Condo Property Podcast

Is there anything stopping the tech giants of this world, Google, Facebook, and Amazon, from becoming leading forces in the real estate industry?

They've certainly got the cash and the status to give it a good go.

Perhaps more importantly, they have all of the data! Data which they currently sell to others. So, what if they start keeping if for themselves? Michele Schirru returns to Themes to explore this very question.

Link to my article on Unissu: https://www.unissu.com/proptech-resources/might-Google-Facebook-and-Amazon-become-global-real-estate-powerhouses

Link: https://www.unissu.com/proptech-resources/Michele-Schirru-interviews-Russell-Quirk-podcast-proptech

For me, and I'm sure I am not alone on this, it's always great fun and source of inspiration to sit and listen to Russell Quirk.

He is a very influential figure when we take property into consideration. For this reason, it is not surprise that he was recently awarded as the top influencer in UK for PropTech.

Source: https://tytopr.com/top-10-influencers-in-proptech-tech500/

During the years, we've seen him involved in various conferences, events, shows, all over the UK and online. He has always been at the forefront of the discussions about the future of property and the implications the digital transformation carried to the industry.

Let's be honest, property is a sector that has been one of the slowest to adopt technology, this is true for the UK but even more for the rest of the world.

The two uncontested "trend-setters" during the last 10 years have been the US and the UK, but other regions of Europe are now trying to do their part of the job. Germany and France are definitely worth to look at in this respect, certainly the rising interest for Axel Springer in proptech firms like Homeday, initially, and Meilleurs Agents, lately, is a strong signal.

It is not all confined in there, because Spain and Finland are strengthening their position as well, and so is Italy with more than 120 proptech firms in the space for 2019.

I in fact have recently written an article here on Unissu about the rising of the italian PropTech.

But these recent developments came around just about 7 years after something started to move heavily in the UK.

The interest for Axel Springer in Meilleurs Agent is a sign that interest is moving from online estate agency, servicing directly the consumer, to a model where services are rather directed to the agents. As Russell will say later in the interview:

"I think the way forward sustainably for estate agency is to leverage agents and their personal brand and to help them with admin and compliance and so on. That's what I should have done differently. I should have become a UK Keller Williams in 2018 charging a full fee of one and a half per cent plus VAT on success."

It was 2009 when Russell founded Emoov, one the most interesting projects in the entire spectrum of proptech that has drawn attention globally. It was not the first, but certainly Russell knew how to make his way through the press and get the results grow and grow.

Back then, but even now, he's obviously been focusing a lot on online estate agency, having been mainly an estate agent for very long time.

As you might know, for Emoov things have not turned out very well. After 9 years, even after joining with Tepilo, Channel 4 and Urban.co.uk, after millions of pounds poured into the business, in 2018 Emoov went into administration and Russell had to find an alternative way to earn his living.

“I should have explored more aggressively with my board becoming a full fee agent but still using local experts still using technology still using operational centralization. And actually I've kind of come full circle when I started looking at what on earth I do for a living. In January 2019. How do I pay the school fees how do I feed my family.”

And here it comes Properganda PR and so on, as he will actually tell us in the interview...

“The obvious thing of course was PR. Because I've got a profile and reputation in property in terms of being able to gain PR coverage so it was natural that I would then do that for other people and we now have lots of...

While the quality of landlords and their understanding of the Buy-to-Let market has undoubtedly improved in recent years, there are still some fundamental mistakes that are made – both by those who are new to the business and by landlords who would consider themselves experienced.

Letting a property out is not an easy job, especially if you have never had experience with it.

The changes that are shaping the buy to let market in the UK will have a significant impact on the way business is performed. Watch out for those and speak with your preferred advisor, being an accountant or letting agent, to make sure you are prepared for it.

To ensure your investment gives the returns you want and need, you must research your local market properly and take expert advice, so that you’re able to put together accurate budgets and forecasts, with figures for prices, rents, expenditure and ta

Until the lettings market becomes regulated, the best way to protect yourself as a landlord is to engage the best agent you can find in your area.

If you don’t have the right insurance cover, you could find yourself not only out of pocket for repairs, but also with lost income from rent arrears and a heavy legal bill if you happen to be prosecuted for any accidents that occur in your property.

Too many landlords who manage lets themselves tend to take too long to take action, forgetting that if things are sorted by the tenant the process can be stopped which can result in missed rent, causing financial problems for the landlord.

Link: http://bit.ly/2nLpZyK

In this episode I will share with you a real life story, this goes back to months ago where a first time landlord, who used to live in the same property going to be let for 19 years, decided to rent it out. Obviously, the emotional attachment was quite strong, as you can imagine.

The expectations were very high, then after the first inspection carried out by the agent it emerged that the property was not looked after well enough. This was a house in multiple occupation, 5 rooms for 5 tenants all in a joint and several tenancy. This has of course caused more wear and tear, even in just a few months!

Long story cut short, there has been an issue with condensation, so in the effort to make things better the tenant has actually damaged the walls. Most likely either bleach or the wrong product was used to tackle the issue: magnolia walls became patchy white ones! Other things were part of the list, including damages to the flooring in some areas of the property.

If you thought that investing in property and becoming a landlord was something easy, think again. You should consider first the real reasons why you want to invest in buy to let properties, also with time, learn on how become emotionally attached and not take things too personal.

This would be your business, you are renting the property to make a profit, remember!

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In this podcast episode we’ve been around a very interesting topic, I would say that is essentially an evergreen of the many property investment conversations.

We’ve caught up with Michael Lawlor, Mortgage Mike, to have an understanding of the current scenarios that are surrounding the property market in relation to mortgages and financing.

He is one of the 900+ Mortgage Advisers across the UK that are part of Mortgage Advice Bureau, the leading mortgage network as well as the most recognised intermediary consumer brand.

LENDERS ARE CHANGING THE WAY THEY PROVIDE MORTGAGES

It is not secret that things are becoming harder for property investors, especially in getting mortgages around London and other parts of the UK.

The increasing values are not even keeping up with rental prices around, this means that people are having to put more money of their capital down. More capital down means that there is less exposure for the individual, but potentially a less appealing investment in terms of ROI and rental yields.

No surprise, again. This is way so many property investors are actually considering buying outside the M25, and even more in other cities and areas around the UK. So, the lesson is really that you should go where the numbers really work, and where you the operation it’s worth your while.

Another bit of conversation has touched the first time buyers aspect, which of course are part of the reasons of the implications given by the mortgage and tax changes introduced. Still, according to Mike they are not really doing that well!

Link:

In this episode of the podcast I made my point on a few very important aspects that you should take care of when considering to purchase a property investment.

This is about making sure that you do your numbers right, and essentially that you calculate your rental yield as well as you ROI.

Not sure how to work these out?

Very easy, let's start with the Gross Rental Yield, which certainly is the most immediate and useful tool to assess a deal on-the-go. You should gather and have an estimate of the assumed monthly rent, this would have to be multiplied by 12 months, the result will simply be your annual rental income.

Then, you will be dividing it by the purchase value and multiplying again by 100 in order to have a percent value. Done? Anything higher than 6% is certainly worth looking at, unless you invest in London and are looking for capital appreciation.

I know what you are thinking now, what about our costs?

Sure, lets put them into account. The way you work this out is very similar, you will get an indicator which I call Wider Gross Rental Yield.

Again, you should gather an estimate of the achievable monthly rent, this would have to be multiplied by 12 months to have your annual rental income.

Then, you will be dividing it by the purchase value plus all other costs involved in it, as an example they can be: solicitors' fees, maintenance costs, managing agents costs, leasehold extensions costs, refurbishment, etc.

Quite intuitively, the number you will get will have to be multiplied by 100 in order to have a percent value. Easy? Yep!

So, in the previous two examples you got an idea of how to calculate your income through a property investment. Let's have a look at calculate your profit.

The first option is to go through the Net Rental Yield. On this one, let's make a practical example, I think is far easier to understand.

If you buy a property for £100.000, let's say you've achieved an income of £10.000 per year (y). Finally, you have to consider around £5.000 per year (z), so you net yield (R) will be equivalent to 5%. You really calculate the standard profit formula, income minus costs. This number, will be divided by the purchase cost to give a percent figure.

Finally, king of the indicators, you want to know your ROI, the return on your investment.

Let's s stick with the same numbers used above, you buy at £100.000, you get £5.000 profit (x), you get a net rental yield worth 5%.

At this stage we add the amount of capital you've invested into the deal, let's assume £20.000 (y), and therefore have financed the difference through a mortgage.

Here is the trick, to get a final percent figure which will indicate how good the return is you will divide £5.000, your profit, by £20.000, the amount of capital you invested.

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Another day, another dollar... or another pound I shall say!

In this third episode of the series I have met with my dear friend and work colleague, Gareth Murphy! As you gather from his accent he is originally from Wales, but we both live and work in Bristol.

We have gone through a thorough conversation in relation to HMOs and the reasons why you should consider to invest in this type of tenancies.

The most important things we came up with, and we agreed on, are that you will need to dedicate more time to manage the property, however, in return, you will get more rental income.

This will ultimately make you a higher profit down the line, and get a better deal even when you face a property market so buoyant and expensive like Bristol or the South of England.

Look, I know you might be already thinking that it's not worth it, the time and hassle to take care of a few inexperienced and young tenants will really outweigh the amount of extra-money you will make.

But in here you might be wrong my friend, if you see this as a business, then the model can only work fine as you will be completely detached and objective about things. You will be able to see the reality in a different way, if the number works everything works.

And remember, you don't need to stick to a 30 minutes drive from home, you can go wider and use a managing agent. A deal is a deal, even if it's 300 miles from home!

If you rather let a property in which you've got an emotional attachment, I definitely might agree with you that you will be really getting frustrated very soon. This might not be in fact your perfect scenario and you might consider to source families instead.

I leave you to it and I hope you can get things going about it.

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Here we go, this second episode came straight after the introductory episode where I gave very quick and brief guidelines on where this podcast is going.

So, despite my Italian accent, and in spite of the fact that I offered a pizza for every subscriber, by now you've realised that I have not started this to talk about food but rather Property.

I am involved in this industry since 2007, having worked both in my home Country... and my second home, England. Obviously, until I don't end up kicked out by Nigel Farage. :)

But let's talk about business here, what's this all about? I have discussed with my only self about the property investment strategies that an investor can implement to make money out of a property.

Yes, there are so many aspects that can discussed, so many options you might consider. I essentially focussed on two of them, buy to let and buy to sell practices.

Going to synthesise it, Long Term VS Short Term strategies, and to add on top, how much time you have to dedicate... and capital of course.

I leave you to it and I hope you can get a good impression, so you can subscribe to the Podcast and refer to a friend, I would really be grateful!

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Hi, my name is Michele Schirru… but you can call me Mike.

I am sure this makes things easier! 🙂

I am the founder of The Property Basics, I created this project as a platform from where to talk about property in a comprehensive perspective.

I dedicate a particular attention in helping Property Investors to source better deals and make their way through the property jungle. Also, I would like to increase and raise the standards in the industry through better education and knowledge amongst Estate and Letting Agents.

I am in fact one myself, a Property Professional with an extensive knowledge of the industry, having worked in sales, lettings and property management. Not only that, I worked both in the UK and the Italian property business, experiencing all sorts of markets.

I am a fully licenced Professional, having achieved the so called “Patentino Immobiliare” through the Italian Chamber Of Commerce, but also have become a licenced member of ARLA, the Association of Residential Letting Agents.

This is the first episode of the series, I hope it will be a profitable one and will help you out in your journey in Property.

Cheers!