Condo Property Podcast Michele Schirru

DO YOU WANNA BE THE LEADING PLAYER IN YOUR AREA?

More than 90% of people in your area use the internet to search before selling and buying a house.

What do they search?

They want to know the prices, they want to see which properties are currently on the market, they want to compare real estate agents.

Digital real estate marketing will help you to create and increase brand awareness, increase the perceived value and, finally, generating more leads and more sales.

This means more money for you!

Even if they started the process on their own, in the end, they will rely on your Real Estate Agency to solve their real estate problems.

I support Real Estate Agents in creating and implementing Digital Marketing Strategies that get clients through the door and increase sales.

Let's work together: https://micheleschirru.it/re-marketing/

Is there anything stopping the tech giants of this world, Google, Facebook, and Amazon, from becoming leading forces in the real estate industry?

They've certainly got the cash and the status to give it a good go.

Perhaps more importantly, they have all of the data! Data which they currently sell to others. So, what if they start keeping if for themselves? Michele Schirru returns to Themes to explore this very question.

Link to my article on Unissu: https://www.unissu.com/proptech-resources/might-Google-Facebook-and-Amazon-become-global-real-estate-powerhouses

Link: https://www.unissu.com/proptech-resources/Michele-Schirru-interviews-Russell-Quirk-podcast-proptech

For me, and I'm sure I am not alone on this, it's always great fun and source of inspiration to sit and listen to Russell Quirk.

He is a very influential figure when we take property into consideration. For this reason, it is not surprise that he was recently awarded as the top influencer in UK for PropTech.

Source: https://tytopr.com/top-10-influencers-in-proptech-tech500/

During the years, we've seen him involved in various conferences, events, shows, all over the UK and online. He has always been at the forefront of the discussions about the future of property and the implications the digital transformation carried to the industry.

Let's be honest, property is a sector that has been one of the slowest to adopt technology, this is true for the UK but even more for the rest of the world.

The two uncontested "trend-setters" during the last 10 years have been the US and the UK, but other regions of Europe are now trying to do their part of the job. Germany and France are definitely worth to look at in this respect, certainly the rising interest for Axel Springer in proptech firms like Homeday, initially, and Meilleurs Agents, lately, is a strong signal.

It is not all confined in there, because Spain and Finland are strengthening their position as well, and so is Italy with more than 120 proptech firms in the space for 2019.

I in fact have recently written an article here on Unissu about the rising of the italian PropTech.

But these recent developments came around just about 7 years after something started to move heavily in the UK.

The interest for Axel Springer in Meilleurs Agent is a sign that interest is moving from online estate agency, servicing directly the consumer, to a model where services are rather directed to the agents. As Russell will say later in the interview:

"I think the way forward sustainably for estate agency is to leverage agents and their personal brand and to help them with admin and compliance and so on. That's what I should have done differently. I should have become a UK Keller Williams in 2018 charging a full fee of one and a half per cent plus VAT on success."

It was 2009 when Russell founded Emoov, one the most interesting projects in the entire spectrum of proptech that has drawn attention globally. It was not the first, but certainly Russell knew how to make his way through the press and get the results grow and grow.

Back then, but even now, he's obviously been focusing a lot on online estate agency, having been mainly an estate agent for very long time.

As you might know, for Emoov things have not turned out very well. After 9 years, even after joining with Tepilo, Channel 4 and Urban.co.uk, after millions of pounds poured into the business, in 2018 Emoov went into administration and Russell had to find an alternative way to earn his living.

“I should have explored more aggressively with my board becoming a full fee agent but still using local experts still using technology still using operational centralization. And actually I've kind of come full circle when I started looking at what on earth I do for a living. In January 2019. How do I pay the school fees how do I feed my family.”

And here it comes Properganda PR and so on, as he will actually tell us in the interview...

“The obvious thing of course was PR. Because I've got a profile and reputation in property in terms of being able to gain PR coverage so it was natural that I would then do that for other people and we now have lots of...

While the quality of landlords and their understanding of the Buy-to-Let market has undoubtedly improved in recent years, there are still some fundamental mistakes that are made – both by those who are new to the business and by landlords who would consider themselves experienced.

Letting a property out is not an easy job, especially if you have never had experience with it.

The changes that are shaping the buy to let market in the UK will have a significant impact on the way business is performed. Watch out for those and speak with your preferred advisor, being an accountant or letting agent, to make sure you are prepared for it.

To ensure your investment gives the returns you want and need, you must research your local market properly and take expert advice, so that you’re able to put together accurate budgets and forecasts, with figures for prices, rents, expenditure and ta

Until the lettings market becomes regulated, the best way to protect yourself as a landlord is to engage the best agent you can find in your area.

If you don’t have the right insurance cover, you could find yourself not only out of pocket for repairs, but also with lost income from rent arrears and a heavy legal bill if you happen to be prosecuted for any accidents that occur in your property.

Too many landlords who manage lets themselves tend to take too long to take action, forgetting that if things are sorted by the tenant the process can be stopped which can result in missed rent, causing financial problems for the landlord.

Link: http://bit.ly/2nLpZyK

In this episode I will share with you a real life story, this goes back to months ago where a first time landlord, who used to live in the same property going to be let for 19 years, decided to rent it out. Obviously, the emotional attachment was quite strong, as you can imagine.

The expectations were very high, then after the first inspection carried out by the agent it emerged that the property was not looked after well enough. This was a house in multiple occupation, 5 rooms for 5 tenants all in a joint and several tenancy. This has of course caused more wear and tear, even in just a few months!

Long story cut short, there has been an issue with condensation, so in the effort to make things better the tenant has actually damaged the walls. Most likely either bleach or the wrong product was used to tackle the issue: magnolia walls became patchy white ones! Other things were part of the list, including damages to the flooring in some areas of the property.

If you thought that investing in property and becoming a landlord was something easy, think again. You should consider first the real reasons why you want to invest in buy to let properties, also with time, learn on how become emotionally attached and not take things too personal.

This would be your business, you are renting the property to make a profit, remember!

DO YOU WANT TO READ MORE STUFF LIKE THIS?

Please visit the below link: http://bit.ly/2niAyGw

In this podcast episode we’ve been around a very interesting topic, I would say that is essentially an evergreen of the many property investment conversations.

We’ve caught up with Michael Lawlor, Mortgage Mike, to have an understanding of the current scenarios that are surrounding the property market in relation to mortgages and financing.

He is one of the 900+ Mortgage Advisers across the UK that are part of Mortgage Advice Bureau, the leading mortgage network as well as the most recognised intermediary consumer brand.

LENDERS ARE CHANGING THE WAY THEY PROVIDE MORTGAGES

It is not secret that things are becoming harder for property investors, especially in getting mortgages around London and other parts of the UK.

The increasing values are not even keeping up with rental prices around, this means that people are having to put more money of their capital down. More capital down means that there is less exposure for the individual, but potentially a less appealing investment in terms of ROI and rental yields.

No surprise, again. This is way so many property investors are actually considering buying outside the M25, and even more in other cities and areas around the UK. So, the lesson is really that you should go where the numbers really work, and where you the operation it’s worth your while.

Another bit of conversation has touched the first time buyers aspect, which of course are part of the reasons of the implications given by the mortgage and tax changes introduced. Still, according to Mike they are not really doing that well!

Link: