How to Kickstart Your Property Investing Journey: A Friendly, No-Nonsense Guide

Hey there, and welcome! If you’ve ever caught yourself daydreaming about owning rental properties, building a steady stream of monthly income, or maybe even reaching a point where you can walk away from your job (if you want to), this guide is for you. I’m going to take you through a friendly, plain-talking overview of how to kick off a property investing journey—without getting lost in the usual maze of jargon.

My inspiration for this piece comes from Mark, an entrepreneur and property investor who’s built up around £3 million worth of real estate over the last decade. Instead of hogging all that knowledge, he’s kind enough to break down his process for others. He’s made mistakes, tried different strategies, and has pretty much seen it all. Now, I’m going to share his biggest insights so you can (hopefully) avoid his pitfalls, replicate his successes, and start creating financial independence for yourself.

Sound good? Let’s roll.

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Why Would Anyone Want to Invest in Property?

Let’s set the stage: property investing isn’t just about stacking up cash (though that’s definitely a perk). For a lot of people, it’s about freedom. When you own properties that (a) go up in value over time and (b) send you a rental check every month, life gets a lot more flexible. You don’t have to stress about your next bill. You get a say in how your day looks—maybe you keep your job because you love it, or maybe you finally start that passion project you’ve always talked about.

Here are a few key reasons people jump into property:

1. Long-Term Wealth: Property generally goes up in value over the long haul. (Yes, it can dip, but historically, it’s trended upwards.)
2. Monthly Income (Cash Flow): Rent can help pay off your mortgage and still put money in your pocket.
3. Leverage: You don’t need to buy a house outright. You can put down a deposit, take out a mortgage, and have your tenants effectively help pay that mortgage off for you.
4. Flexibility & Security: Over time, a well-managed portfolio can get you to a point where work becomes optional.

But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows; you have to be prepared to put in time, energy, and sometimes more cash than you think. The good news is, there’s a pretty simple framework to follow.

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Step 1: Get Your Mind Right

Ever notice how sometimes you can give people the best tips, the perfect roadmap, and they still never take action? Or maybe they start and give up after a few months? The difference often comes down to mindset.

Mark has a story about trying to mentor five friends, promising he could help them become millionaires in five years if they just worked an extra 10-12 hours a week. For each friend, that little bit of extra effort could have added up to a million-pound property portfolio—meaning they’d never have to work again if they didn’t want to. But guess what? All five quit within a year. Why? Because they didn’t have a strong “why.” They weren’t fired up enough to push through the tough moments.

So here’s the deal: you need to figure out your own reason for doing this. Is it because you want to spend more time with your kids? Do you hate your current job and dream of leaving it behind? Are you just excited about business and building something? Whatever it is, pin it down. If you don’t have a serious “why,” it’s going to be really easy to drop property investing as soon as real life gets messy (and trust me, it will).

If you’re reading this, though, you’ve probably already got the bug. You’re here on your own, not because someone dragged you. That’s a good sign. Keep that drive alive, and lean on it when things inevitably get tricky.

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Step 2: Scrape Together Some Capital

One of the biggest questions I hear is, “How do I even start if I have no money?” Well, spoiler alert: you do need somemoney. Unless you go the route of borrowing 100% from a partner or relatives, you’ll need savings for a deposit and some initial costs.

How Much Do You Need?

A rough figure to keep in mind is £20,000. Depending on where you live, that might get you a solid deposit and cover purchase fees for a small buy-to-let. If you’re in a pricier area, you might need more, but let’s start with that as a ballpark.

How to Get It

• Sell Stuff: Got a car you love but don’t need? Or a bunch of gadgets collecting dust? This could be a quick way to raise a chunk of cash.
• Side Gigs: Maybe you can drive for a rideshare service on weekends, deliver takeout, or tutor online. Mark uses an example of drivers making an extra £300 a week by just working Friday and Saturday nights. Over a couple of years, that could easily lead to £20,000 in savings.
• Family & Friends: If you have someone in your circle who’s willing to invest in or lend you money, that’s an option. Just be sure to spell out terms clearly so no one ends up feeling resentful.
• Joint Ventures: If you don’t have the capital but you know how to find good deals, someone else might put up the money in exchange for a share of the profits.

If you take someone else’s money, they’ll want returns. That’s fair. If you use your own money, you’re taking on all the risk but you also keep all the gains. Pick your poison.

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Step 3: Create a Real, Detailed Plan

Alright, so you’ve got that fire in your belly and at least a roadmap for raising some capital. Next up: planning. This isn’t the most exciting step, but it’s so important. Think of it like setting a destination in your phone’s GPS. You don’t just hop in your car and hope you’ll randomly stumble upon your destination.

Here’s how you might map it out:

1. Set a Clear Goal
   • How many properties do you want in five years?
   • How much monthly income are you aiming for?
   • Are you trying to retire early, or is this just to pad your savings?
2. Pick a Strategy
   • Plain Buy-to-Let: Easiest approach, usually. You buy a normal house and rent it out to a family.
   • HMOs (House in Multiple Occupation): Potentially more money per month, but also more hassle and regulations.
   • Serviced Accommodation/Airbnb: Can be lucrative in touristy spots, but more day-to-day work.

If you’re totally new, Mark recommends starting with something straightforward—a buy-to-let that’s not too expensive. Better to get a feel for how things work, build confidence, and then maybe branch out.

3. Financing & Mortgage Plans
   • Figure out if you’ll buy in your own name or through a limited company (it can affect taxes).
   • Decide how long you want to fix your mortgage. Two-year or five-year fixes are common for buy-to-lets.
   • Pencil in how often you plan to refinance (pull out equity) to buy more properties.

Basically, you want to see your journey on paper: “Year 1: Save or raise £20k, buy property #1. Year 3: Refinance property #1, pull out equity, and buy property #2,” and so on. That way, you know exactly what you need to do next, and you’ll be less likely to get sidetracked.

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Step 4: Hunt Down the Right Properties

Here comes the fun (and sometimes frustrating) part: actually finding places to buy. People often say, “Where on earth do I find good deals?” The short answer is you can look anywhere—online listings, auctions, local estate agents—but the real skill is recognizing a good deal when you see it.

How to Look for Deals

You might need to check out around 10 properties before you find one that makes sense. Some investors say 100, but if you focus on a specific area and a specific type of property (like a three-bedroom house in a certain price range), you’ll narrow things down fast.

The “Livable but Below Market Value” Trick

Especially for your first place, you might want a house that doesn’t require extensive work. No major refurb projects or structural repairs, because they can be nightmares if you have no experience. Aim for something that might be a bit dated—maybe the wallpaper’s old-fashioned or the bathroom could use a refresh—but still totally functional. You can rent it out as-is, and if you decide to spruce it up later, that’s your call.

Making Offers

When you find a property you like, you want to offer a price that makes sense for you as an investor. That can mean offering under the asking price. Don’t be shy. Explain that you’re an investor looking for a fair deal and that once you commit, you won’t back out. Sellers who are in a rush or who’ve had deals collapse before might value your reliability over a slightly higher price.

For instance, Mark talked about a house in Sheffield, advertised at £105,000, but he ended up buying it for £100,000 because the sellers needed a quick sale to move abroad. He came in with a promise of no messing around, and they went for it. This isn’t about “tricking” anyone—it’s about solving their problem (they want certainty) and solving yours (you want a property at a fair price).

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Step 5: Manage and Scale Your Portfolio

So you’ve got your first property. Congrats! Now you need to decide how you’ll handle it.

Managing Tenants

You can either do it yourself or pay an agent around 8-10% of the monthly rent to do it for you. If your aim is to build a big portfolio and eventually step away from hands-on work, using a management agent can be worth every penny. You won’t get those “the boiler’s broken at 2 a.m.” phone calls. If you only plan on owning one or two properties and don’t mind the effort, you can self-manage and pocket those management fees.

Scaling Up

If you catch the property bug (and many people do), you might not stop at one. Over time, you can refinance (meaning, get a new mortgage based on your property’s updated market value) and pull out some of the equity. Then, use that as a deposit for your next place. That’s the “snowball effect” Mark talks about.

Imagine you buy a property for £150,000, but you got a little discount, so it’s worth maybe £160,000 on the open market. A couple of years of rent and mild property price growth later, it might be valued at £180,000 or £190,000. You refinance, get a chunk of cash back, and—bam—you have the deposit for another buy-to-let. Rinse and repeat.

It won’t happen overnight, but after 5 or 10 years, you could have a portfolio generating thousands per month in rental income, plus a bunch of equity in properties that have gone up in value.

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Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Before you get too excited, let’s talk about some reality checks:

1. Overborrowing: Be cautious about taking on too much debt. If interest rates spike or your property sits empty for a few months, you still owe those mortgage payments.
2. Underestimating Costs: Repairs, insurance, letting fees, and the occasional nightmare tenant can all chip away at your profits.
3. Lack of Research: Don’t just buy a place because it’s cheap. Make sure people actually want to live there. Look at job markets, transport links, nearby shops and schools.
4. No Exit Strategy: Always have a plan for what you’ll do if the market changes or if you need cash fast. Property isn’t a liquid asset, so it takes time to sell.

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Staying Motivated and Getting Help

The property game takes patience. You’re not going to retire after buying one house and holding it for six months. But if you’re in it for the long haul, the rewards can be massive.

One great way to stay motivated is to keep learning and chatting with other investors. You can check out free videos, jump into Facebook groups or local meetups, or, if someone like Mark offers a quick 15-minute consultation, hop on that call. Sometimes, hearing from someone who’s done it before is exactly what you need to stay on track or tweak your strategy.

Just be wary of “gurus” with no track record who promise the moon. Do a bit of homework on whoever you follow. Look for people who show their real deals, talk numbers, and share genuine tips rather than just hype.

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Putting It All Together

Here’s a quick recap of the process:

1. Mindset: Figure out why you want to do this. Be 100% sure you’re ready to put in the effort.
2. Raise Cash: Whether it’s selling an asset, picking up a side hustle, or partnering with someone, get that initial deposit together.
3. Plan It Out: Write down exactly how many properties you want, by when, and how.
4. Find a Good Deal: Look for solid buy-to-let properties at a discount if possible. Don’t be afraid to offer below asking.
5. Manage or Outsource: Either handle the tenants yourself or use an agent.
6. Scale: Refinance down the line, use that equity to grab more properties, and gradually grow your empire.

If you’re thinking, “This seems doable,” that’s the right reaction. It is doable. It’s not rocket science, but it does demand consistency and a willingness to put up with some bumps along the way. If you stick to your plan, keep your eyes open for deals, and manage your finances responsibly, you’ll find yourself inching toward a life where your rental income can cover your bills (and maybe then some).

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Final Thoughts

Property investing isn’t about getting rich overnight. But if you follow the steps—have a solid reason for doing it, save or raise enough money to start, educate yourself, and keep repeating that cycle—you could be set up for a pretty incredible future. Over the years, property can become the backbone of your finances, giving you the security and freedom that’s hard to find anywhere else.

So if you’re someone who’s still on the fence, ask yourself: Am I willing to spend some extra hours now, hustle a bit more, view a bunch of houses, deal with some tenant calls, and keep learning—so that in five or ten years, I could be in a position to work only if I want to? If the answer is a confident yes, then what are you waiting for?

If you need more direct guidance, keep an eye out for real folks like Mark who offer free calls or local property meetups in your area. Learn from their wins and mistakes. You can take it at your own pace—there’s no rule that says you have to own ten properties by next year. Just start with one, see how it feels, and let momentum do its thing.

And remember: the whole point is to build a life you love, not just a property portfolio. So stay focused on your goals, but don’t forget to enjoy the journey. Here’s to your future in property investing—and living life on your terms! Cheers!