Originally from South Africa, Camden Lategan arrived in the UK knowing no one and with barely £30 to his name. Eight years on, he is financially free through a property portfolio worth over £1m. Before working in the industry Camden, 27, was employed by some of the richest people in the world, looking after their luxury yachts. He realised they all had one thing in common – they invested in real estate which made him want to follow in their footsteps and become wealthy too.
‘The crash course was where it started for me’
Camden didn’t have the easiest childhood. He got separated from his parents for personal reasons and went to stay with his grandmother who also looked after his siblings.
She had her own businesses, and made, honey, milk and yoghurt for the community. He admires her, describing her as an amazing woman. But as soon as he finished high school, he left to get a job.
At the time, he was 18 and had been living in the suburbs of Cape Town, close to Cape Point, an area of outstanding beauty.
The teenager moved to the centre of the city and began working on cruise ships where he first met affluent and influential people.
Camden saved up his money and aged 19 emigrated. “I flew to the UK, not knowing anyone, just saying I'm going to get a job here because I've got a UK passport. My dad was born in Birmingham. That was the biggest leap for me coming here, not knowing what to expect.”
With no family here, nor friends in this country, and little money, he stayed in a backpackers’ hostel in Hammersmith, London.
He looks back at that time with a smile. “Being young, although it was a bit intimidating and scary, you were free. I could do what I wanted. No one knew me, so I could just have fun. I skateboarded a lot. Those memories and those things I've done in life have really shaped what I am.”
Camden later got a job working on private luxury yachts. Over the next six years, he travelled the world, starting out as a deckhand, cleaning the exterior of the boat.
Some of the yachts were worth £300m and 130 metres long. Then the youngster began sailing vessels as well, competing in regattas and races on an old classic yacht.
Slowly he built up his qualifications and worked his way up into a lead tender driver for one of the largest fleets in the Middle East.
“I was driving the guests around on these small expensive boats. I was also boatswain on one of the boats in America, so I had a team below me. We looked after the exterior and the guest experiences.”
The crew members were naturally curious about what their employers and guests did for a living, recalls Camden.
“We always Googled it. The bosses we worked for, some of them were very transparent, so we knew what they were doing.
“All of the people I worked for, and the guests who chartered the yachts, they all invested in property in some form or another, so that was a second thing for me to focus on.”
Looking for information on how he could invest himself in bricks and mortar, Camden typed in UK property on YouTube and Samuel Leeds name ‘popped up.’
“I just started devouring that useful information. Then I thought let me jump on a crash course.”
Camden went along to a crash course in Liverpool and was immediately hooked. “It was just the energy, everything in the room was amazing and the ideas and the strategies.
“I went back home to my girlfriend, and I just was like, babe we need to do this. She wasn't sold on it at all. Then we were in Liverpool again when I was purchasing my first property and I brought her and a friend along to the crash course in Manchester. After she saw it she was like, go for it.
“So, the crash course is definitely where it started for me.”
Japanese knotweed ties Camden up in knots
Independent from a young age, Camden was used to making his own decisions. But he admits his first deal was a disaster.
“It was a huge learning curve for me. I went into it with no prior experience, and I didn't know how to calculate the end value and the refurb costs.
“Everyone knows property is a good investment, so we just went to Liverpool and looked for a beaten-up property.”
He found one but rushed into buying it without being fully educated. “I think my ego was like I want a property before I’m 25. I didn't know the numbers too well. I only got one refurb quote and I just went with that.”
There was another problem which doubled the cost of the refurbishment from £15,000 to £30,000. Growing over the next-door neighbour’s fence was Japanese knotweed.
When Camden saw it, he thought it was a beautiful plant and the best feature, but then realised it was affecting his property.
“Its roots just go down into anything. They break the structure. They crack bricks. It broke the brick wall and damaged my external rendering.”
Introduced over here as an ornamental garden plant, it has since become an invasive weed subject to legal controls. Mortgage companies can refuse to lend funds until it is eradicated.
Fortunately for Camden the matter was dealt with swiftly. “It’s a council house next door, so they had it professionally removed by the council. The cost fell on them because it was on their side.”
However, his nightmare didn’t end there. “After the refurb had been sorted, there was a big storm and some slates (from the roof) got thrown off. They hit a car next door. There was also rising damp.
“I just decided to raise some finance. By then I was on the academy. I had a lot more knowledge. I raised £13,000 in finance from one of my international investors. Now it's running as an SA (serviced accommodation).
“The profit is over £1,000 every month and I've got a six-month booking right now.”
His girlfriend was supportive, despite this disastrous start, he says. “We knew that we were diving into something new, so you're not going to get it right the first time.
“But after that I signed up to the rent-to-rent advanced training and started doing that. It took me six months to find my first property.
“It was a lot longer than I expected but I realised that I didn't have the support and the accountability that I do now on the academy.
“I went overseas for a four-month job on a yacht. That was my final yacht job. I got back and thought I just need to join the academy now, go all in. Since then, it's just rocketed.”
‘We bought a house for £47,000 and it will rent out for £1,600 a month’
The advanced course taught Camden about rent-to-rents, but the Samuel Leeds Academy gave him so much more, including access to Inner Circle meetings with other students and mentoring calls which he describes as ‘the most magical thing ever.’
Crucially, he was also now part of a community, whereas studying online previously felt isolating.
Joining the academy was a big investment, but after seeing others thriving on the programme he knew it was right for him.
“They were doing such big things, and they were where I wanted to be. I was earning decent profit from that one property. I trusted Samuel and the system. All the training really did work, so it was quite easy for me to justify.”
The return on investment was miniscule in his opinion, compared to what he could earn in the long run.
He went full time in property when he became an academy member in April 2024. His girlfriend Georgina told him she would cover their bills.
She was a luxury hotel operations manager before taking on the management of her parents’ pub which they have on a long lease.
It meant that Camden could concentrate on building his property business. They are a great team, he enthuses,.
Since registering on the year-long academy programme, he has taken on three rent-to-serviced accommodation properties which are all performing well.
He has also embarked on a joint venture with his British girlfriend’s mother. She lent him the £12,000 fee for the academy. He then put that money back into buying a house in Middlesbrough which they are converting into a four-bed, four-bathroom HMO.
She has been very supportive, he says. When she gave him the loan she told him to repay her when he could. “I think she believed in me. She knows that I’m very driven and I was going to make it happen.”
The favour was returned because Camden was able to hold her hand through the project with mentors on hand to turn to if necessary.
They set up a limited company to purchase the two-bedroom house for £47,000. After the work is finished, it will be refinanced. The end value (gross development value) is projected to be £120,000.
The cash left in the deal, plus the rental income will give them an anticipated return of 30 to 35 per cent on the investment.
As Camden only had a small percentage stake in the venture, he sold her his share of the equivalent that she lent him. Consequently, the house is hers now.
“Indirectly, I paid her back with a house. I just said I’d rather you benefit 100 per cent.”
He will manage the property, renting out each room for £400, generating £1,600 per month.
A lot of his properties are new and have only been rented out for a few months but are already achieving an excellent cash flow. His portfolio consisting of five properties brings in £800 to £1,000 per month on average, per property.
Camden, whose company, is called Sailor Estates Investments, reflecting his background, also sources deals. One bespoke investor is paying him to find a buy, refurbish, refinance opportunity, but it could be a rent-to-rent.
He has the knowledge and time to find a suitable property. He then ensures the deal stacks up, runs it past his mentors, and ‘paints a picture of the end result.’ The investor pays a one-off fee for the service, ranging from £3,000 to two per cent of the purchase price.
In one month recently, the young businessman made a profit of £7,500 from all his property activities.
Having taken on so many rent-to-rents quickly, and with high outgoings, there is a lot of risk involved but you have to trust the process, he believes.
That trust was put to the test when his guru Samuel winded him with a jab during a boxing workout and cracked his rib. Now Camden jokes that he is out for revenge in the ring.
On the property front, he has raised £30,000 from investors to expand his portfolio and ‘life’s good.’ He has just returned from a ten-day trip to Thailand and went to Portugal over the New Year, where he even did some snowboarding.
“This is only the beginning. I feel I'm only at ten per cent and I've got another 90 to go, so I'm very excited.”
Camden’s tips
- If you want to get into property, go to the crash course. That was probably the biggest decision I've made in life and it’s £1.
- Seek help if you need it from the mentors. Don’t suffer in silence.
- Get yourself in the right environment. For me that has been the academy. When you see other people making £100,000 here and financially free it just drives you.
Samuel Leeds
“Camden is able to take big, educated risks, which you need in business, and he has worked very hard. He’s also been a massive asset to the community, not just becoming successful himself but helping and inspiring new students.”
