[Spotlight] What Does It Really Take to Invest in Property as a Dentist?

What does it actually look like when a dentist builds a property portfolio from scratch — and what happens when it doesn't go to plan?

In this spotlight episode of Just4Dentists, Dr Ruth Baidoo shares a key moment from her conversation with Dr Satinder Kelley, a cosmetic and implant dentist and experienced property investor with over two decades of experience building wealth beyond the dental chair.

In this clip Satinder covers:

• How his first Birmingham flat almost doubled in value within 18 months and the moment he realised property could be a serious wealth building tool
• Why he now actively steers clear of flats and what the three levers of a successful property investment actually are
• The overseas property disaster that ended with a squatter, a legal battle and handing the keys back to the bank — and why he'd never buy outside the UK again
• The specific regions and property types he'd focus on today and why the rules of property investment have changed significantly

It's refreshingly honest, occasionally surprising and packed with practical insight that any dentist thinking about property investment will find genuinely useful.

🎧 Listen to the full episode on the Just4Dentists feed for the complete conversation, including expert analysis from Martin Febery and Andrew Brown on whether buy to let is still a realistic wealth building strategy for dentists today.

Whether you're a newly qualified dentist thinking about your first property purchase, an associate looking to build additional income streams, or an experienced dentist wondering whether your property strategy is actually working for you — this episode is essential listening.

Have a question, or want expert insight?
 📩 Email info@j4d.co.uk

💬 Join the Just4Dentists Facebook community to keep the conversation going: https://www.facebook.com/groups/just4dentists/

Presented by Dr Ruth Baidoo

Produced by Your Podcast Producer for the Just4Dentists team 

Additional Information:

Just4Dentists: https://j4d.co.uk/

Dr Ruth Baidoo: https://dr-ruth-dentist.com/

Your Podcast Producer: https://www.yourpodcastproducer.com/

Dr Satinder Kelley: https://heathdental.com/

Music Credits:

InPlusMusic: ‘Funk Funky Beat Music’

Raspberry Music: ‘Feel Good’

Cold_Fire: ‘Base and Claps’

Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute formal financial or legal advice. Every dentist’s career pathway and financial situation is unique; therefore, you should not rely on this content as a substitute for professional advice tailored to your specific circumstances. The value of investments can go down as well as up, and past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Transcript

Dr Ruth Baidoo 0:00

Hi, I'm Dr. Ruth Baidoo, and this is Just 4Dentists. Every fortnight, I spotlight a moment from one of my recent conversations that I think is especially useful for dentists thinking about their long-term future. In the latest episode, I sat down with dentist and property investor, Dr. Satinder Kelley, and we talked about what it really means to build financial stability alongside a long clinical career. Here's a short clip from that conversation.

Dr Satinder Kelley 0:23

I bought my first flat in Birmingham when there weren't many flats in Birmingham at all. So Symphony Court was the first one, and I bought my flat maybe two years after qualifying, and I had it for a year and a half, and it went up by a significant amount of money. It almost doubled in value. Wow. I thought, cracker, this is easy. Wow, within a year and a half. It's just crazy. Probably not even, I think it went up. I'm going from memory. It went up about 100,000 in that period of time. People just wanting to live in the city and there was just nothing else available. So I sold that and I moved out of the city because I was spending too much time going to bars and restaurants and clubs and not getting enough rest. So I thought I did that bit. It's time to move out. So I moved slightly further out, um, sort of within Birmingham, bought another apartment, stayed there for a year. That went up about 50,000. I thought, hell, onto something here. And then I bought three, four more across the country. So bought one in Liverpool, one in Manchester, one in London, another one in Birmingham, and rented those out. And just rented those out. And it gave me a really nice passive income. Uh and my dad had always said to me, look, make your money work for you. Don't work for your money. And his line was earn money while you sleep, but have integrity. That was that was the thing he said to me always. Um and that was brilliant. That worked really, really well. Lots of cash flow, lots of equity in the in the block in the boxes themselves, and then capital growth, which, as you know, in property has been pretty predictable for the past 20 years. It's not as um lucrative now because of all the government regulations and the government laws and tax laws have all changed. I've got a blend of houses, flats, and commercial units. I've learned over the, especially now, to try and steer clear of flats as much as possible. Um, stick to houses and commercial units.

Dr Ruth Baidoo 2:30

Any particular reason for that?

Dr Satinder Kelley 2:32

Yeah, your capital growth on your flats is slow, very, very slow, and predominantly because there's so many being built. And Birmingham's a prime example. We are swamped in Birmingham. Um and also your management costs are huge because you don't own you don't own the freehold. So you're paying leaseholder management costs. Service charges are huge, so your cash flow is limited, your equity growth is limited, and your capital growth is limited. You need all three levers really to make a property successful. So I would stick to houses now, ideally small houses, where your yield, you're looking for an 8 to 10% yield. And for that, at the moment, it's northeast and Scotland. Anywhere else in the UK isn't really working that well at the moment. So going forward, that would be so currently I still have seven properties, and it's still heavily, I'd say 50% of them are still apartments, which you can't, it's hard to sell them as well. Houses can flip if you want to sell. I didn't mention before I bought a property overseas as well. Don't buy a property overseas.

Dr Ruth Baidoo 3:37

And you can you go just unpack that a little bit more for me.

Dr Satinder Kelley 3:40

So I bought a um if you can. Yeah, no problem. I bought um a property about 15 years ago in Duquesa, which is by Marbella. Because you're not you you know the British system, you know the English system and how it works. You don't know how things work in Spain. And their tax system's different. Their okay, their processes are different. I ended up having uh a squatter who didn't leave. So you end up paying everything, you're getting no rent, you're getting sued by the Spanish system. I ended up handing the keys back to the bank and so they go, you have it. So I wouldn't buy overseas again. I'd buy somewhere where I know the regulations, I know the law, I know people here can help me if something doesn't go right. Um so yeah, I think stick to houses.

Dr Ruth Baidoo 4:32

Now that was just one part of a much bigger conversation about ownership and planning ahead in dentistry. If you'd like to hear the full episode of Dr. Satinder Kelley, you can find it now on Just 4Dentists wherever you get your podcasts. And make sure you follow and subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes.