My guest this week, Tom Charrier, didn't intend to have anything to do with managing his properties when he started out – but after one awful experience, he decided to take matters back into his own hands.

Now, he and his wife manage their small portfolio of HMOs themselves – and consider their ability to pick the right tenants and build strong relationships to be the biggest strength in their business.

Listen to this week’s show and hear:

*The experience that put Tom off from ever working with a letting agent again...

*...and how he could easily have avoided it

*The clever marketing Tom does to find his tenants

*Why Tom finds it so essential to do his own viewings - and the thoroughly bizarre experience that confirmed it!

*The checklist he uses to make sure things go right, every time

*The advice Tom would give to someone else who's planning to self-manage

Self-managing can be tough. Self-managing HMOs can be really tough. So, self-managing HMOs from abroad...surely that's not a good idea?

Well, my guest this week Richard Dyke makes it work – managing his portfolio (including a couple of small multi-lets) from Bergen in Norway. Richard visits several times a year for inspections and maintenance, and has all sorts of little hacks in place to make sure the distance isn't too much of a challenge.

See this episode on the Property Geek website: https://www.propertygeek.net/podcast/self-manage-from-overseas

Self-managing can be tough. Self-managing HMOs can be really tough. So, self-managing HMOs from abroad...surely that's not a good idea?

Well, my guest this week Richard Dyke makes it work – managing his portfolio (including a couple of small multi-lets) from Bergen in Norway. Richard visits several times a year for inspections and maintenance, and has all sorts of little hacks in place to make sure the distance isn't too much of a challenge.

Listen to this week’s show and learn:

*How Richard came to be managing his properties from such a distance

*Why using a letting agent originally wasn't an option for him

*How he finds his tenants

*How he uses his existing tenants as unpaid letting agents!

*The most challenging situation he's faced as a landlord

*The advice Richard would offer to other landlords looking to do it themselves

This episode kicks off a new series about lettings and management: not the glamorous part of property that it's easy to pack out seminars about, but the very important bit that makes sure your investment runs profitably, smoothly and legally.

To get the series started I'm joined by Joanne Dron – a landlady of 13 years and a letting agent too – to run through some of the recent and upcoming changes that should be on your radar. Many of them have been poorly publicised – so it's well worth taking half an hour to make sure you're up to speed on everything that could land you in hot water if you're not paying attention...

See this episode on the Property Geek website: https://www.propertygeek.net/podcast/new-lettings-legislation

This episode kicks off a new series about lettings and management: not the glamorous part of property that it's easy to pack out seminars about, but the very important bit that makes sure your investment runs profitably, smoothly and legally.

To get the series started I'm joined by Joanne Dron – a landlady of 13 years and a letting agent too – to run through some of the recent and upcoming changes that should be on your radar. Many of them have been poorly publicised – so it's well worth taking half an hour to make sure you're up to speed on everything that could land you in hot water if you're not paying attention...

Listen to this week’s show and learn:

* The most common mistakes that self-managing landlords make

* Why taking properties back from agents could be a false economy

* The actions you need to take to make sure your "easy" eviction isn't challenged in court

* What you need to do to cover yourself when it comes to repairs

* What the rise of property licensing means for landlords

* The proposals for HMO licensing, and their likely effects

* What Joanne recommends you do today to make sure your tenancy continues to run smoothly

In this series of the podcast we've been looking at "turning pro" – how to embrace the mindset of a professional investor, so you can continue to thrive despite the more challenging conditions for property investors.

During this quick series wrap-up episode I revisit the major themes we've covered, draw some lessons we can take from what we've heard, and look ahead to what's coming up in the next series.

See this episode on the Property Geek website: https://www.propertygeek.net/podcast/turning-pro

In this series of the podcast we've been looking at "turning pro" – how to embrace the mindset of a professional investor, so you can continue to thrive despite the more challenging conditions for property investors.

During this quick series wrap-up episode I revisit the major themes we've covered, draw some lessons we can take from what we've heard, and look ahead to what's coming up in the next series.

Listen to this week’s show and learn:

*Why I've put such an emphasis on investing away from home in this series

*What we can learn from all my guests who've recently made changes to their strategies

*The key ingredients to embracing a "professional" mindset

*My main takeaways from this series

*What topic we're going to be covering in the next series

The theme of this series has been "turning pro" – so what better way to wrap it up than to speak to someone who's been a professional trader and investor for over 30 years?

Jonathan Schuman holds around 300 commercial and residential properties, and has his own private "agency" to manage them. When the credit crunch hit, Jonathan was perfectly positioned with his contacts and knowledge to profit while everyone else was panicking – and he took bold action to seize the opportunity and rapidly scale his portfolio.

Our conversation touches on the property cycle, what constitutes a "deal", and where the opportunities are in today's market. Prepare to feel in equal parts inspired and inadequate...

See this episode on the Property Geek website: https://www.propertygeek.net/podcast/amateur-vs-professional

In this series so far we’ve been talking about all the changes affecting our sector, and what investors should be thinking about as a result. In today’s episode, I catch up with three Property Geek listeners who have all rethought their strategy recently – to find out what they were doing before, what they’re doing now, and what factors played into their decision.

See this episode on the Property Geek website: https://www.propertygeek.net/podcast/changing-strategies

Buying in an area you're unfamiliar with is scary enough – but David Barker bought his first without seeing it, and his next was a complicated five-unit site in a town he'd never been to.

Both had happy endings, but were very different experiences along the way. I spoke to David to learn how he got the courage and confidence to take calculated risks, and learn the often-glossed-over truth of how complicated an investment can be...

See this episode on the Property Geek website: https://www.propertygeek.net/podcast/away-from-home