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News: Former Big Brother star now has large buy to let empire

Mon, 30 Nov 20

The first-ever winner of Big Brother in the year 2000 says his best decision was not going on the show, but going into buy to let.

Former bricklayer Craig Phillips made hundreds of thousands of pounds directly and indirectly from the show on Channel 4. 

However Phillips - who lives in Liverpool and now hosts DIY shows on the website mrandmrsdiy.tv - says his real business is buy to let.

He told the Daily Mail: “My best purchase was probably a four-storey house in Liverpool which I bought at auction for £11,200 in 2002. I spent £140,000 doing it up and have been renting it out ever since. It's probably now worth between £350,000 and £400,000.”

Phillips owns 23 BTL units - some houses, some apartments - in and around Liverpool.

He’s recently built his own home on the outskirts of the city. “The land cost me £300,000 and the build itself has cost me about £750,000 because I did a lot of the work myself. I think it's probably worth about £1.5m.”

He adds that he favours property over both pensions and dabbling in the stock market.

“My mum and stepfather had saved into a pension plan and it didn't work out well for them, so I lost faith in pensions. I don't invest in the stock market either. I don't feel I know enough about it.”

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