A woman has told the ECHO how she swapped pantomime for property investment and now has a portfolio of buy to let homes and holiday lets running the length of the Lancashire coast.
Kristina Castellina, who now lives in south Liverpool, moved from the Midlands and Scotland as a child before heading to Blackpool with her family in her teens.
It was in the seaside town that she fell in love with performing, but it wasn't until she was a singer in a band in London, living gig by gig, that she started to look at jobs elsewhere.
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The start of her property career was a gamble; Kristina went to a free seminar that was intended as a sales pitch and ended up spending £18,000 for their two-year programme.
She told the ECHO: "I had some savings to buy my first home as I was renting. My mum and dad called me a lunatic but I had a gut feeling."
Kristina bought her first properties with a joint venture partner; a retiree who was cash rich but didn't want to do any of the work.
"I was really good with putting the time in - viewing houses, making contacts," she added. "We shared the profits and started doing flips and house shares. We also bought a commercial property of five flats.
"That all got me started, but after that I wanted to start buying in my name. I started small. My first one was a £35,000 flat that was on the market for £60,000. I got a mortgage for the full amount then spent £10,000 on it.
Kristina said she stuck to this formula "like glue" and by the time she had ten buy-to-let properties she moved into holiday homes.
Her portfolio now includes three grand buildings on the Lancashire Coast, including Empress Hall in Blackpool, a quirky party house.
Even Kristina's husband, a police officer that she met on Tinder when she was in Liverpool by chance, is involved in the business.
She added: "At this stage in the portfolio you look at consolidating, but then the other part of my brain just wants more."
Lucky for the couple, the diversity of their portfolio has shielded them somewhat from the cost of living crisis. Kristina also thinks it's important to have affordable buy to lets.
Kristina said: "They're cheap and cheerful, I've made them really nice inside and look after my tenants. The stability is in buy to lets. I've stuck to affordable housing so they're not paying massive amounts.
"A lot of my tenants get help from the government in one way or another. There's a lot of landlords who are very snotty towards it. I think it's actually recession-proof. People can't lose jobs they haven't got. A lot of people are also hard working who just find themselves in different situations.
"I just want good people to live in my houses. As long as they can pay the rent and treat it as a home, that's all I care about as a landlord."
Although now settled in Woolton with her family of four, Kristina doesn't have any plans to break into the Liverpool market just yet.
She added: "I think it's something maybe down the line. I see opportunities, but all my team is in Blackpool and I like the separation."
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