Transcription
One of my friends invited me for a PIN meeting, and I saw you there, and you were a speaker. I didn't understand much. I didn't understand nothing about the property either. Even though I didn't understand all your words, I just felt like I'm going to get this. And for another like five years, I was following you through emails. I said, and I find you on YouTube, just just like that. I mean, I didn't even search for you, you just came to me, and that changed my life.
You've got a cleaning business, your husband's a builder, and you've got a maintenance business. You've got a property business. How do you do it? What's the biggest tip? So, all the time, our money is recycled. We invest for the next one. Next day, on my second deal, I didn't pay any deposit, and I paid just one month's rent. My third deal, I negotiated two and a half months free rental.
What did your husband think when he saw the money coming in? I was so scared to tell him. I enrolled for the Academy. I didn't want him to feel I will be a failure. But on average, how much are you making? Well, welcome to Winners on a Wednesday. Thank you. It's been a long time coming, but honestly, you're like a shining star in the Academy. Everybody is so inspired by what you've done. You've got a cleaning business, your husband's a builder, and you've got a maintenance business. You've got a property business. And how many rent events do you have now? Into, or how many have you signed in total? Uh, signed in total, 2, 26. 26. How do you do it? What's the biggest tip?
Um, I started with a little, very small studio. I was very determined to to get at least one and just start. I was studying so hard your books. I was listening to your voice every day for a few hours a day, to be honest, every time in the car, and I just took your energy. So every day I had your energy. I felt like you, and I really want to be successful. And I started with the one, which is a really successful studio apartment. And as soon as you get your first one, everything comes easy, easier and easier. And now I don't even need to search for properties, they just come to me. Yeah. And your husband is now working on the business? Yep. And your daughter? My daughter, yeah. You've actually sent her on the Academy, and she's in her own right now become financially free. That's right. Following in her mother's footsteps. Absolutely. I remember when she was so shaking, and she didn't know if it's a good direction. She invested her all savings. But I mean, at the moment, when I see her journey, she's so appreciated. And yeah, she's she's a queen now as well. I remember it was about six, six, eight months ago, and she was shaking, and she said, you know, she was working. I think what was she did? She was an apprentice, or yes, she was doing her dressing. Yeah. And then I remember sitting down with her, and she was like, my mum says I've got to do this, but I'm not sure. And I was like, look, your mum loves you, and you know, your mom's been successful. And now the fact that she's got properties, yeah, as well.
So talk to me then, for anyone that's kind of wondering exactly what the business model is, how does it work? Talk me through what rent to rent is. Okay, so rent to rent, it's it's a strategy when you rent property from the landlord or agent, and using a management agreement contract, you rent it on a nightly basis. And I use it as a service accommodation for my guests, and I charge super renter, which allows me to build my income, yeah, on someone's property. So you're basically making cash flow from a property that you're controlling, but not owning. That's right.
What happens if the landlord wants to do it himself? I've never had this situation, but they're so open and so nice, and they really support me as well. The flats which I've got in Brighton, she, the lady, my lady, she used to run her flat as a service accommodation, but she said she was too tired, and she never had proper cleaners, and she had bad reviews. And I promised her, listen, I will be successful. I mean, just give me your house, and I'm sure I would be successful, and I will bring you the money which you want. And at the end, I didn't even pay her a deposit. She was so nice, and we had a really close relationship together, and she's so happy I'm successful. She, it didn't work for her, but I mean, she's happy I can do it.
So why were you able to do it, but she wasn't? I think she didn't, well, definitely she didn't have any knowledge. I mean, property knowledge. She just wanted to start. She had an empty flat. Yeah, that was the issue. And she didn't know about where to search for public cleaners, where to advertise. She had double bookings. The people lied to her, like when we arrived to their flats, someone told her the carpet was washed, but we are a professional cleaning company, and we knew, you know, just someone came and and sprayed some spray and cleaned like that. The thing is, I think if you're not educated and you're not wise, you can be a bit naive, and people can take advantage, and you can also have problems, as you mentioned, like double bookings. That's right. It's not just as easy as getting a property and sticking it on Airbnb. You need to understand, you need to have a channel manager, or you need to synchronize your calendar. You need to really have good systems in place, key safe procedures, and also it needs to be legal. It needs to be run. And a lot of people don't realize that. They don't realize that there's some restrictions in some areas.
What's been your main patch? What's been your area? Is born in Brighton. Okay. And at the moment, mainly in, mainly in Eastbourne. And I'm really happy about Eastbourne. Some people think this is a very small town and possibly no many guests to my visit my city. However, I just realized Eastbourne is a town for retired people. So my income comes regularly. Compared to Brighton, the nightly base is much higher. However, most our bookings are during the weekends. So in a long-term distance, similar profit, but in here, I've got consistency, and it's covered every month or every week. In Brighton, brilliant profit. But I mean, I love my con, my town, Eastbourne is brilliant. And is that where you live? At least that's where I live here. So I know, I know, I know your daughter has got properties in Brighton. That's right. That are very successful. But your patch is Eastbourne. Eastbourne and Brighton. And Brighton and Brighton. So how do you do your market research? Let's say somebody's thinking of doing, because you know, you look on the Academy and you watch every week, Winners on a Wednesday, all different strategies, all different areas, people doing service accommodation, even in Birmingham, Watford, London, Newcastle. You're doing it in Brighton and Eastbourne. But how do you do your market research on an area before taking on a property?
Yeah, I mean, before I even started, I started really hard the patch. Well, actually, I started, yeah, I started about everything. Plus also my cleaning company covers lots of service accommodations and houses in Eastbourne and Brighton, so I knew occupancy rating. Yeah, and based on this, I knew I will succeed. Yeah. I spent hours. So basically, I spent hours to just, um, sort of due diligence. Do the due diligence. Yeah.
And when you say you spend hours doing your due diligence, what sort of things do you have to do? How do you do due diligence on an area if you don't mind giving the secrets? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, firstly, when I chose the city which I wanted to settle my business or my service accommodation, I wanted to check occupancy rate. So I went on Airbnb and Booking.com, goes to most common websites for holiday lets. Then I check the calendars, how other people, and yeah, for how many days people are booked during the month, and the prices as well. I compare. Then when I did my figures, I always do best scenario, worst scenario, and possible scenario. In a possible scenario, if on a 50% occupancy rate, if I could earn at least some money, or even 100 pounds, yeah, I know that they would be good. And basically, with me, I do not go anything less than 200 pounds for 50% occupancy. I know some people just do diligent and even if it's zero, they're happy to take the deal. Yeah, because during the summer time, usually the occupancy is like 60%, so they can get some profit each month. But I mean, if it's less than 100, 200, I just rather go for a different deal than just have a castle hustle with. And that 100, 200 pound amount of profit, that's sort of like worst case, if it only, if it's empty half the time, yeah, I still need to be making a bit of profit. Um, but on average, how much are you making? So per per property, what does it typically, what does an average month for an average property look like?
Okay, so in the summer time, those two, my first flats, I earned 2K each. Two thousand pound profit. Of your first two? Yeah. No wonder you went and got a lot more. Yeah. And then we took over, I took over with Lamara, with my business partner, we took a five-bedroom flat. Yeah. And our first profit was 3,500k clean profit, just on one property. Only one property we took together. And then we invest our money to get another one. So usually, if we get the money from the properties, we've got for the month, monthly rent, deposit, and for the furniture. So all the time, our money are recycled. We invest for the next one, next deal, next.
So what about now in the winter? Now it's winter. I mean, what kind of profit? Like that first property that was making two grand a month, what's that making now? So now, the one in Eastbourne makes 600. Okay. I just did my all numbers yesterday in Brighton, about 800. Wow. And it was really quiet. I would say it was quite dead because I had like 50% occupancy during the October time. All made 600 pounds.
So what would you say is your sort of like startup costs? So to be making that kind of money, 600 pound in the winter, 2,000 pounds in the summer on one property, how much money do you have to put down initially to get that property up and running? As I said, my first deal was the most difficult, and I paid six months upfront. Yeah, to get this deal. Why did you, why did you do that? Why did you pay so much rent upfront? Uh, I really wanted. I loved the flat. I just fell in love. I knew it would be, it's just close to the train station, close to the sea, perfect, perfect place. And it was through the agent. My company wasn't, um, existed for a long time on the market. And I just didn't know how to get this house. So the only option was to pay six months upfront. But this first deal helped me with the other deals because, like, as I said, my second deal, I didn't pay any deposit, and I paid just one month's rent. My third deal, I negotiated two and a half months free rental. So I mean, it's just the first start. It's, it's just when you're determined to have something and to have on the paper, like feedback, yeah, to get more. That makes sense. So basically, you were sick if, so your first one because you had a brand new company. Yeah. Um, I mean, there are ways around it. One way is what you did, just paying six months rent upfront. Sometimes people will be a guarantor, yeah, or they'll bring your guarantor in, or they'll co-rent your rent, and they'll bring a partner in. Um, but you've had six months rent upfront. And how much rent were you, was that into? What was the monthly agreement? So it's 600 pounds. So I paid 3,600. So it's not a crazy amount of money. And then that was making you two grand a month throughout the summer, and you used that to get your, your second, your third, and fourth, and start building your portfolio. Yeah.
What have been the biggest challenges with management? Well, as I said, my husband helps me a lot. Though, what did he think? What did your husband think when he saw the money coming in? Um, he doesn't say his dad. He did it. I was so scared to tell him. I enrolled for the Academy. Oh, really? Why? Why were you scared? I didn't want him to feel I will be a failure, or he might think this is a scam. I knew I strongly believe it, but because I was scared, he might not like it. So I didn't tell him until I started to be successful, after three months or something like that. So he, he can see the profit. But I mean, he has a good connection. He can't see my account whenever he wants. And now he works, he works in the company. And he works here. Well, actually, we opened a second company for him, which is the maintenance and lettings. Yeah. So he's happy now. He's happy now. Yeah. And he takes lots of responsibilities as well, because he's texting and messaging to their customers, and he likes, well, not really likes, but he helps me with, um, with the bills as well, like to see who pays and who's not, just to check the account, which I hated to do it. I can go and speak to people and everything. Like your system, he's my assistant here. Wow.
And your daughter as well? What did your daughter think when she saw how well you were winning and how many properties you were getting? What did she think? After, you know, a couple days ago, after a course when she attended to, she said, Mommy, could we join venture together? And what did you say to her? Of course. Yeah. But you said you need to go on the Academy first. You need to get the training. Yeah. Why did you have interest? Because some people would try and teach their children what they've learned, but you might have done that, but you sent your daughter, yep, to the actual official training and said, you need to invest. Yep. Why did you do that? I really want her to be responsible, responsible for her decision. Uh, why I did that? Because I saw she couldn't find the place for herself. She didn't know what she wants to do, and she was quite struggled with work, with college. She had lots of thoughts what to do, but she just needed direction. And when I took her on the course for one pound crash course, I didn't tell her anything about properties. I just want to see her feelings, how she feels, and is it something for her? And immediately she said, yes, sir, I want to do that. And I'm doing exactly the same with my son. He, when he turned 16, it will be just in a couple months' time. I'm going to tell him for the crash course. Yeah, because I know, I just, I've got like a feeling like a mother, he might be interested as well. He's not good at school. And I said to him, well, listen, you don't need to. He's in GCSE class. I mean, you don't need to read Christmas Carol, remote Juliet, because I know how you hate reading. But if you could read at least one book for me, which I gave it to him, it's Rich Dad Poor Dad, and read two, three pages per day. Yeah. And that's the only book I want you to read. You don't need to read anything else, because that book brings you the future and brings you work, money, and whatever you want, your dreams, and not the other books which you don't like it and you need to read at school. And he agreed. Wow.
Do you realize how much of a boss you are? Am I? I don't know. I mean, what you've done is incredible, and it's, and you, and you're changing your whole family, and you're changing the next generation. What, what's your strongest reason for doing this? What is it that drives you? I think on the beginning, as I said, I love challenges, and I wanted to learn new things. But I didn't think I can be successful. I just didn't even put into my mind I will be successful in property. I just wanted to do, I wanted to try. And I'm a person like, if I start to do something, I'm doing it with all my hard time. Then I thought, oh, it would be so lovely. I love traveling. So it would be so lovely to go for holiday once a month. And since April, we just travel almost every month somewhere. It's, it's amazing when you've got funds to follow your dreams. And that was my dream. That was my personal goal. Because I started as a single cleaner, and I know how hard it is to work physically for 10, 12 hours every day, and they don't need to, you know, doing like that, and just calculate every penny. Oh, am I allowed, you know, to buy shoes today or this month or not? I just didn't want that situation. I just wanted them to understand the money and do not work for the money, but just give them the knowledge how money can work for them. Right.
How have you scaled the business? Because you mentioned that you started just a single cleaner, yeah, on your own. Now you've got a business, you've got people working for you, you've got lots of units. How have you managed to systemize that business? It's still a little bit of a struggle because I'm on the way to find a good manager, right? I had some few of them, and good staff, it's a challenge. Yeah, yeah. But mostly, I mean, Claudia helps me a lot. My husband helps me a lot. And I am a workaholic. I just work many, many hours, but I love it. This is something what I love. And until I feel it, this is, this is more for pleasure, not for the money. It's, it's amazing. And also, you've got, you know, quite a lot of properties that are cash flowing very positively. But now you're transitioning, obviously, you're going to continue running that business, but you're transitioning into development and buying houses and developing them. Talk to me a bit about that. That's my, yeah, that's my next goal. Um, I feel like I'm a master at the moment with rent to rent, and I just want to step, you know, next step, which next step is BRR, and I want to invest in property up north and renovate them. Of course, we will use my husband's company to, to, to renovate the property and just either sit on a house or just sell it, yeah, and get the money back. And you've been really smart because you've used rent to rent to give you cash flow. So you're now financially free. You don't have to work, you don't have to have a job. But now you've got a whole bunch of properties, and you're saving money, and now you're looking at reinvesting that into building up your capital appreciation, your security, which I think is really, really smart.
How did you even get into property in the first place? What was it that got you started? Yeah, that's a funny history. One of my friends invited me for a PIN meeting, property investment, networking, or something like that. That was in Eastbourne. And I saw you there, and you were a speaker, like a 30 or 20-minute speaker. I didn't understand much. I didn't understand nothing about the property either. Just I loved your energy. I saw your energy, you know, your calculations, how you how you talked to me. Even though I didn't understand all your words, I just felt like I'm going to get this. I'm going to follow your path. And for another like five years, I was following you through emails. You always, I think I enrolled for something, and you sent me an email. So your company sent me an email. So I didn't even read because it was too much, and I didn't understand them. But I knew one day when my English developed, I'm going to find you. And suddenly I found you on YouTube, just just like that. I mean, I didn't even search for you, you just came to me, and that changed my life. It was something about rent to rent, and I thought, oh my God, I'm going to sign for a one-pound course in Brighton. And since then, I wanted to do all the trainings. I wanted, you know, I felt growing up, major enough to follow your path. Wow.
So when you first saw me, you couldn't really even speak any English much. Yeah, that's incredible. And you've learned English now. You speak very well. Thank you. And and that's incredible. How did you justify enrolling onto the Academy? Because the Academy's a very big investment. How did you justify that? I had some savings, some savings which I used. And with the Academy, it was a funny story as well, because before I came for the course, I didn't understand. I didn't even know what is Academy. But I just knew I really want to be a part of the Academy. And I've been searching for the guys who can explain a little bit more, because I wouldn't be part of the family. And I didn't even hesitate. It was just a quick decision. I think I transferred some money from a few accounts. And actually, we've been saving for for the house, and I said, that's probably. I didn't even tell my husband what I did. Just transferred the money. I said, I'm ready, you know, to invest into my education. Because some people would say, if you've got money, you're better off putting it into a house. Yeah, but you believe that your best investment is yourself. Why do you believe that? Because, you know, in the, in the, in a short period of time, like, I don't know, nine, ten months, I got my money back plus I sit on many, you know, on many properties. I mean, I've got like an asset from it's a passive income, you know, from controlling other people's houses. So still, I can buy a house if I want to. Plus, I've got income, plus I've got education, plus I can teach my children, yeah, better family lifestyle. It's, yes, it's brilliant. And I think that you've been a massive inspiration to a lot of people, and I'm excited for this video to go out.
What would be your best piece of advice to somebody that's just beginning to get started in property? It's never too late. English is not an excuse. And create your reality. I love that. Well, Isabella, you've been a dream to work with. I hope you've enjoyed being part of the Academy. Very much. Absolutely. Thank you so much. And this is just the beginning. Thank you. Baldwin, you're awesome. [Applause] [Music] [Music]