I KNEW I HAD TO DO SOMETHING. THAT’S WHEN THREE SIXTY MORTGAGES WAS BORN.

No points for guessing where the name came from either. It was about creating a complete solution for mortgages.

And that was it. I packed in my job and began working with not only people who were looking to take their first steps into the world of buy to let, but also with experienced landlords with things like portfolio restructures, incorporating to a limited company structure and further portfolio growth.

(Take a look at our case study on page 3 for a great example of a portfolio refinance, raising working capital for our clients as well as reducing their monthly mortgage interest costs.)

And, I’ll be completely honest with you here: Starting out on my own was absolutely terrifying.

If you’ve been there yourself, you’ll know the feeling when your guaranteed monthly salary disappears and, like that, you’re completely responsible for every penny you earn.

But through networking with other property investors and speaking at the Professional Investment Group each month, it wasn’t long before I was inundated with work, which posed it’s only problem – I was too busy!

It was a good problem to have, don’t get me wrong, but it turns out there are only 24 hours in the day, no matter how much you wish for a 25th.

So, early last year, I decided I needed to make some changes at Three Sixty Mortgages and build a platform that would allow me to help more property investors to build and grow their portfolios.

I’d kept in touch with a few people from my time working as an employed broker, and it wasn’t long before I was speaking to a guy called Tom Boulden over a beer and footie game.

Tom and I had worked together in an estate agency, so I knew he was a good egg and a talented and experienced broker.

Tom came on board officially in September, bringing with him a breadth of experience in the new build sector, having worked closely with both national homebuilders and local developers.

Then, to top things off, Three Sixty Mortgages also received Direct Authorisation from the industry regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in September.

Some would argue this wasn’t necessary – and it meant significant investment of time and money on our behalf – but it’s given us far greater control over lender panels and compliance, and means we now answer directly to the FCA for all regulatory matters.

With our new business structure in place, we held a relaunch party at the lovely Duke of Cornwall hotel. We were joined by many of our professional connections and spoke about our working relationship and how they can help our clients with wider services.

Not wanting to miss a trick, The Plymouth Herald heard of our plans and ran an article last November on the Plymouth Live website entitled “Young hot shots from Plymouth create £25m mortgage business”.

And, in February this year, Three Sixty Mortgages and I were featured in The 2019 Top Rated Financial Advisers supplement by review platform VouchedFor which featured in The Times. The supplement was also rolled out in digital format on the Telegraph website in April, with the Financial Times, Evening Standard and This is Money websites coming later this year.

So, what’s next for Three Sixty Mortgages?

We’re looking to grow our team to enable us to work with even more property investors to grow and build their portfolios. We’ll be keeping up the newsletters too, so keep your eyes peeled for next month’s issue.

In the meantime, I’d love your feedback on our first edition. Drop me an email on [email protected] and let me know what you think! Speak soon.