Member Article

Blackpool Mum and Property Investor Knocks BBC Dragon Steven Bartlett Off The Top of the Book Charts

This month, entrepreneurial mum of two, Kristina Castellina, 37, from Blackpool, is celebrating having made one of her childhood dreams come true as she became an author, whilst accelerating her mission of making property investing more accessible, as ‘Starting from £0 - How to Invest in Property Using Other People’s Money’ stormed the Amazon charts, to become a No.1 in six categories, knocking Entrepreneur, Speaker, Investor, Author, BBC Dragon, and the host of one of Europe’s biggest podcasts… Steven Bartlett off the top spot in the Business and Investing category.

Kristina’s book also became number one in the Personal Finance category, overtaking a book that helped change her own path - ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ by Author, Robert Kiyosaki. She also overtook BBC Strictly Come Dancing Judge, Shirley Ballas in the Movers and Shakers category, which is apt as Kristina is on a mission to shake up the industry, which she describes as ‘very daunting and intimidating’, and to make property investing as accessible as possible to help ‘normal people’ build some financial security. Kristina, who has made her mark as a successful woman in property, felt a responsibility to share the knowledge she has gained over the last eight years, after investing her life savings into learning the ropes herself.

She wants others to be able to enter the market, ‘with a good grounding’, and is keen to highlight that young women can achieve incredible things in property, even starting with nothing. Describing herself as ‘green’ and ‘in awe’ when she first stepped into the space, Kristina has navigated people’s lack of belief in her and obstacles to raising finance, to create a business and lifestyle for herself and her family which she now loves, being able to work flexibly around her young children and enjoy regular passive income from her properties.

She said: “I learnt from the experts when I started out, but when there was no-one like me teaching this stuff. I feel like presently there aren’t enough property books written by women. They’re mostly very corporate looking books written by men, for men. I wanted to change that, and bring some sparkle, whilst delivering a book that has some pretty life changing information in. It is jam packed with strategies, techniques and property secrets that most people don’t know about.”

The book covers a much wider range of content than your average property book, exploring overall well-being and how to be the best versions of you and getting the reader to address relationships with money, before then diving into property investing practicalities. The book invites the reader to ‘Find their VaVa Voom’ so they can too create ‘Property Magic’ - it then guides them down the path of how to do just that and she invites the reader to be playful with it: “Think of the world of property investing as your playground, filled with endless possibilities and opportunities. You have the power to shape your own destiny. How exciting is that?”

Kristina, who traveled the world as a professional singer and performer in her initial career, has built an impressive multi million-pound property portfolio over the past few years, after realising she craved more security than a career in entertainment could provide. Despite performing at venues such as MGM Grand in Vegas and singing alongside the likes of Bonnie Tyler and other celebrities, as Kristina started to think about starting a family she was desperate to provide them with more stability than she’d had growing up and so retrained to take a different path, investing her life savings into mastering the art of property development.

She said; “I knew that if I ever stopped singing, my income stopped instantly and this left me feeling vulnerable and at the beck and call of others - something I vowed I would never be again. I started to read business books and got hooked on one called ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’, (it’s now mind-blowing to think my book is now sitting alongside this book in the book charts!); Author Robert Kiyosaki advocates the importance of financial literacy, financial independence and building wealth through investing in assets, property investing, starting and owning businesses, as well as increasing financial intelligence. I enjoyed the books so much that I went to a free seminar to hear more about it, then after a single two-hour presentation I immediately signed up to become a part of their world, subsequently also spending my life savings on further training and mentoring.”

Kristina’s parents were horrified by her commitment of nearly £20K, but within a year Kristina had completed on two houses and she hasn’t looked back since. Since 2014, Kristina has purchased over 35 properties, financing every deal creatively by working with private investors, offering them higher than average interest rates. She currently owns 11 Airbnb properties, with Empress Hall, a 178 sq metre unused building, which she has transformed into a party and retreat ‘celebration house’, being her flagship and one of her best performing properties.

She has already spread her knowledge globally by being a ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ speaker, speaking all over the world, and also has been a speaker for Martin Roberts property brand, but as she’s expanded into mentoring others and teaching people how to invest in property creatively, (she’s helped people raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for property deals and also replace their job incomes with property even when they are starting without any finance), she felt the book was a natural progression of her career.

Passionate about building up the amount of property investors there are in the UK, Kristina believes this is essential for a number of reasons. She said: “Firstly, there’s a logistical problem that needs fixing - supply and demand. In 2023, there’s now 735,000 less properties on the rental market than there was in 2022. We need property investors bringing good quality properties to the rental market. (source NRLA)”

“Secondly, I want to empower more people to have the financial security I have, especially at a time when costs can feel so out of our control - the more we take control of our finances the more we become empowered”.

“Lastly, in relation to female property investors I love what they bring to the party. I’ve found that my property portfolio is diverse but directional. All my properties have a job to do - from the buy to lets for families wanting a home to bring their children up in, to the properties that house charities supporting asylum seekers and other vulnerable adults and children, to the beautiful escapism holiday apartments, with unbeatable sea views. All provide elements of what I lacked growing up - whether it be a sense of stability and familiarity, or an escapism from the stresses of everyday life. Where we spend our time has a huge impact on our mental well-being and I feel so connected to my passion and purpose of property investing because it also enables me to play a part in creating supportive environments for others too in this way. I find women connect much more to the purpose of their property overall.”

Growing up in a working class family Kristina, who was awarded Property Investor of the Year 2022, is proving that it doesn’t matter where you start but it’s where you decide to end up that counts.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chocolate PR .