"I try to buy a new property every five years"
Freelance translator Gregory Blauwers buys and rents out flats to boost his retirement income
Freelance translator and subtitler Gregory Blauwers bought his first apartment when he was just 25. Twelve years later, this Brussels native owns four properties. Personally, I’ve always found the world of real estate rather intimidating. Buying properties to rent them out to tenants struck me as something for rich kids and financial types. If not for Gregory, I would have never dared think that freelancers like us can build wealth with the money we’ve made from our creative work. Over some Syrian street food and a safe distance, I recently sat down with Gregory to learn more about his real estate adventures.
You’ve encouraged me to buy and rent out a flat to supplement my retirement income more than once. Why was that again?
“What kind of pension does a self-employed person who’s worked their whole life get [in Belgium]? €1,000 ($1,200)? €1,200 ($1,400)? That’s not going to be enough later. If you can supplement that with two or three rental incomes, you can be comfortable.”
I don’t know many freelancers who are going about it like this. What pushed you to try to supercharge your retirement in this way?
“I think it was the birth of my eldest daughter. I have friends who got an apartment from their parents. That’s some head-start they have in life, I thought to myself. When I had my first daughter, I thought: ‘I also want to do this for my children’. I bought my first apartment in 2008 when she was one.”
What is in your real estate portfolio at the moment?
“That first apartment, a house that I lived in for a while but am currently renting out, and a second house in Uccle [a Brussels municipality] that I recently bought and now live in. That house also included a retail space, which I converted into a private wellness centre that will open early May and that will be called Spa & Lounge 383.
That first flat was a zero-sum activity at first: the renter paid me and I paid the loan off with that money. But as soon as that flat and my other investments have been paid off, these rent payments will become pure net profits.”
So you continued investing in real estate after buying that first flat. How did that happen?
“I bought that first apartment from a retired lawyer who pretty much owned the entire building. We went for a drink and ended up chatting for two hours. He told me that he was the same age as me when he bought his first apartment. And now he owned 20 flats. He was really flush with money and I was pretty impressed by him. I made it my plan to buy a new property at least every five years after that conversation. And I’ve managed to do just that until now. The more properties you own, the easier it also becomes to buy another one. Banks will give you a better interest rate because they can take several things from you if things were to go wrong.”
Did you read up on stuff before that first purchase? Is there a book you can recommend or anything?
“I talked to the first point of reference, i.e. my notary, and my bank. That was about it, but it’s also not really complicated. It takes five minutes to look up on the Internet how much the whole thing is going to cost you: the notary, the loan costs, how much cash you need to have for the deposit. You can use Immoweb [Belgian real estate website] to find out how much you’ll be able to charge in rent. You can determine exactly how much it’s going to cost you in advance.”
Would you advise other freelancers to also do this?
“Absolutely. My advice would be to start doing this as soon as you feel you’re able to and, especially, as soon as your bank is ready to go along with this. Of course, as a freelancer you’re never assured of a stable income the way a civil servant is. But when you have seven, eight regular clients; when you’re doing good work; when clients contact you for more work … it’s time to take stock and say to yourself: ‘Now is the time.’ ”
But a lot of banks aren’t particularly fond of freelancers. We don’t have any payslips or permanent labour contracts we can show them.
“That’s true, but they ask to see your income tax return. If you can show them that you made €30,000 ($35,000) in net pay for the last two years … for a small purchase that should be enough to satisfy a bank. But, sure, they definitely prefer a Eurocrat working at the [European] Commission on a permanent contract over a freelancer. You’ll probably also get a less interesting interest rate the first time.”
You could of course also put your money in an investment fund and save for retirement that way. Which is a lot less work.
“I also save for retirement though a private pension plan. I’m also enrolled in a Belgian supplementary pension plan for the self-employed. And I also bought bitcoins. But the reason that I’ve opted for real estate is also that I love doing this. I’m a freelance translator and subtitler. That’s a little bit creative but it’s not super creative. I like working with my hands and I used to dream of becoming an architect. Perhaps this is also a way for me to compensate for that dream. At the same time, real estate remains one of the best possible investments. Diversification is important, but an investment portfolio should include real estate as far as I’m concerned. A property is a type of certainty; it’s not going to disappear.”
Would you rent one of your places out to a freelancer?
“As a landlord, I’ve always given young people chances, people who were working part-time, looking for work or getting unemployment benefits. This had always gone well, but I recently had to evict an elderly tenant for the first time because he wasn’t paying rent. So would I accept a freelancer? If they have someone who can act as a guarantor and sign the contract with them, yes. From now on, I’m no longer doing this on gut feeling.”
Why not quit freelancing and just become a real estate investor?
“That’s not interesting to me. I like to translate and I think I will always continue to do so. My goal is to no longer ‘have to’ work, so to speak, from the age of 50 onward. By that point, my properties should be fully paid off, and I would like to slow down from then on. No longer work eight hours per day if I don’t want to, but for instance take care of my parents, travel, etc.”
What is your advice to freelancers who also want to do this?
“Get started as early as you can. The sooner you begin, the earlier your loan will be paid off. If you do this right, this should be a zero-sum exercise for the term of the loan. And as soon as the loan has been paid off, it’s full benefits. And buy small. Studios and one-bedroom apartments are easily rented out. Flats with two, three bedrooms are for families and those are less easy to rent out. And don’t be scared. It’s impressive at first, but it’s fairly easy all in all. The only problem you might have are problems with renters. That’s a fact, but you can protect yourself against that. Either you ask for a guarantor; you take out an insurance; or you take your chances and you’re lucky. Or, not lucky of course.”
You can find Spa & Lounge 383 on Facebook.
Interview and photographs by Linda A. Thompson