In 2019, Alexandra Fidoe divorced her husband and was left with no home, two children under the age of 10 and a £100,000 settlement.
Instead of returning to her corporate marketing job and buying a house – the ‘safe’ option – Ms Fidoe made the bold decision to invest her money into flipping a property.
Her interest in developing homes began the previous year after leaving her corporate marketing job to spend more time with her children.
She spotted a property in Hinckley, Leicestershir,e and thought it would be a good investment opportunity for her parents, so she helped them buy the house off-market with cash.
‘One reason we bought that first house was because of the house next door. That was a two-up, two-down which was owned by the council, and the lady who lived there had been sectioned,’ she explained to The Telegraph.
The three-bedroom 1930s semi-detached house, had previously belonged to a hoarder and came with some complications – the work was delayed by six months while they were waiting for building work to start.
But thanks to Ms Fidoe’s eye for properties the house was sold for over-the-asking price, making her parents £40,000 profit.
Unfortunately, while she was working on the house her relationship with her husband ended.
At the time she was offered a job with Weetabix, which provided a stable income, pension and company car.
However, she decided to take a risk using money from the sale of the house she bought with her ex-husband to enter the world of project development.
‘This was a turning point,’ Ms Fidoe said. ‘If I took this job, I’d have to get a nanny – and I liked the flexibility and freedom the project management work gave me. I could do the school run and balance being a mum without the guilt.’
She started off by renting a Grade II-listed farmhouse, agreeing to pay £1,000 a month to live there while also helping to manage the property’s renovations.
Despite the landlord previously saying he would up the rent once the work was done, he never did and allowed her to live there for as long as she wanted.
Ms Fidoe then decided to invest in a house in Hinckley – the area she grew up in – looking for the worst house on the best street.
She bought a bungalow, which she worked on for three months, before selling it for a profit of £60,000.
From the flip she was able to pay herself a salary and invest in her next project.
Nowadays, she has diversified, using a combination of cash and buy-to-let mortgages to buy and do up two flats, which she’s renting out.
But she estimates the turnover from her property flips comes to around £3million and after she completes her latest projects will have a portfolio worth £550,000.
She said: ‘It was a gamble, and I wasn’t always confident it was the right decision… There are times when I feel like “Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m doing this?”‘
She now believes her divorce helped her revaluate her life and enter the mindset of property development.
Ms Fidoe also documents her progress on Instagram via @alex_fidoe_property.