A WOMAN who grew up on a council estate and had just £2 in her account now makes £20,000 profit a month with her pal.
Leena Ahmed and Uzma Patel say they quit their “toxic” jobs in retail to set up a ‘Rent to Rent’ business at the end of 2021 and now rent out nearly 20 properties to guests on Airbnb and Booking.com.
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The 22-year-old and 21-year-old claim their business makes an average of £20,000 a month profit, which Uzma says means she no longer looks at price tags when shopping and they can buy dream cars.
After coming from low-income families and working several jobs to save up £4,000, the pair say they faced 100 rejections before securing their first tenancy – aged just 19.
The self-employed property investors say they rent apartments and houses in city centres on a corporate let agreement to then list them on property rental sites from £100 to £200 per night.
The pair, from Coventry, West Midlands, say the model lowers barriers for those wanting to get on the property ladder but who cannot afford to buy a home.
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After nearly two years in business, Leena says she now rents a house worth £1million and owns a Mercedes-Benz worth £60,000.
After recently flying first class to Dubai, Leena says the pair will probably never fly economy again as “once you fly first class or business class, you can never go back to economy”.
Leena and Uzma say they plan to go “from rich to wealthy” by investing in property and flipping houses in future.
Leena said: “We only had £2 in your Monzo account before we were juggling jobs.
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“All our jobs were really toxic. We didn’t like working long hours, getting minimum breaks and we’d get timed by the hour.
“It was really toxic with the management in both our jobs. They just saw us as a number.
“We’re both young females. We didn’t come from the best background. We come from a low-class background. [Family members] used to work £5 an hour jobs and that’s what motivated us.
“We didn’t do the best at school. I was studying law at Coventry University but I just wasn’t passionate about it.
“Together [Uzma and I] decided to start this Rent to Rent business. We’ve always wanted to get onto the property ladder but with the average house price in the UK…that price would probably be over £50,000. More than we had at the time.
“We tried to find something that had a lower barrier to entry and didn’t require us to spend more than £5,000 to start the business.
“We thought Rent to Rent was the best model to do this, where we don’t need to own the property but we can control the property to get the cash flow coming in.”
Uzma says it can be emotional looking back and reflecting on her recent success.
Uzma said: “Coming from a council house background, just growing up there has been a lot of trauma from things that I’ve seen and the label that you get.
“You shy away and don’t tell your school friends what life is actually like. Now it’s all about healing from the past and looking forward.
“It is hard to believe because it seems like we went from polar opposites – being really poor to making £20,000 per month in profit.
“Of course, we’ve also invested this money into other businesses as well so it’s not the only form of money that we make. That’s now just a small piece of the pie.
“We grew up very frugally, and now we don’t even look at price tags when it comes to going shopping. I don’t look at any price tags for my parents or my little sister.”
Both Leena and Uzma say they are now able to treat themselves and their family with the money earned from their business.
Leena said: “This Rent to Rent business of ours runs remotely. We’ve built systems in place, like cleaning teams, a maintenance team, and security teams…which allow us to make money without physically being there.
“We have some months where some properties generate £800 and sometimes properties even generate £1,500 profit. But you could say on average we make £20,000 [a month].
“We recently had a first-class Emirates flight and we are probably never going back to economy flights again. It’s a mindset shift. Once you go to first class or business class, you can never go back to economy.
“Me and Uzma have moved out of our houses and we’ve moved into a bigger house. We’re renting the house but it’s worth £1m.
“I’ve just bought my dream car, which is a Mercedes 2023 plate CLA. That car is worth £60,000.
“We do treat ourselves here and there but we want to aim to just give it back to our family.
“Uzma’s mum no longer needs to work anymore. It was only last year when her mum was working night shifts in a warehouse.
“We’ve also treated both our families to a religious pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia which cost us over £30,000.
“The cash flow that comes in has definitely helped us to become rich. And now we want to focus on how we can turn from rich to wealthy.”
Uzma documented their journey on TikTok in a post with the caption: “Me and my best friend Leena made it out of the [rat] race.”
The post received more than more than four million views, 500,000 likes, and nearly 3,100 comments.
In a comment with more than 16,000 likes, one TikTok user said: “Sometimes you just need ONE person who’s on the same wavelength as you so you can zoom together. This is beautiful. More success to you both!”
Another commented: “I love it! Well done girls. Spotting and having confidence in that ‘rent to rent’ scenario was a key game changer it seems”
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A third added: “What’s wrong with having free school meals? Or living in a council property?”
To which Uzma replied: “You go to school to get an education right..? To have a better life? Why would anyone strive to be at the bottom of the barrel? Not a great question…”
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