EXCLUSIVEInside the property empire of a granddad taxi driver on course to be a millionaire… and he claims he did while earning MINIMUM WAGE
A grandfather-of-two claims he is on track to become a millionaire through his soaring property empire - despite working minimum wage as a taxi driver.
Perry Wilson, 63, believes he is just three years away from his seven-figure dream after quietly amassing a fortune by renting out his semi-detached homes across the north east of England.
In 2018, the former navy officer set himself a decade-long goal to retire at 67 after years of gruelling 80-hour weeks driving his cab.
Back then, Mr Wilson was left staring into his future as a pensioner with nothing behind him and £10,000 of credit card debt, so instead began his mission to save as much as possible to invest in his first property.
After two years, he had saved enough to put down a £20,000 deposit on a two-bed semi-detached house in Norton, Teesside, which cost £63,000.
Since then, the gym-obsessed cabbie has added three more properties in Shildon, Stockton and Hartlepool to his portfolio - the latter of which he has sold.
Mr Wilson's net profit from his properties, topped up with his navy pension, is £1,000 a month and his goal is to buy a further 70 homes which he eventually plans to sell on as his children are not interested in keeping them.
Seven years into his ten-year plan, Mr Wilson, from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, told MailOnline: 'My original goal was to make £300,000 but I realised after a few years I could make more. I then said let's try make a million in ten years on minimum wage.
NORTON: Perry Wilson is pictured in front of the first two-bed house he acquired. He put down a £20k deposit on a £63k home
Mr Wilson then bought another 63k house in Shildon (left) and a £67k house in Stockton (right)
HARTLEPOOL: Mr Wilson put down a 25 per cent deposit on a £105,000 three-bed house. He sold it last year
'I'm on course to do that in three years. People are watching so I have to keep trying to get there.'
Discussing how his journey began, the father-of-two explained: 'I was working in a pub aged 57 on minimum wage with £10,000 of credit card debt.
'I had ten years until retirement age but I realised I had no money.
'I was working at the pub on evenings so that gave me the time to start taxi driving during the day.
'I did both jobs for three months but cabbing was much easier so I began doing that full-time.
'Taxi driving is minimum wage but I was doing 80 hours and had unlimited overtime.
'It works out at £10 per hour but it's an expensive job because my cab bus costs me £350 a week to rent.
'With fuel and other costs I'm £600 down before I make anything so I had to work more than 40 hours.'
Mr Wilson, who has been supported by his NHS nurse wife Susan, added: 'I wanted to get into property because you can make money faster.
'It took me two years to save £20,000. I contacted an expert and he sent me some undervalued properties that were available.
'The first property I invested in was in Norton and that cost £63,000.
'Six months later I then got a three-bed in Shildon, Durham, also for £63,000, which a friend helped pay for.
'It then didn't take me long to save for my third property in Middlesbrough which was £67,000.
'That tenant pays £110-a-week in cash and he wants to stay there until he dies.
'It's my job to generate the income to invest and the letting agent does the rest.'
Mr Wilson, who has two grandchildren aged one and three, put down 25 per cent deposits on the first two £63,000 homes of just under £16,000.
He now earns £550 per month in rent from the Norton property and £500 from the one in Shildon.
His net profit across all three homes once worked out at £1,000 per month but multiple interest rates rises and the Covid pandemic took it back to £680.
He continued: 'I wanted to get a fourth property because the rents were falling so we looked into service accommodations which aren't full every month, similar to Airbnbs.
'I found a three-bed terrace in Hartlepool for £105,000 which took another two years of savings.
The grandfather-of-two has also become obsessed with the gym during his millionaire journey
In 2018, the former navy officer set himself a decade-long goal to retire at 67 after years of gruelling 80-hour weeks driving his cab
'It was nothing but a headache so 12 months later in October last year I sold it. I lost £10,000 on that deal because we had to furnish the whole thing but I got my deposit back.
'My navy pension kicked in when I turned 60 three years ago, which took my £680 in profit from the properties back to £1,000 a month.
'If I put down a £25,000 deposit on a £100k house which is worth £125k in a few years time, I can then refinance it.
'The lender will then give me 75 per cent of the £125,000 which means I can make more money on it and get my £25,000 back to use on another property.'
He is now using money from investors to buy a further eight properties, at £300K each.
He plans to spend £60K per property on renovations, which should boost their value to £500K.
He will then do the same with a further 70 properties, which he will be buying from the same seller.
NORTON: Mr Wilson was working in a pub aged 57 on minimum wage with £10,000 of credit card debt when he planned out his dream
Mr Perry works minimum wage as a taxi driver in Gateshead. He is pictured with his taxi van
'You've got to work long hours to generate the income to invest and that slows you down,' he said.
'The way around that now is to use other people's money.
'We will buy the properties cheaply and keep them for a year.
'We will then do them up and get a new value after 12 months.
'The plan then will be to get our money back, and to repay the investor plus ten per cent.
'The eight flats I'm buying belong to a church as part of a group of 70 other properties which they want rid of.
'People will ask why I didn't do this in the beginning but when I started I had no credibility behind me.
'You have to work hard to get to that stage.
'If anyone says this is stress-free, it's not.
'There is risk that I borrow the money and then there's a property crash.
'But you're always looking to meet people who know more than you, that's the way you learn.'
Despite the everyday concerns, Mr Wilson has his eyes firmly set on retirement in three years.
He added: 'The plan is to eventually sell all the properties as my children don't want them.
'I'm happy in the house I am in and am not interested in possessions.
'I have a bucket list which includes flying a Spitfire plane, and to go around an F1 circuit.
'I want to go on a nice cruise with my wife and go to America.'
