"Don't give up - it's not impossible!"

This is the message from Rammy and Nathalie Smith to young people trying to get a foot on the Bermuda property ladder.

"I think it's incumbent on people to tell their stories to inspire other people," says Mr. Smith.

He recalls how 12 or so years ago, he and his wife used to rent a small appartment on Ferrars Lane. They would walk past Lansdowne house on Richmond Road and say: "That's a nice house", never dreaming that one day they would own the four bedroom property themselves.

Lansdowne was not the first house they bought. It all started about ten years ago when they had an opportunity to buy a property called Bon-Air. The elderly owner was not resident in Bermuda and she agreed to sell it to the couple on a rent to buy basis.

In effect, she gave them a mortgage over the property and instead of taking one lump capital sum, took monthly payments from them in the same way that a lender would.

Mr. Smith admits that they were very lucky that the lady agreed to this arrangement. "God bless her!" he says.

But it took more than luck to get them where they are today. The main ingredients were sheer hard work and thinking outside the box.

When they first purchased Bon-Air, it had been partially converted and for a while they rented out the upper level appartment. Later they restored it to its original state and decided to rent it to an exempt company worker.

They moved into a smaller cottage and used the rental income from Bon-Air to pay their mortgage and to cover their own rent.

"Sometimes you have to sacrifice in order to have somewhere better later," says Mrs. Smith.

After a few years they had Bon Air appraised and found that it had increased in value. They took out a second mortgage over the property and purchased another property to rent for executive rental.

Mrs. Smith says: "A lot of people own a house and pay a mortgage for years and don't realise that they are building up equity that they could use for collateral."

At this stage the Smiths owned two properties which were rented to executives and were themselves living in a small rental property with one small child. They were also running their own company, Bermuda Coatings Ltd.

At times it was extremely stressful, says Mrs. Smith. There were times when it was a struggle to meet all their obligations, but she says: "We have never been late with a single payment."

They both believe that it was crucial to have a good relationship with their lender, Capital G.

When Mrs. Smith found out that she was pregnant with twins and they needed to find a larger house, Capital G were were quick to give them the support they needed.

When they found Lansdowne, there were other potential buyers who could have got in before them. Mrs. Smith remembers being on the phone to Capital G. and asking "What's the most I can offer?". The bank came back with an immediate response and the Smiths were able to steal a march on the other bidders.

They sold Bon-Air to buy Lansdowne but have held on to their other property as an investment. "I've never invested in the stock market and I never will." says Mr. Smith.