Savvy landlord strikes gold after turning driveway into ‘£36k a year’ car park

A savvy Birmingham landlord has struck gold by spending £20,000 turning his driveway into a car park for hospital workers.

Akeel Ahmed, 33, owns a property next to the Heartlands Hospital and when he realised the site charged £10.20 a day for parking he saw an opportunity.

He now undercuts the competition by charging £5 for all-day parking and the dad-of-three also has his eyes on the school run market with £2 offers for drop-off and pick-up slots at the start and end of weekdays.

Akeel now has space for 20 cars and operates a system where customers simply drop the cash through the letterbox and head off about their business.

If Akeel is able to keep his parking bays fully booked he could end up earning himself £700 a week or £36,400 a year.

Akeel's lightbulb moment came last October when a driver visiting the hospital asked if he could park on his drive, at the Alston Road and Bordesley Green East, and handed him £5 "for his trouble".

Speaking to BirminghamLive, Akeel explained how he had made his ambitious plans work.

He said: "I sorted the whole place which cost £20,000. That included the dig, materials and labour. It took about three weeks because I wanted it in a way you go in and go out. There will be 20 bays at a push, at the moment it is 18. It's a work in progress.

  • Pablo Escobar's 'cocaine hippos' declared 'invasive' with big population spike predicted

"The first few months were quiet but over the last six weeks it has picked up. It's mainly hospital users, patients and staff. I've have had a few nurses park up.

"Everyone who has approached me says it's brilliant. It's right opposite the hospital, on the dual carriageway, it's convenient and I'm making use of the land.

"I think it's going to be worth it. I'm making the area nicer as it was very overgrown. I contacted the council and they saw it as a positive."

To stay up to date with all the latest news, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.

Source: Read Full Article