Aged just 16, Kaine Harris lives at home with his mum in the centre of Chester – but he is no ordinary teenager.
He is a promising boxer who has just fought off cancer and is now staking his claim to be Britain’s youngest property entrepreneur and landlord.
Kaine is highly skilled at sniffing out property deals to sell to wealthy investors. In the space of just three months he made £14,500, leaving his mum and nan ‘gobsmacked.’
He is now working on his biggest deal yet – a hotel venture in Blackpool in partnership with another entrepreneur.
Kaine left Queens Park High School in Chester earlier this year and admits to being a bad pupil, constantly arriving late and leaving early.
“I’d wake up knowing I’ve just got school. It was so boring. I could never pay attention in class. Now I do something that I really enjoy you won’t get one person saying that I’m a bit childish or a bit loud, but in school you’d think I was the worst guy in the world.”
Kaine with his business guru Samuel Leeds. Picture courtesy of SL Education
Only his drama teacher saw the potential in him, telling him he was going to be successful.
It was during his unhappy spell at school that he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of blood cancer.
“I had a big lump in my neck and everywhere I went, even on a bus or a train, people would say you’ve got a lump, you need to get it checked out.”
Kaine was diagnosed with cancer just days after winning a Battleground junior boxing title in Stoke-on-Trent against an older rival.
The youngster fought the disease with the same spirit he demonstrates in the ring. He had a operation at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Hospital followed by months of chemotherapy.
“My school let me have weeks off for the treatment, but I was always in the gym. I’d never really let it affect me or stop me.
“Normally, when someone gets told they’ve got cancer and need chemotherapy they’d be like, ok I’ve got three months to do nothing. But that’s where the depression kicks in, and that’s where you start overthinking and treat yourself as a victim.
“I don’t get scared about things, but all my family members were crying. I told them if anyone was going to cope with it, it’d be me. I’ve got a mindset where nothing really affects me.”
Kaine first became hooked on property when he was 15 after coming across some Tik Tok videos posted by Samuel Leeds, a multi-millionaire property developer and trainer who also left school at 16. Mr Leeds is still only 33 and is worth around £20m today.
The teenager messaged him on Instagram, never really expecting a reply as the businessman has a huge social media presence, with nearly half a million followers on YouTube alone.
Kaine was stunned when Mr Leeds responded and took it as a sign to pursue his ambition with vigour.
He says his mum Maria was ‘fuming’ when he skipped school on a Friday to attend a £1 property crash course in Birmingham.
“She’s glad I went now though,” he adds.
After completing his GCSEs and leaving school, Kaine asked Mr Leeds if he could enrol on his academy because he wanted to become financially free. The high-profile businessman hesitated on two counts – Kaine had just turned 16 and couldn’t afford it.
Undeterred, the teenager assured him his ‘nan’ had authorised it and would pay his fees.
“To be honest my nan was a bit sceptical about it all, but she loves me and agreed to help me. I was too young to get a loan myself, so she took one out to help me.”
Just a week after joining the academy Kaine hit the jackpot.
“I sold a property deal for £4,000 to an investor. I went to view the place and worked out it would be a 25 per cent return on investment. If I had had the money at the time I would have put it into this, but I also knew some investors by just being at the courses and speaking to people.
“So, I said, well I haven’t got the cash, so do you want it? Just give me £4,000 for doing all the numbers and stuff. I’ll help you out with everything. I got £4,000 that night.
“When the money came into my bank, I was like ‘this really works!’ I then called my mum into the room to tell her. She asked me for evidence about where I got it from.
“She was thinking I must have done something really stupid online. I said ‘No, no, I’ve sold a deal. I’ve worked for it.”
His mum takes him to all his property viewings as he cannot drive. The teenage entrepreneur also attends networking events in Chester, Manchester and occasionally in London.
“If you meet people face to face, you automatically gain respect, especially if you can speak well. You learn how to introduce your character and then get their phone number.”
When Kaine was previously trying to sell deals at business events, he would simply introduce himself as ‘a deal sourcer from Chester.’
“I wasn’t going round speaking to people. I was just sat there waiting for them to speak to me. It wasn’t that I had no confidence. It was just that I didn’t really know what to do or say.”
That soon changed and he began networking ‘like mad.’ He now has 60 investors on his contact list. A fortnight after landing his first sourcing commission, Kaine sold two more bespoke deals and then more followed.
“I ended up selling five deals and after three months on the academy I had £14,500.”
The money more than covered his nan’s loan and he picked up vital business lessons along the way.
In addition to packaging and selling deals, Kaine controls two rental properties in Wolverhampton and London, plus a hotel in Blackpool. He reached an agreement with the owners of all the properties to pay them a guaranteed monthly rent. In return, he is allowed to rent it out for a higher amount, keeping any profit he makes.
The rent-to-rent strategy has become increasingly popular amongst property investors as it can benefit both parties.
Kaine improves the accommodation at his own expense, and takes over the day-to-day running of the property from the owner.
His rent-to-rent in Wolverhampton earns him £500 a month after expenses. The agreement is in his mother’s name as he is under 18, but it was his vision and he views himself as the landlord. He negotiated the deal, gave the place a makeover and manages all the promotional work to bring in guests.
The London property is a joint venture and his share of the profits averages £600 a month. The Blackpool hotel is also a joint venture and is his most exciting project to date.
“We’ve calculated that the hotel needs around £60,000 spending on improvements, but once that’s been done I’ve calculated that my share of the rental profits will be at least £4,000 to £5,000 a month.”
His 59-year-old grandmother Dariko works nine to five on a minimum wage and he is keen to reward her for supporting him at the start of his journey.
“I want to retire my nan as soon as I can because of what she did for me. That’s my big goal.”
Kaine is now cancer free and hopes to box again in March 2025, exactly a year after his treatment started. When he is in London, he spars with Mr Leeds in a gym in High Wycombe. His guru is hugely impressed by the progress the teen has made.
“I’ve come across a lot of 18-year-olds in property, but I’m not aware of any 16-year-olds doing what Kaine does. His confidence and the way he carries himself is just incredible.
“I’m extremely proud of what he’s achieved. He’s making £4,000 o £5,000 a month from the deal selling alone. I know from first-hand experience that he packs one heck of a punch as a boxer too!”
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