
Yes.
And how much did they loan you? The government to buy?
180,000.
And then how much did you end up having to pay them back?
138.
Oh, wow. To be fair, I didn't know that. That, that is that is a loop in the. It is. So if the value does drop dramatically, the government. But if it goes high, you have to pay 40. If it was 600, then I would have supposed to pay 40% of the 600. Okay. So it's not, so, okay. It's it's all both ways complicated. Even though I don't understand it. H, I've never done it. If you're a developer and you're about to build a bunch of new houses or an apartment block, your biggest fear is what happens if I can't sell it? So the government say, don't worry, we'll let you sell it via our help to buy scheme. So really, it is to help the developers. So I know it from that side. I don't know the actual contract between the government and the, the, the, the buyer. But it's complicated, man. And people are not financially literate, savvy, or smart. And they're going into these schemes. If you're going to go into a help to buy game, at least go with your eyes wide open and understand exactly what it is that you're signing. But you managed to do it. And of course, because you have the finger of God on your life, and, you know, the mid touch, it worked out. So you ended up. And then, and then, so the value dropped, and then the government ended up having to take the hit. To accept. They didn't want to accept it, did they? Not. No. It, it took me six months for them to actually agree to the price that I was just. Oh, man. But I, I managed. I know. But I'm, I'm glad I did it. And I'm happy because I now still owe the property. Um, and then, and then as soon as you managed to get them to agree with 37, they agreed it, and you got the payout, then suddenly bang, it boomed up to over half a million. So you got very fortunate. Yes. And as it happens with the rent, the thing is, how do you make sense of renting a property out for two grand a month when the value is 500? I know it doesn't, it doesn't pass the stress test. No, I know. And then they're trying to cap rent in London. If you're going to cap rents in London, sorry, buy to let already doesn't work in London because I'm going to be controversial here and say rents are low in London in comparison with how prices. Exactly. They are low. I know. So if you cap rents, that's going to distort the heck out of the market. It's true. So, but you're getting 8 grand a month rent from your. Who stays there then? That's not emergency accommodation now? Uh, no. Well, it's not. I haven't yet used it for that purpose. Um, because at this time, I'm making enough for me just to use it for that. Um, so it's mainly tourism. I had even a long term for like 3 months, um, at the time where people come from different countries for treatments, like relocations, relations. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's a good way. If it's in central London, they're a bit, there's rules, isn't there in central London? Yes. So medium-term bookings tend to be quite, um, quite prudent.
What about, um, so the emergency accommodation, how did you transition from service accommodation with tourists, contractors, relocators to them the council? What, what, what triggered that?
Um, just one of the properties that I had, it wasn't performing as well. So I thought, what are the options for me to actually start getting bookings through? Um, so I, I started to contact councils. And I managed to get through eventually. Um, it took a few months. Um, I was actually recommended by someone. So that's how I managed to get in touch with them. Um, and they come to inspect the property. And when they view it, it was perfectly set up for service accommodation. And they said, oh, this is perfect. Um, we can offer, uh, initially they said 170 a night, but then it went down to 140. So they do negotiate. To they, the, the thing is, they had lots of properties in the Co, in pandemic time, where they were paying 400 night. So they said, we need to take the families that we have in those properties and put them into more affordable properties. So they're moving people around now. But that's because they can't find the LHA. They can't find properties that are within the LHA rate. So they put into properties that are reasonable, um, okay with the money for not paying as much as 400 a night, but paying 150. It's more.
Where do you think the longevity is in this business? Do you think that there'll always be a massive need for emergency accommodation in the UK? Do you think the councils will always have big budgets for it?
I mean, at the moment, the councils are pumping more. I didn't know it, it gone into it, gone into the eight figures. No, nine billion. Nine figures. That's incredible. I knew it was with hundreds of millions. The council are pumping money into it.
Do you think this is a sustainable long-term strategy?
100%. There was all. They have a database of 33,000 people at the moment. They, they literally can't house them all in into the LHA. They have got no houses anymore. You know, with the right to buy, that they have actually sold all their properties that they had. Well, most of them. So they need houses, but they can't find the LHA. So they go into the emergency. And I think emergency, it's going to last for a very long time. I know I go to hotels. Um, when I do my due diligence for service accommodation, and they say, we're not open to public. We closed. Why? Well, the government have paid us until, um, in future. They have no idea until when. It's until for the notice. So they, they there for a very long time. And they'll be giving you 10 month bookings. 10 plus a minimum is a 10. 10. 10 months guaranteed rent from the government of four, five grand a month. And then meanwhile, landlords are out there trying to get two grand a month. It is not as easy to get into. If you're just a landlord, you have to become a provider. Yeah. So it takes some time. And because, um, for them to actually take a family and put in your property, it needs verification. They go. Sorts wouldn't be able to know where to start. They'd be better off just renting it to you. Yes. But they would, because, because then they're getting guaranteed rent. Um, but, but, but they haven't got the, the first clue of how to go about it. You, you spent a year of your time and spent £12,000 of your hard-earned money getting trained, going through the academy, going on the social housing course, spending time with me, the mentors, going out, working, learning, and learning. Most people can't. Most people can't be bothered to do that. They, they think their time is not going into this. But I highly recommend for me, especially, I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for everything, for everyone of you. But most people, most people aren't prepared to put that amount of time and energy into learning the ins and outs of the business. Sometimes they expect they pay and they just have everything done for them. Right. Yeah. Which obviously is not like that. You know, but that's why I'm saying it's mad though, isn't it? That there's landlords getting two grand a month when the councils would pay them seven, but they just don't know it. And they don't know how to reach out. Yes. They don't know what to say. Have the knowledge. They don't have the knowledge.
Are you, are you still getting landlords now? Are you pushing that business now?
Yes.
Are you? So how can I help? How can I help?
I have loads, loads of people actually approaching me. I also have academy members that are bringing their properties.
At the, yes. What do you reckon about, like, I need to talk to you off camera because I've got, I've got some properties that I'd be interested. Where, where do you work? Like, if I'm a landlord and I've got a property and I'm thinking, I wonder if Yolanda's could help me. What areas you working?
So at the moment, because I'm working with, um, London boroughs, it will be around London and Northwest of outskirts of London.
Okay, okay. So if there's any landlords listening that hit with the nonsense in London, whether it be night, day rules, service accommodation legislation, because presumably for this, that doesn't apply, right?
No, because of course it doesn't. Because who enforces the night, day rules? The councilors. The councilors are the ones giving you money. Yes. Every first of the month.
How did you make sense of spending 12,000 on your education a year and a half ago?
I knew if I do this, my life will change completely. And it actually did. I know I had, I knew I had to put the effort in as well. But I wanted to be fully committed. Um, I, I know, uh, you know, I'm there with Tony sometimes and I'm helping, and I can see the people, people when they start, they're a bit skeptical. They don't understand it. But when I explain my journey and my experience, it is overwhelming. But if you commit to it, and if it doesn't hurt a little, you wouldn't succeed. You have to feel the pain. And if it's just a thousand, it wouldn't make sense because you'd be like, well, I can live with losing that amount of money. But if it's substantial amount, which is not, it's not going to kill you, but it will make you feel the pain. Um, you will make it work.
I totally agree with that. You have to, there has to be skin in the game. Some people say, Samuel, can you train me for free and I'll give you 50% of my business? There's no skin in the game. And also, I'm having to invest. Like we spend a million pounds a year just on paying our mentors within the academy, who you have access to unlimited for a whole year. The, the actual costs to run the academy is astronomically high. I'm in there, I can see all the events and also the diners. Demand. Yeah, it costs a lot. So say, like, oh, 12 grand just for a course. It's not a course. No, it's 12 grand for a community. It's 12 grand for dinners, events, mentoring for a year. There's a big, there's a big investment on our end. Um, and we're obviously a business. And it's not for everybody. You know what I mean? Definitely. And that's why we go through an interview process with people before they join the academy. If someone says, I want to join the academy because I just want to become financially free and I just want Samuel to do it for me, or, or, or if they think they're buying a lottery ticket. Hope this works. Yes. No, it's not. This does work. Yes. Will you work? You know what I mean? So people have to come with the right. And that's why, you know, we have the crash courses, which are the crash courses are a pound and they're mind-blowing. And then we have the two grand courses. And then we have ultimately the full academy. And I'm, you know, all the, all the price listed on the website. Everything's all there. Academy, 100% not for everybody. But for someone like you that was like, I'm, I'm, I want to do this. I'm in. I'm serious. It kind of makes sense.
I was nonstop on your videos like in my, even on my headphones, night, just going to sleep with your voice in my ear. And then went to the crash course, be like, whatever you're selling, I'm buying it all right here. Go bang. And, oh, that's not the full, full, full thing. Give me the full, full, full thing, man. Let me just get the full, you know what I mean? So you came with that energy and that kind of desire.
I wanted it. Yeah.
But that's awesome. And you worked so hard. Um, what do your parents think?
They're very proud. They're actually, um, I send them the video when you take me on stage last week, and they were crying. Oh, wow. Yes. I was crying. It's, it's nice. I, I know you bring the best, um, out from every one of us. And it is overwhelming at the beginning with everything, but the more I'm around you, the better it is. And I love it. You're doing so good.
Um, what did your parents think when you bought them a, when did you buy them a house?
In, in 2016. Oh, so a long time ago now.
What did they? They must be so proud of you.
It was just again, Romania. It's if you, if the end of the world is coming, go to Romania. There is another 50 years to leave. We are very much behind. Um, so it was 16,000. We sell for 56. And we managed to do things around with with that money. As I said, we building a home. Um, but sorry, it's emotional. But I'm, I'm very happy and very grateful.
Why is it emotional?
Because we didn't had a lot. It wasn't as now. Seeing all this and having all this, it makes me feel very grateful because it's not easy for most of us, I think, especially coming from back home.
Do you ever visit Romania?
Yes. Um, now I have a little son, so I take him there.
When are you next going?
We planning to go for Christmas. Oh, wow. So you're going to be going in a couple, couple weeks for probably not full two weeks because, um, it's a long time to stay there. It's very cold.
I can imagine. It's snowing. Is there business opportunities in Romania? You did, you did one house flip there, which works. You've bought your parents a house. Is there business opportunities? Do you think there?
100%. I am actually in touch with, um, a friend that used to live in the UK and she's now in Bucharest, the capital. There is more opportunities. And she's now going into properties herself. So we are actually talking.
Victor. Do you know Victor?
Victor? Yeah, I think he's on the academy. He's from Romania. I think I know him. Met you. He's doing really well. He's like making a lot of money.
Yeah, I need to go to Romania. We should go together.
We should. 100%.
Done. I'm so proud of you. Keep up the good work.
Thank you.
If people want to get in touch with you, what's your Instagram handle?
Uh, Yolanda Morari. I'll leave a link in the, uh, in the description on YouTube.
Thank you so much.