Ajay Ahuja (businessman)
Ajay Ahuja (born 28 December 1971) is an English author and buy to let landlord.
Early life
Ahuja was born and raised in Harlow, Essex, attended Stewards Academy, Harlow College and the London School of Economics and went on the become a chartered accountant working for Deloittes. He resigned at age 27 to become an entrepreneur. He says that a miracle metaphysics book he read while in college changed his life.
Career
Ahuja had a starting investment of just £500. He let out his first property in 1997 and he called the profits "beer money". By 2006 he had built up a portfolio of 150 properties worth more than £10m by buying properties with buy to let mortgages and remortgaging these to raise deposits to buy even more properties. In 2005 he was ranked number 7 in the Young Asian Rich List. He was featured in the BBC's Money Programme in connection with the phenomenon called "fly to let" where property investors were investing further afield. By 2015 he owned 200 properties worth £14m however he stated he was selling up and reinvesting in cheaper areas due to tax changes
He has written 15 non-fiction books and 5 novels. His most successful book to date is The Buy To Let Bible which has sold more than 100,000 copies.
Controversies
Northern Rock
Ahuja was accused of profiting from other people's misery and given nicknames such as "Repo Hunter" and "Property Jackal" for his ruthless approach of buying repossessed homes.
Arson and firearms incident
One of his maintenance men had a gun pulled on him and two of his buy to let flats sustained significant fire damage in 2009 in Helensburgh, Scotland.
Funding cuts for libraries
He was critical about proposed cuts to funding for libraries insisting that the community gets a far greater return from the investment.
Personal life
Ahuja lives with his wife Hana Mayerova at their 6 bed Georgian house in Cambridgeshire. He is the brother of the journalist Anjana Ahuja. He is a keen car collector. His 1995 Bentley Continental R was featured on the front page of Classic Car Weekly.
Bibliography
Nonfiction
- Ahuja, Ajay (2001). The Buy To Let Bible. Lawpack Publishing.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2002). Buy to Let Property Hotspots. How To Books.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2002). Property Hotspots in London. How To Books.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2003). The Seven Pillars of Buy To Let Wisdom. Lawpack Publishing.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2004). Property Hotspots in Spain. How To Books.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2004). Property Hotspots Around The World. How To Books.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2004). 7 Steps To Leaving The Rat Race. How To Books.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2004). You Property And Your Pension. How To Books''.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2004). How To Get on the Property Ladder. How To Books.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2005). Beating The Property Clock. How To Books.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2005). Investing in Student Buy To Let. How To Books.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2005). How To Make A Fortune on the Internet. How To Books.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2011). How To Make Money From Property. How To Books.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2016). Hey Dickhead Read This! AAP Books.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2016). How To Give Up Drinking Fast And Stay Sober. AAP Books.
Fiction
- Ahuja, Ajay (2015). Beyond Vengeance. AAP Books.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2016). Charlie. AAP Books.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2016). Own Goal. AAP Books.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2016). Television. AAP Books.
- Ahuja, Ajay (2016). Trouble at Work. AAP Books.