Property Investment Room 101

This week, no two ways about it: we had a bit of a moan.

Yes, we each picked three items to go into our personal Property Room 101. An idea we shamelessly “borrowed” from Pete Matthew, who did his own Room 101 on the Meaningful Money Podcast a while back.

We thought we were pretty positive guys and this would be a short episode. But, once we hit our stride, there was no stopping us! We had a good old moan about:

• Inconsistent surveyors
• Unhelpful property listing descriptions
• Expensive property courses
• The whole system of buying and selling property in the UK
• Sharks in the property industry (listen to episode 45 of the podcast for tips on avoiding them)
• Landlord licensing schemes

Phew! It was a bit of a rant, but there are lessons embedded in there – so take a listen.

We talk about accountability a lot, and here’s a novel way of approaching it. A site which for modesty’s sake we’ll call go effing do it dot com.

The idea is that you say what you’ll do, when you’ll do it by, who will hold you accountable, and how much money you’re willing to put at stake. The site then emails your friend when you should have completed the task, and if you haven’t done it, your money is transferred to them!

We normally talk about mastermind groups when it comes to accountability, but if you find losing money to be motivational (which we surely all do), this has got to be worth a try too.

In the news this week, “Get Rich Quick” property courses are back with a vengeance, according to The Telegraph.

This is normally an indicator of a market that’s approaching its peak – but also reflects an opportunity created by the media’s newfound enthusiasm for the property market. As we’ve said before, we have nothing against people charging for their expertise and it’s essential to invest in your education. But, many of these courses lack substance and exist only to upsell you to ever-more-expensive courses.

Before committing, listen to episode 45 of the podcast for tips on avoiding them, to detect any sharky behaviour, and don’t be afraid to ask questions before putting any money down.

Join the conversation

What really gets your goat when it comes to property? What would you put in your personal Room 101?

We’d love to know, so join the discussion in The Property Hub!