Latest / The Property Unleashed Podcast / 4 Deals And Counting, Rent 2 Rent Success With Chris Doughty

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4 Deals And Counting, Rent 2 Rent Success With Chris Doughty · The Property Unleashed Podcast

• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to the Property Analyse podcast with me, your host, mark Fitzgerald, and today I have a special treat.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: I have one of our previous guests joining me again.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Chris Daughty is here.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Chris was last on the podcast at episode 191.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: So it's great to have you back on, chris.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: How are you?
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, really good.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: Thank you, Mark.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: How are you?
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: I'm living the dream, as always, my friend living the dream.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: So Chris started his rent-to-rent business this year and he's been steady away growing it.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: So how are things going?
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: You know what's?
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: Where are you up to at the moment, chris?
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: We're up to it.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: We've just taken on another three HMOs, that's with 17 units within it, so we're just on the road to filling that one up.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: It came with a small amount of tenants.
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: There's some work to do in the properties which we've agreed with the landlady.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: All pricing, structures and everything's been agreed, contracts signed and we got the keys last Friday.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Well done, congratulations, absolutely brilliant.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: So how many properties and rooms and stuff are you up to now?
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: So with other people that aren't my own.
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: I've got four HMOs in total, and that's a total of 22 rooms, and then I have some rentals of my own as well Absolutely marvelous.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Well, that's what it's all about.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: So it's growing away.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: It's growing quite steadily.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: Then I know you've got quite a good pipeline of deals coming through and stuff.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: And just for people that are out there that maybe haven't heard your episode back and if you haven't heard episode 191, then do go back and listen to it but give us a quick little recap about your good self, mate.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: Okay, so I've had 20 years in the kitchen industry.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: I've been a landlord since I was 20 years, very early 20s, I think I was one of 21 or something like that.
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: I enjoyed my time while I was in the kitchen industry, but I decided that my true passion was really in property.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: I love seeing what a property can can be, what it can turn into, and really enjoy matching the right tenant to the right property, because it's not you, don't.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: They don't always match up, so it's nice to get that someone that's going to.
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: If you get a family in a family style home, I'd just like to make sure that the people that go in there are going to enjoy their time and, yeah, just thoroughly love property.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: So it's moving from the kitchen industries to what I do now is it's almost like a dream come true for me.
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: That's nice.
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: Well, that's what you want, isn't it?
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: That's what you want, of course.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: You joined the Rent-to-Rent Business Builder because you want to build a rent-to-rep business using HMOs and things, and you've been great there.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: You've also.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: Then you upgraded and you became one of my one-to-one clients, which has been a privilege and an honor, because it means that we meet on a one-to-one level each and every month and you are absolutely smashing it getting out there.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: You know you've full time in property now, aren't you?
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so I gave up my day job to do property full time.
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: I thought it was me and the wife had a conversation about what we wanted, what was the best way forward for us, and, because we had a young family, it's enabled me to have the time to spend with the family and be the dad I want to be, and also it means that I get to be the person that I want to be, work-wise as well, so I can control my diary and be able to be available for wherever I'm needed, for the family as well.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: So it gives me the best of both worlds.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah, because it can be very, very difficult as well, particularly with a young family.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: I know you've got very, very little ones.
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: So you know it's full time job.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's it.
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: So it is busy, it is stressful, it is hard, but I suppose at the end of the day, you know what you're working for is your own business and building a legacy, so to speak, for the future, going forward.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: So you've got, obviously, your rent-to-rent business, but you also work with some sort of you know building firms and things like that, or you have a crew, so to speak, and you look to do you know help landlords with ref herbs or developments as well, don't?
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: you.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's what we set out to do when I decided this is what I was going to do.
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: Because of my background in the kitchen industry and from owning rental properties for a period of time, there's a lot of people that I know within the trades that I've used previously myself and obviously they know how I work, the levels that we work at.
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: So it's been quite good being able to go to see a potential customer, a potential landlord, see what their problems are, what they want to achieve, where they want to be at, and know that we can achieve that and turn around a property that might not be necessarily making that much money or have empty rooms or even in like really poor condition, and we can go in, turn that around and then start making that what the landlord wants to achieve come to fruition.
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, it's good having that team.
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: So we've got our own clean team, our own maintenance team and we can call on electricians, gas engineers, all matter of trades that are just available at fingertips.
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: So I'm not saying it's easy, but we're not short of anybody.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: That always comes in handy at the end of the day.
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: I know one of the properties that you took on.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: So you took on a four-bed HMO and you saw the opportunity there.
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: You saw that you could make it into a five bed.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: But obviously there can be a lot of expense in that.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: But of course, because of the people that you know, because of the teams that you know and everything, you spoke to the landlord and you negotiated basically putting a fifth room in one of the properties that you took on, didn't you?
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we took it on as a four.
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: So the deal that we got in principle is we were providing the landlord a service just based on four.
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: But in the background, what we're doing is we're going to build that well erect a conservatory.
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: Obviously, we've got to sort all the ground level out first.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: It needs digging out and putting all the right foundations down to make sure that it's secure, and we're hoping to have that done just before Christmas.
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: Once we've done that, we're going to go upstairs.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: There's a room upstairs that we can change around.
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: We're going to go in there, change that, turn that into a proper bedroom.
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: We've had to move a few other rooms slightly as well, where we've had to change where a non-suite was and made that into a shared bathroom between two other bedrooms and that conservatory downstairs, which will be around 12m2, that'll give us enough shared accommodation space so we can then change it from a full bed HMO into a five.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: Nice, and the landlord's delighted with this, isn't it?
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, really pleased we're making some good agway on that property.
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: So yeah, we've had a few issues.
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: We've had a few roof leaks and stuff like that and it's not all been plain sailing.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: Everything has challenges.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: If it was easy, everybody would be doing it, but I just like the fact that you're not afraid to go in there, you're not afraid to change these properties around, you're not afraid to work with the landlords.
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: You're very transparent in what you do with the landlords and I think that they really, really appreciate that.
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: So when you do have issues and problems, obviously you communicate and speak to the landlords about it and a lot of the times you're almost going off of your own back to sort things out for them and they're like, well, no, you shouldn't be doing that, you shouldn't be paying for that.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: So I think the operation and the business that you put together for yourself, I think that's excellent.
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: So are you happy about how you're doing the business, how you're working with the landlords?
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: Because I always say a landlord is as important as the property.
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm really happy with the landlords that I'm working with at the moment.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: They're really nice people and, to be honest, to me the landlord is probably more important than the property itself.
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: So it's working with those people that their morals and views on life align with yours and you want to achieve the same goals.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: So if you're going to agree or deal with a landlord and your views aren't aligned, I think you're probably going to encounter problems at some point.
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: But I don't believe that I'll encounter those problems from the conversations that we've had landlords that I'm working with now.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: We're open, honest, we talk to each other all the time if there's any problems and we just work together.
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: To be honest, it feels more like almost like a team effort, so to speak, because I keep them in the loop and that's what they want.
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: It doesn't feel like it's just me.
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: It always feels like it's like a togetherness between my company and the landlord themselves.
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: So it's great, I really like it and the feedback that I get is nothing but positive.
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: That's great.
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: Well, the feedback that we get in the Rent-A-Rent Business Builder group as well, because I know you're in there.
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: You're very active in the community and things.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: When you can, you jump on Zoom calls and you have chats with people and stuff.
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: So I know you're a very giving man with your time and your help people and things, and it's great to see.
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: It's great to see from my perspective of putting it all together and then seeing people like yourselves blooming in the community, helping each other out everybody's in there sort of pushing each other forward as well.
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: That is a big thing that can help your success as well, because, as you say, there are challenges out there, but it's about working with the right people.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: So by finding those right landlords, the people that you want to work with and don't get me wrong, I'll ask you this question now there's lots of opportunities, let's say, out there.
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: You've looked at a lot of properties, you've spoken to a lot of landlords and stuff.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: Sometimes you can be a little bit picky yourself when it comes to certain deals, and that's the right way to be, isn't it?
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I've been offered quite a few properties.
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: To be honest, I've turned them away because I've felt that, basically, my vision and the landlord's vision haven't been aligned and what they want out of the property isn't who I want to be and who.
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: Some properties have been in such poor condition and the way that they've been managed has been so underwhelming that I don't want to be that person.
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: I don't want to be providing the service that I can't improve because the landlord or landlady isn't willing to make the improvements as well.
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: So that's what I said before you've got to be aligned.
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, I've turned down properties and I'm sure I'll turn them down again if our vision is going to align.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: So for people now that are obviously looking at this and starting out and stuff, how have you found most of your deals?
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: all through landlord letters actually.
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: You don't say that.
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: All letters.
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so obviously, originally we got all the information from yourself.
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: You've got your own templates that you've done, so I've basically took your templates and gone in and basically just changed it into my own and made it my own with my own wording, using some of the information that you've provided and, yeah, just made it my own when I was happy with it.
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: Then I started sending them out using Stamp, the Surface service, which is brilliant.
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: So I always send a letter to myself to make sure that I've got one.
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: And, yeah, I think it was the first and this probably won't happen for many people the first batch of letters I ever sent out and the first call I ever got was my first ever deal.
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: Great, you're that.
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: Brilliant it was, and I almost said that I almost felt unprepared for it.
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: I can remember while I was having the conversation I was really jittery and I was like all the way through it.
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: But yeah, you grow in confidence.
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: The more you speak to people, the easier it gets, and since then I've spoken to well, I've spoken to a hell of a lot of people.
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: But yeah, I'm happy with the clients that I've got.
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: And, of course, with the properties that you've got now, bringing the revenue and everything through for you, your corporate job, so to speak, is a distant memory, isn't it?
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, that's long gone.
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: I left my old job would have been Christmas last year and, yeah, it feels like almost feels like another life, if that makes any sense.
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: Things are so different now.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: Life's so different.
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: It's just, I don't know, chalk and cheese.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: It's fantastic.
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: I love it.
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: Have you found that you've grown as a person as well, obviously investing in yourself or continually pushing yourself forward in things?
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I definitely feel like I've improved as a person.
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: I get to speak to a hell of a lot more people than I used to get to speak to.
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: My old job was in the office.
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: I love a lot, and surrounded by the same people, you don't tend to meet that many new people, but now I'm out on the road meeting people in person obviously, zoom calls over the phone, and then I've been investing myself in education, obviously with yourself, read books.
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: I like to journal as well to track what I've been doing.
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: So I do that as in my journal, do it personally.
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: I do a little section about what I'm thankful for as well, which is always quite good to see if you're feeling a little bit.
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: You're not always going to have positive days all the time, so it's like I like to put something in there to try and highlight the things that are positive within my life and in there as well.
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: I've got a separate section where I cover my business as well, about what I've got to do, what I want to achieve that week, and then I've got another one where I've bought all my notes in about.
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: So I don't have like I've got.
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: I basically run a like a two journal system at the minute.
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: Well, technically three, because I have another one.
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: I have another one as well for all the notes.
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: But yeah, yeah, I am the person that left my old job.
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: I feel is a very different person to who I am now.
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: Which is good.
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: That's the way it should be.
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: We should always be looking to grow.
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: We should always be looking at better ourselves.
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: You've nearly got as many journals as me on the go, yeah and yeah, I've even changed physically as well, because I'm about two, seven like to do them for me.
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: When I left my job, Exercise regularly, we healthily.
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, the whole family's changed because of what's going off.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: And I bet you now, if you got on the scales, it would be two and a half stone now that you shaved off that mustache.
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was quite an epic mustache, but yeah, it's gone now.
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: Proper porn star mustache, that one Magnum PI.
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: Magnum PI, that's a better way of putting it, but no it was a beauty, an absolute beauty.
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: You should have seen last year's.
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: Well, that's it.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: Well, it's good, it's good, you wear them well.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: You do wear them well, can?
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: I show you the white.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: All right, fair enough.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: That's probably why it's gone now.
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: It's done and dusted, but what I'll say is send me a picture of you with the mustache and I'll use it for the thumbnail for this.
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: No way, not a chance.
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: I'll buy it, we'll see.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: I might have a screenshot anyway.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: Oh, that's just mean, no, I won't do that.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: I won't do that.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: Anyway, I'm only kidding.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: It's a good one, it's a good one, but no, it's nice to know that we are progressing.
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: I always say you know, you've got to review.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: I review quite a lot Prime review because I'm bad at it.
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: I am bad at it.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: I have to force myself to do these things because it's good to see how far you've come.
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: It's good to see the stages that you've gone through as well.
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: I love, when we get to this time of the year as well, to really be journaling for next year.
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: What do I want to achieve, who do I want to be, what, or how I'm going to make myself better?
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: But equally, it's very important, I think as well, just to look back over the year to see what you've done, see what's worked, maybe know what's not worked so well and be able to keep a note of and journal your life as it's going.
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: The one thing that I love about it and I never appreciate it until it was like a couple of years on and you've got some journals to go back to.
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: I keep my old journals now in my bookshelf and I go back to them every now and again and I read them and you laugh.
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: Sometimes I laugh out loud because of my goals and I'm thinking my next goals are small, but those goals were everything to me when I first started.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: So you've got a level of light to look forward to as well.
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, all changes I've got In front of me now.
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: I've got my goals sheet for 2023.
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: I've written myself a list of some goals I wanted to achieve.
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: I've not got as many HMOs as I wanted.
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: I set myself a target.
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: I think it says eight Of eight HMOs but I almost admit I am very happy with what I've got now.
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: Maybe I set my target too high, but I guess what's that saying?
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: Reach for the stars and get the moon, or whatever it is, but I'm more than happy with how I've progressed and what I've achieved this year.
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: If you'd have told me at the beginning sorry, at the back end of last year when I left my job that I'd be managing 22 units by the end of the year, I don't know if I'd have believed you or not, but now it's fact.
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: I've achieved that and next year I'll be pushing on for more.
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: Honestly, there's more in the pipeline as well, because I'm still in talks with other people as well.
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: I suppose in theory, depending on what happens, that eight could be achieved if stars are aligned, but I don't think it's going to happen A little bit busy in the minute as it is.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: That's it.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: That's it.
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: I don't mean, even if you don't get them now, you're going to get them at the beginning of next year, first quarter.
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: With the amount of people that you're talking to at the moment, are you?
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, In the background at the minute there's a five bed, 12 bed and another six bed.
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: The 12 beds split into three separate sections though, so technically that's three, four beds.
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: Okay, well, they all count.
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they've seen one building but they've got different.
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: It's like number 12, a, b and C.
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: I think it's a separate Council of Texas for each one as well.
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: So I suppose it is one building, but I think it's three separate units.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: But now, as long as it's profitable and it's something that you want to take care of and manage, then it's always worth doing.
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I've ran the numbers.
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: They all had up.
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: We'll see how long it takes before we can get them now down.
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: Good stuff.
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: I want to ask you obviously you're working with me, so to speak, in my private mentoring, if you like, my one-to-one.
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: I only work with a handful of people or two-hands fools actually.
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: I only try and work with 10 people a year on a rolling basis.
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: Some people stay, some people don't stay, but what made you want to?
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: You did the Rent-A-Rent Business Builder, which gives you basically the solid foundations to go out there and start your business.
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: But you wanted to take it to the next level and work, meet me each and every month to work on your property business.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: But what made you want to do that?
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: What made me want to do it was I think it was the thought of saying I'd left my job and I thought to myself, if I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it properly.
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: So I thought I'm just going to throw myself into this 100%, and so I thought I knew that you did offer that.
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: I thought, well, no, let's do it, let's get stuck in, and it's really helpful.
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: Obviously, I mean, we don't necessarily need to talk every month, with flexibility and when we do speak, isn't this?
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: So it's not like we rigidly, we talk every month on the same day, so it's like I can choose to speak to you when it's convenient for me and that's what I need is when you've got questions that you need answers to and you want to talk things through deals and how to structure them or any question really, because obviously you've been doing it a lot longer than I have.
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: I find it invaluable along the journey.
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: That's good, that's brilliant and it is all about.
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: Basically, I can say, well, we need to do this, we need to meet each month, but it's not.
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: That's why I let you guys book the calls in yourself, schedule them in as and when you need them, because you might need two in a month or something, you know if there's something that you need to do.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: So I'm glad that that works out for you, because I know from myself when I have coaching and things sometimes in property particularly not a lot happens.
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: You know when you're trying to get out there and you're trying to get the deals, and once you're getting things set up or on your behalf, you're very, very busy.
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I am very busy, to be honest, and obviously if I've got any questions that I want answering, I don't want to answer in like sort of now I can just I'll pop it in the Facebook group and tag you in it and you'll get back to me and answer my question, and then a load of other people are in there as well, because there's people in there that are doing better than me and got more properties and doing really well.
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: I think of one guy that's doing fantastic at the minute who I've talked to on occasion.
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: So there's a lot of people doing very well and we're all We've all got our own stories or all our information, things that we found out, and we're all pulling each other along.
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: Are we really?
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely, definitely, and I say all the time, but maybe you should say there's a lot of landlords out there right here, right now that need our help, isn't it?
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: And when I look at how not all agents are made the same, but how some agents Perform and how they Manage properties, I think they just make our lives very easy because they just can't do what we can do.
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: They can't provide that service.
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: Not that personal touch, not that idea.
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: But anyway, I'll speak for myself.
• 24:38
  Speaker 2: I know what I can do and I know that I provide a very personal service.
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: So the landlord gets communication constantly.
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: They know what's happening.
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: They're up to date all the time.
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: When I go around and repair anything, I'll do them a little video on a few pictures, tell them to do them before and after, send it across, and obviously if they didn't want it I wouldn't send it.
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: But yeah, they just make it easy.
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: I'll give you an example.
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: There was an agent that I took their customer away from them earlier this year and you have emergency lights within the property, don't you?
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: And so I went in and I thought I'll get these tested while I'm here.
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: So I went in, flick the switch to test them.
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: Emergency lights don't come on.
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: I was thinking it's going off here, thinking is it not wired up right?
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: Is this something wrong here?
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: Is there a problem?
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: Anyway, it turns out yeah, there was a problem, so I thought I'll replace one.
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: So I got spoke to, maintenance, came out, replaced me one Light comes on straight away.
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: So I thought OK.
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: So I replaced all the others and they all came on straight away.
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: So instantly I realized that the previous agent won't mention, just basically hadn't been doing the emergency test logs.
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: And then it's.
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: You're playing with people's lives, aren't you?
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: And when you know that someone's been missing that then you think, well, what else haven't they checked, what else hasn't been done?
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: And then you know, when you dig into it, obviously you take on the house and you think, oh, it looks really nice.
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: Then when you dig further, you find that certain things haven't been done and then something else hasn't been done or certain things haven't been taken care of the way that they should be when you do a job properly.
• 26:30
  Speaker 2: So yeah, there's an array of things that I think get missed because I think they just take on too many.
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: Maybe some of them just grow too big.
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: They can't really put those man hours in and justify it, whereas I can.
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: The thing that makes me laugh is, though, if you actually went to these agents to speak to them, they would say I haven't got anything for you.
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: Everything's great, everything's running fine.
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: But then, like you say there, when you start looking at the stock, it's just like no, you're not doing checks, you've got too many properties.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: That's the reason I think our niche business, if you like, of rent to rent or property management is so good, because we don't need hundreds of properties.
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: We only need a good couple of handfuls of properties to make a really good living, but to also be able to do an exceptional job for the landlords, looking after their assets and, of course, making nice homes for tenants.
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: And that's basically, if you go in there, you know what to say, you say the right things, but you follow through with what you're doing.
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: And that's exactly what you're doing, chris, which is why it's commendable.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: You do a really good job and you give people peace of mind, and we've had the discussion before.
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: But there's landlords that you're working with and things that are like thanking you, aren't they For?
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: Like taking the properties on and looking after them.
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I've had some.
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: Really I always like heartwarming messages of landlords that just thanking me for the level of effort that I've put in.
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: Obviously, I know I'm being paid for it, but I think they used to such poor service that I think some landlords just expect it to be, just expect it to be poor.
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: And then when someone all of a sudden raises the bar and they're up here and they're like, oh, they're like almost like wowed by it.
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: If you're not going to do a job properly, don't do it at all.
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: Well, exactly, but it also the flip side to that, just for the listeners and whoever's watching this.
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: That's why a lot of landlords are very dubious and skeptical about what we have to offer, because it's almost like sounds too good to be true from what they're used to, isn't it?
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, to be honest, I consider myself a letting agent.
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: I don't call myself a renter, renter or any of that.
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: Technically that's what we do, but basically we take on their property with a management agreement, so legal and above board.
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, me and the landlord or landlady will talk through about all their requirements and do you understand it?
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: Everything's up for negotiation.
• 29:18
  Speaker 2: You can talk through what they want, what's important to them, and eventually you'll meet in the middle of that where you both happy.
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, to be honest, after speaking to my first, after getting my first call out of the way I'm gonna submit after then, I found it really easy.
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, it only gets easier anyway.
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: But, like I say, when you know what you're saying and you know what you can do and how you operate, I think that's the confidence that you have in yourself to be able to go out there and deliver and it's, as I say, it's great to see.
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: So there's a lot of people out there at the moment potentially sat in the fence thinking to themselves I'd like to do what Chris has done, what Mark's done and things, but I don't think it'll work in my area.
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: Or they have the self doubts, or they've got the wrong people around them and stuff.
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: What would you say to anybody at the moment that's thinking of getting into this?
• 30:06
  Speaker 2: Well, what I say?
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: I would say you need to be committed.
• 30:13
  Speaker 2: You need to be putting yourself into it whole hog.
• 30:17
  Speaker 2: If you're unsure of whether this is for you or not, then I don't know.
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: I'd listen to a few of the podcasts.
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: Decide what you want out of life.
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: But as soon as you decide what you want, go for it and get yourself stuck in, because you're not going to get anywhere by being half-hearted.
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: You've got to throw yourself into it and give it your all.
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: I think that's great advice, and it is.
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: You only fail if you stop, so you just got to keep going as long as you're doing the right actions, being consistent and persistent is something I love saying.
• 30:49
  Speaker 2: Sorry, as long as you're going to get yourself stuck in.
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: If this is what you want, speak to you, yeah, I guess.
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, just speak to you, or anybody that does this sort of thing.
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: Obviously, you look around, I looked around, I was in two minds a lot.
• 31:06
  Speaker 2: I think we spoke on the last podcast between yourself and another provider and, yeah, decide to choose yourself, and I think it's worked out for me and, from what I see within the group, I think it's working out for a lot of people.
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: If this is what you want to do, I think all the tools that you need to achieve what you want to do is with us.
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: Well, here, here, here here, Well, it definitely is, because we live and breathe it.
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: That's the thing we are constantly living and breathing this.
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: And again, like you say, the group.
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: There are so many people now that have got deals that it's great to be able to tap into people that are a few deals ahead of you or a few deals behind you and be able to help people and stuff, and that's why I love the group coaching sessions as well.
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: We all share.
• 31:54
  Speaker 2: I must admit that's one of the things that I really enjoy is being able to talk to like-minded people that are interested in property, that are interested in shared accommodation or the things that we're doing, because obviously in my life I've got friends and the friends that I've got none of them are really into property, not like I am.
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: So when I'm like going or boring them senseless about property and they're yawning and I'm thinking you're not my audience, so I thoroughly enjoy it.
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: So I have met a few of the guys on here and we've had a chat about property and it's just nice to be able to compare stories and give each other advice on how to go forward and take their advice as well, cause there's a lot of like WhatsApp groups as well that we will talk as well on there.
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: Well, I do with two or quite a few people on the groups.
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, I love it.
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: Brilliant, and that's what I like about it.
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: You're all looking after each other.
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: You're all supporting each other.
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: I'm here to help and support you as well, and it's great to get you back on a podcast as well and see that you're smashing in.
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: This is one of the things I love, because not only it inspires me, and it does inspire me to know that you're getting out there, you're doing a great job, you're doing a good service for people and maybe I've had a little percentage helping you, and I always say I'm a very competitive.
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: I'll have to present this to you at the beginning.
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: I am a very competitive person.
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: I like to see people achieving their results, and if you're achieving your results, I win and I don't like to lose.
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: So it's great to be able to see that, but great also to be able to see it done in the right manner.
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: So done in a manner that you're happy with what you're doing.
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: You're working with people that you're happy with and you're building that business.
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: So, no, it's brilliant, absolutely brilliant to see.
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: So yeah, I was gonna ask you a few questions, but you said before I am gonna ask you.
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: So I know you're really, really busy at the moment and you don't listen to podcasts, so I won't bother asking you if you listened to the property unleashed, which you said you didn't.
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: So that's just dead handy that is, isn't it?
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: I do listen to it, but I haven't listened to it for over about seven weeks, so I've got a lot of catching up to do.
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: All right, fair enough, well, you, don't need to anyway, because you talk to me more anyway, don't you?
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: So you?
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: Get the real thing.
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: You don't have to listen to the segments, but I bet you'll listen to this one.
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: I didn't listen to the last one back, did you know?
• 34:18
  Speaker 2: A lot of my friends listen to it, but I just I listened to it like a bit and I thought I've always done something like that.
• 34:26
  Speaker 2: I know it does, so yeah, but yeah, now a lot of my friends listen to it.
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: I had a lot of nice feedback.
• 34:37
  Speaker 2: It was really nice actually.
• 34:38
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, yeah, I enjoyed it.
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: So I'm gonna put a different spin on some of these questions, but I'm gonna ask you them anyway.
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: So if you could give out a good piece of advice right here, right now, to the listeners, what would you give them?
• 34:57
  Speaker 2: I would say set your stall out and prepare yourself.
• 35:01
  Speaker 2: If you want to do this Really, set yourself up to do it.
• 35:08
  Speaker 2: Get all the right tools that you need.
• 35:09
  Speaker 2: So that would be your training reading your books, surfing the internet for information, because there's a wealth of information that you can get out there for free Before you take the plunge and get in some training.
• 35:21
  Speaker 2: I've done that during an order ball, listened to some books on there Same spot.
• 35:28
  Speaker 2: If I get yourself on there, there's loads of stuff on there that you can listen to, educate yourself and then, when you know finally what you want, go for it.
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: Go for it, love it, love it, just do it.
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: I've asked you this one.
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: I'm going to ask you this again who would you sit down and have dinner with?
• 35:50
  Speaker 2: three people dead or alive.
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: Who did I say last?
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: time.
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: Can you remember?
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: I haven't listened to it, but you listened to the podcast.
• 36:02
  Speaker 2: I don't know Napoleon.
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: Okay, I think you didn't say that last time.
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: I don't think anybody said Napoleon Hill or Napoleon.
• 36:13
  Speaker 2: Napoleon Bonaparte.
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah yeah yeah, definitely not that one.
• 36:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so I think he'd be an interesting conversation with him.
• 36:22
  Speaker 2: Dead or alive?
• 36:26
  Speaker 2: So obviously he's dead.
• 36:27
  Speaker 2: Who else?
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: Last time I said that I said the current football manager of Nottingham Forest, but he's been around for 20 times by now.
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: No, no, no, he's still the same guy.
• 36:44
  Speaker 2: But who else would I choose?
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: Probably, probably, been my mum again.
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: Actually, it'd be nice to have a chat with her.
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: And who else?
• 36:56
  Speaker 2: Bill Gates.
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: Okay, good stuff, good stuff.
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: So onto books.
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: Now, what are three books that you think you would recommend to the listeners out there right now that you've read and you've just got something really decent from or, you know, being a bit of a game changer for you?
• 37:23
  Speaker 2: My favourite one's got to be the 5am Club.
• 37:25
  Speaker 2: I love that by.
• 37:30
  Speaker 2: I've got his book.
• 37:31
  Speaker 2: I can't see what.
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: I love it, though what's his name?
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: Robin Sherperson, robin Shermer there you are.
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, he's got that.
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: That wasn't what I expected.
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: I read the Miracle Morning a few years back and then everybody was saying you need to read the 5am Club and I initially looked at it and thought that's a big book to just tell me to get up at 5am.
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: But when I bought it and it's like a story and I really, really enjoyed it.
• 38:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, almost now.
• 38:04
  Speaker 2: I really enjoy the story, so I may well read it again.
• 38:09
  Speaker 2: Actually, I did really enjoy it.
• 38:10
  Speaker 2: I am currently listening to a book on Audible as well.
• 38:15
  Speaker 2: So there was a programme on Netflix about centurions and not about how people can live longer and improve their lives.
• 38:23
  Speaker 2: Dan Birkner, I think, is the author, so I'm currently listening to one of his books.
• 38:31
  Speaker 2: I don't know, I'll say I can't remember what it's called I don't think none of his books.
• 38:36
  Speaker 2: I can't remember which one it is.
• 38:37
  Speaker 2: I'll tell you it's also on my Audible Blue Zones, happiness.
• 38:43
  Speaker 2: It's based on how to lead a better life.
• 38:46
  Speaker 2: Okay, and still, I've been reading.
• 38:50
  Speaker 2: I've been listening to this one for quite a while on Audible.
• 38:53
  Speaker 2: It's the complete conversations with God.
• 38:55
  Speaker 2: I've listened to the first two books and I'm not particularly a believer of God.
• 39:02
  Speaker 2: It's more like ways of how to live your life and it's just more like a do good things, good things up and sort of thing.
• 39:12
  Speaker 2: So I'm still reading my way through that, but that's 25 hours worth of listening.
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: That's a lot of journeys.
• 39:23
  Speaker 2: I'll tell you, I did read one of the Stranger Things books as well.
• 39:26
  Speaker 2: That's just fiction.
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: Okay, forget fiction, Don't waste your time on that.
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: I'm glad you heard it.
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: No, that's good.
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: That's good.
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: I'm watching the top three podcasts.
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: Oh no, I wasn't going to ask you that Okay, Yours obviously.
• 39:42
  Speaker 2: Then nothing else.
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: No, no, no, it's good.
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: As I say, you've got a lot of travel time, so you're just listening to books in the car and stuff.
• 39:51
  Speaker 2: To be honest, I'll listen to podcasts if I feel like it when I'm in the car.
• 39:56
  Speaker 2: I might listen to one of my books while I'm in the car.
• 39:59
  Speaker 2: Alternatively, if my head gets full sometimes I'll just sit in the car.
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I have to say, sometimes when I have a walk, I'm either listening to a podcast or a book or something.
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: But sometimes it's nice just to not listen to anything and just let your thoughts go past you, because I think sometimes we can get a bit too bogged down with it.
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: Or I'm trying to always input, always input, always input, and you just don't give yourself enough.
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: Well, I don't give myself enough head space just to chill out.
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: So I think it's good.
• 40:33
  Speaker 2: Doing the journaling helps me more than anything.
• 40:34
  Speaker 2: You know I say sometimes your head gets full of.
• 40:37
  Speaker 2: You've got all these, you're juggling all these different balls, so to speak.
• 40:42
  Speaker 2: I feel sometimes, when I've written down everything that's in my head on pages and I close the book, it comes out mad.
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and you've made a record of it as well, which is great, absolutely great.
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: Well, it's been amazing to have you back on, my friend.
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: It always a joy, and we'll get you back on again next year when you've got a hundred properties under your belt no, no, no, but when you've got a few more.
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: Have you got any final thoughts to leave the listeners and the people watching this with?
• 41:15
  Speaker 2: Final thoughts would be just do what you enjoy, okay, simple.
• 41:24
  Speaker 2: Get in there, oh, and don't chase the money.
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, the money will come.
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: The money will come by doing a good job.
• 41:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you enjoy, and I think that's more important than anything.
• 41:35
  Speaker 2: Obviously, I get everybody's got bills to pay.
• 41:37
  Speaker 2: I understand that If you can do a job that you enjoy, then you'll just have life satisfaction instead of going to work and not enjoying yourself.
• 41:48
  Speaker 2: That's all about happiness.
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: Anybody can do it.
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: Anybody can get out there can get it done.
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: No wise words.
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: Thank you very much.
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: Great stuff, great stuff.
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: So if you enjoyed this episode, please feel free to share it with your friends.
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: Subscribe, follow us.
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: You can reach out to me on social media.
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: You can reach out to Chris as well.
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: Can anybody reach out to Chris if they want to?
• 42:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, of course, we've got our own website, email address, facebook, instagram, whatever you like.
• 42:20
  Speaker 2: Really, there's plenty of ways to contact us.
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: Brilliant, brilliant, good stuff.
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: So, guys and girls, make sure that you know what it is that you want to do.
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: You've got some passion for it as well, so you will not fail, you will not quit.
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: Get yourself educated, get the knowledge, but make sure that it is the right thing for you to be chasing.
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: When you have that, have your vision.
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: Break your vision down into goals, big goals.
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: Reach for the moon and you might hit the stars and then basically just build that down into bite-sized chunks that you can take action on each and every day.
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed this episode.
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: I have enjoyed bringing you this episode.
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: I look forward to you joining me in the next episode very, very soon.
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: You take care and bye for now.