Just in Property

In this episode I'm joined by amazing Caroline Tolman, who alongside her husband has built a portfolio of BTLs and HMOs, and she's only started investing in properties 3 years ago!

She started by being accidental landlord, and she had a plan on how to use property to secure her pension but... once she started learning how to invest in properties smarter and use leverage - she didn't look back. Now, she enjoys being a full time property investor, landlord, mum, wife, coach... and she speaks about all of it with amazing passion, so it's clear that she loves what she does!

You will hear her story, how learning about properties, changing mindset and, most importantly, putting everything to action, have changed her life, but she also emphasizes that we all need to work with our own pace, finding the right balance between investing and everyday life.

Caroline is also helping investors who are at the beginning of their journey, so if you want to get in touch with her and work with her, here's her instagram: @carolinetolmanproperty

My guest, amazing Jo Raghvani, started working on her property business over 8 years ago. She has in her portfolio some buy to lets, but, as she mentioned herself, she always wanted to do larger projects. And recently, she finished a commercial to residential conversion with two new-builds. Sounds like a dream for an experienced property investor, right?
Well, the whole project was a big challenge, and it took her over 4 years to finish it. But, as Jo says, this was an amazing learning curve for her, not only in terms of property knowledge. She has learnt even more about herself, how to approach challenges, how to keep being focused on goals and... how to let some things go.

We talk a lot about growing your mindset, not skillset.
We talk about the importance of having people around to support you.

So after finishing this challenging project, did she decide to take some time off? Rest a bit? No.. she has 3 new projects under her belt.
Because she knows what her goal is, and that's what keeps her going!
You can find Jo on her instagram: @joraghvani_propertyuk

In this episode I'm talking about people in property.

As we walk through the process of investing in property today, you’ll see how many people are involved in the process.
We have investors - that’s obvious. But how about the many others who make up this industry? The builders, brokers, solicitors, accountants, deal sourcers – first, I will tell you what they do – that’s today. But then, I’ll be inviting many of them along to my podcast in the coming weeks to explain how they all benefit from property.

Keep an eye on the podcast to see these incredible guests in the coming episodes!

This week's podcast guest is Wojciech Kolodziejczak and we will be talking about all things networking!

Wojciech is a dear friend of mine, he is not a property investor but he is an amazing entrepreneur, expert in networking and his story is one to be inspired by. He started off unsure of a career path to take, like many others, yet was inspired by a mentor of his to look into the life of law. Wojciech decided he wanted to be a lawyer after seeing a mentor of his become a judge and after seeing how respected he was.
He then proceeded to study to become a lawyer for 10years however not long after realized it was not the career path he wanted to pursue.
He had to take a leap of faith!
Through his previous jobs working for law firms, Wojciech had been dabbling in business development and social media work and he LOVED it more than ever!
He realized that he wanted to pursue a career that revolved around these very aspects consequently looking into networking and business development. He remembered his grandad’s dear words through this transition process like ‘Money comes and goes but true relationships are key in your life’.
These words have stuck with him ever since he heard them and they’ve allowed him to secure his ideal career.
We will be talking about; networking, social media management, taking leaps of faith and doing what you love!

The man with the hat is an inspiration to many and I hope you enjoy listening to his stories through the bad and good experiences he has had!
He might even have a little Christmas present for the first few listeners!
You can get in touch with him via social media and his website: https://lifenetworker.com/

You might have heard that investing in property is very easy, that you just need to start and figure it out as you go. Well, in my opinion that's not the best way to go!

In this episode I focus on having an end goal in mind, thinking about what you want to get from property investing and which strategy is best for you. It's not a walk in the park, there will always be challenges - but when you know what you want to achieve through investing in property, it will be easier for you to keep going!

But at the very beginning, you should ask yourself: are you really up for this game?

Enjoy the episode!

In this episode of Just In Property I'm chatting with another amazing UK property investor, Seema Chand.

Previously in recruitment industry, Seema, with her husband Raj, decided to step on the property ladder in 2017. They started investing in Buy To Lets, HMOs and now they focus on mixed use and commercial projects.
Her background in recruitment services gave her a lot of skills which she was able to transfer to property investing and we talk about how important it is to have a focus on people, not only on the business side of property investing.

I really love the approach that she has and, as she stressed out many times, she really cares about people and how crucial is that in being a property investor: treating other people with respect and looking to find solutions rather than focusing only on money making deals.

She shares a lot of her knowledge, as an HMO landlord, so if you want to learn how to prepare for unexpected situations, this is an episode for you.

If you want to get in touch with Seema, you can find her on instagram: @makingmoneywithproperty

Around four years ago, when I started in property, someone in my network gave me one of the greatest pieces of advice ever: find yourself a good mortgage broker. I did, and that person is my latest podcast guest, the wonderful Rory Shackleton.

Rory Shackleton, whom I met as a mortgage broker at Trafalgar Square Financial Planning Consultants, offers his clients' monetary advice and property brokering services nationwide. He began as a broker back in 2006, after spending many years working in recruitment - in effect, swapping hunting heads for hunting mortgages! Fast-forward 15 years and Rory has arranged over 3500 mortgages (including all of mine), equating in total to an incredible 425 million pounds loaned!

But who needs a broker, right? Well, if you're investing in property, then YOU do! During the podcast, Rory and I chat about how critical it is to have a broker within your power team, equally as crucial as your builder and tradespeople, for getting each project over the line in the most efficient manner.

Rory also shares a few secrets outside of mortgage brokering - financial tips like creating an optimised BTL strategy and making the most out of your credit score. It's all incredibly useful information whether you're brand-new to property or a veteran looking to make tweaks to your processes.

What would he tell his 20-year-old self? Grab a brew and have a listen to what Rory has to say. There might just be a lightbulb moment in there waiting for you!

If you want to get in touch with Rory, you can drop him an email at: [email protected]

This episode sees another incredible UK property investor in the hot seat - one who, like me, has created a business alongside their life partner! I'm thrilled to welcome along to Just In Property, the highly successful Keith Firmin.

While Keith's journey in property only began in 2013, in less than ten years, he and his wife Kim have built a BTL business that generates over £1mil each year. Asides from investing, Keith is also a coach, helping others begin their property journey to create wealth using the BTL strategy.

Like countless people I have met, Keith came to property because he desperately wanted out of his day job. As a police officer, he had hoped for a rewarding career and instead found the time-intensive role detrimental to his life. When he was then told his pension was being halved, Keith began looking for an exit. Fortunately, with Kim already investing, he didn't need to look far, and when one day she invited Keith to join her, he snapped her arm off! Within no time and on a limited budget, the business progressed from a handful of houses to an empire - and Keith has never looked back!

What hit me most while chatting with Keith is the number of beliefs we share about property. Like the importance of education and creating a strong network of people who work in property to help you stay motivated. It seems we also agree on how we've found the property community an extremely supportive one, where people genuinely care about the success of their peers - which is great news for anyone new to property and wondering how they might fit in.

Then there is the shared experience we both have with a not-so-reputable builder... It's enough to put anyone off - but not Keith, who tells me he is much too stubborn for that!

It seems there is one thing on which we disagree - the use of vision boards! But that's property, and anyone can tweak their process to best suit their style and needs. It's this flexibility Keith enjoys the most.

How about his absolute favourite thing when it comes to investing with his partner? It's time to take a listen and find out!

Keith's IG account: @keithfirminproperty

In this episode, I will share something that I have not mentioned yet since my very first episode. I call it my driver - or my WHY.

You may have a WHY of your own - I know that many people do. In this podcast, I talk about creating a WHY and what this means. Because it is too easy to say that money is your WHY. Sure, money helps you to achieve all kinds of things. But is it your purpose? It certainly gets you towards your goals, yes. But what is it that you really want in your life?

For me? Everything is about family. Being present with my family - now, much larger than it was when I began my property journey four years ago. Yet, I already had the vision in my mind of a family filled with many children. I knew that I wanted to be around those children, spending time with them and helping them to grow. And I wanted to be in the position with my husband Jacek, where we could both do the same thing, sharing the experience.

Success comes from two things: your purpose and your mindset. Nothing is ever easy to achieve, it takes hard work and steadfast dedication. It's one thing to establish your WHY and another entirely to remain focused on it - not some of the time but ALL of the time.

Enjoy the episode!

I recently shared a bonus edition podcast featuring myself and Liv, recorded for her series, 'Too Big for your Boots'. The difference with this one is that it's not Liv in the driving seat asking all the questions - it's ME!

If you listened previously, you already know a little about Liv and her successful 7-figure property staging business. What you might have missed is that Liv was just 16 years old when she set up 'The Property Stagers', which she did to help her property investor Mum move a house she'd been battling for months to sell. In came Liv to give the place a makeover, which not only secured a buyer within days, but they were happy to purchase the house with all the staging furniture included. Not a bad start for a young girl with little experience in an area of property at the time relatively unknown to the UK market!

It took Liv just 18 months for her business to reach the million pounds club. She admits it has not been a walk in the park but accredits her success to a strong mindset, making good decisions early and keeping the company of other entrepreneurs. Nowadays, Liv employs a strong team to give her time to focus on her latest venture, coaching other entrepreneurs helping them to build their businesses – and not only in property. While she still has a whole system for people who want to start a staging business, Liv's coaching and mastermind programme supports all types of business owners - beauty and skincare, hospitality, retailers and online training providers - successfully staging brands as well as staging houses.

Budding property entrepreneurs can learn many tips listening to Liv. I certainly did as one of her mentees - she is part of the reason I set up my fast-growing staging business!

A true inspiration, I know you'll benefit from listening to my latest episode with Liv. Of course, having her own podcast series, you can expect her to switch the odd question back to me too!

Enjoy listening.