I was homeless with £0.00, but now . .
Hey guys, this is Samuel Leeds, and I am back with another exciting blog about a regular show on my youtube channel, “Winners on a Wednesday.” I have been in the property business for almost 12 years now. I have completed over 300 property deals. You always hear me speak about my experiences through my videos, blogs, training sessions, and most comprehensively in my property investor crash course. I enjoy discussing other people's perspectives on the property business. You have seen many successful property investors and learned about their success stories, opinions, and experiences on my show.
Today in this blog, we will discuss a detailed talk with this brilliant property investor Josh Knecht. Josh was on youtube channel 2nd time on winners on a Wednesday. His thorough hard work, extensive learning, and efforts have made him what he is today. But things were not like that for him a few years back. This guy was homeless, living in a shed a few years ago but had a keen interest in the property business since his childhood. He came to attend my property investor crash course in 2015, learned the necessary skills, applied them practically, and things have been uphill since then for him. Since then, we are very good friends. I have helped him a lot throughout his journey, and we learn from each other all the time, and now he has shared his expertise with all of us on this episode of Winners on a Wednesday.
Josh Knecht's Back Story is Inspirational
For people who haven't seen Josh's previous interview with me and don't know much about his back story, here is a brief overview of how he got into the property business. Josh told us a fascinating account of his childhood how his parents used to save a lot of cash from the money they used to get from the tenants living in the annex of their house. He always dreamed of having a drawer full of money as a child and always thought that he could make this dream a reality if he got into the property business. Years passed by, and Josh wasn't doing much well in life career-wise, he left school and went to a building trade but realized this was not his call. He dropped out, and until 2008 the situation was like that. Josh finally decided to get involved in property and master the art of it. He explained how he wasn't mortgageable, but he had a strategy, and he always kept learning. He went to auctions, Pin meetings to gather enough knowledge, built his credibility beforehand, and then jumped into the business practically.
Josh’s First Deal was a House in Devon.
After having a handful of experiences and learning since 2008, Josh bought his first house in 2011 in the middle of Devon when the Devon's property prices were shooting up. He found someone for the mortgage and got helped with the funds though he had no market information at that time, he knew his strategy, which worked, and he successfully owned his first house. Josh didn't think he would be a professional property investor, but his approach was to look for properties that needed refurb but also have the necessities. He planned to refurbish them, take a mortgage out on it, and then rent it out. Josh's first property has paid for his living expenses, fuel expenses, and mortgage since the first day he bought it. Keeping his strategy in mind, he went to pin meetings, property networking events, which kept him excited and motivated about the industry. He saw the real property world witness the refurbs, refinances, and deals, which encouraged him to keep working towards his goals. He heard me speaking at pin meetings the first time, and I sold him a deal too later.
Effects of Sales and Marketing in Property Business.
Like any other business, the significance of sales is vital in the property business because, in the property industry, money actually comes from people and not from the property itself. Tenants, investors, Joint venture partners, all of these people bring Capital into the property business; that is why sales are an essential aspect of the industry. While talking, we shared our views that when the value of property shoots up, it is actually someone pitching it to you that the amount has increased. Everything nowadays is about sales, be it me selling my tenants that everything will be okay if they come to me with an issue or me compelling Josh to appear on my youtube channel to talk about his story. Everything involves pitching an idea and has a selling point. Sales are all about giving people what they want to be able to close the deal.
Often people forget that Property business is a business. We have a product with customers and the marketplace, just like conventional business techniques. Tenant is a customer; the marketplace is what people are looking for. Investors are also customers and if you have a repeat customer and investors mean you have a decent business. Sales and Marketing are as relevant in the property business as in any other industry.
Josh talked about his experiences with state agents.
According to him, State agents don’t always ask the right questions. If someone is in a problematic situation, price isn’t the most important thing at the time of sale of a property. I believe it is true because sometimes speed is needed. This information should be communicated mutually by both the sellers and state agents. The agencies should ask relevant questions about What is more important, the best price or a quick sale.
Josh Talked about his Joint Venture Partnerships.
Sales and Joint venture partnerships go hand in hand, and that’s what Josh did. He went to networking meetings, had countless coffee gatherings with potential partners, and always asked the right questions to the investors for maximum benefit. Objective, time scale, and resources are the essential things in a joint venture and he used to ask about them in his meetings with his future investors Josh is also a massive fan of training, and he got a lot of insight into the Joint ventures from Susana Coles. I absolutely agree with this philosophy about constant training. It means you are actually investing in yourself, and you are discovering how to make the right decisions to protect your money. Building a sales funnel can help you make a trusted network of people who will work with you together. This is what I call “ Building your list.”The person with the biggest list is the person who is going to win. That’s my mantra. You keep connected to that list and sell it to that list. Selling is serving. This is what I think, and Josh agreed. If someone had a fantastic experience with you in a joint venture; they will approach you again; that’s how you build a list and trust the partners.
Reaching out to a broader audience is essential for growth.
Josh is a kind of an old school guy, and he wants to meet people in person mostly, but I suggested that he should explore the online market.
My philosophy is you must not hesitate to put yourself out there, and for outstanding progress, there must be a lot to look behind and comprehend how much you have grown over that time. When you are thriving, there must be some people who will hate you for that, and Josh already got some. According to my experiences, for every hundred people you have helped, there will be at least one person who will hate you for no reason. This means you have impacted enough people, and you have marketed yourself enough to get some hate too.
Marketing and reaching out to new people is necessary for business growth. Marketing is all about making people aware of your existence and building enough trust in the market, so people want to do business with you. Josh continued to talk about how easy it is to make a deal with the people on your list and don't have to push them much if you have gained enough trust in the past. I believe talking to strangers, marketing yourself, and gaining their trust will help you make your list bigger and more immeasurable. The key to make it big in the industry is taking challenges, reaching out to new people, and making more trustworthy business connections.
Josh’s most Challenging Property Deal and the power of Branding:
Josh talked about one of the most difficult property ventures of his career, which was a six thousand square foot x window factory in the center of Bristol in St Pauls. It wasn't actually his deal, but he fundraised to be able to buy it because it was on a lease option. He met one potential investor on a networking event; they discussed the procedure of the deal; everything looked smooth. Josh expressed how he wasn't compatible with the person, and so a year after the investors were due out on a ton of money, The planning got stuck, and it all got a bit complicated. Cutting it short, he managed to refinance other investors to pay out some of the other investors. The timeline got messed up, and solicitors were involved in getting the money out of the deal. In my opinion, anything unpleasant can happen in the property business, even if you have years of experience and are a very careful investor. The things can go disastrously wrong at any point, but what is a success without risk and failures. You always learn something from bad experiences. Josh learned a lesson not to engage with people who he doesn't know well enough for a significant period of time, a minimum of six months. Naturally, if someone is going to do business with you, they want to know you trust you and like you. On average, if you have spent seven hours with a person, that person might do some serious business with you.
This is where the power of branding works. I have written books, and I do youtube videos. People know me; people know my strengths, my weakness, my views about everything. This is how I have built an extended family and a trustworthy relationship with my students and investors. Letting people know who you are is branding; that is why I emphasize creating youtube videos and strengthening your brand. I coach people, particularly loyalty, because I enjoy it, but it also helps me to connect with people who eventually become my partners.
Josh agreed to my views, and he has been working on this skill. Branding and socializing are important. Visibility is hugely powerful to be a successful property investor and to do business with like-minded people to ensure maximum gains.
During the lockdown, Josh was writing a book about his property deals and story, and that is incredible.
It would be a delight and inspirational to read about how he lifted himself up. Going through an unpleasant business deal, dealing with the loss of his parents, he ended up being homeless for some time. Little knowledge can be dangerous. Josh understood it and took some more enhanced pieces of training, educated himself, and managed to evolve out of all this.
Josh talked about his big wins and Rent to rent ventures:
Josh's first real big win happened in 2016. Before that, he was doing small deals by refurbing and renting out properties, but in 2016 he bought a huge three-bedroom house in Stoke on Trent for 73.5 thousand pounds. He spent 20 thousand on the refurb and refinanced after two years at a value of 125 thousand pounds. He took 90 thousand out, and in the meantime of two years, he started doing a rent to rent venture on it. There was no mortgage on the house, and after all the bills, he accomplished six to seven hundred pounds per month straight in his pocket. The venture was managed by someone else, so it was an effortless earning which compelled him to do more of these. Josh did this deal all by the money of his investors and paid the fifty percent of the uplift to them. This is what I preach all the time. If you know how to speak, you don't need your money. Talking about other aspects, he told me that he found that Rent to rent guy in my office; this is how, when you socialize with the right people, you will be making successful deals all the time.
Josh thinks Rent to Rent is difficult.
Josh believes Rent to rent ventures require a lot of effort, and the process of making a deal with a letting agent can be exhausting and not much profitable. His ideas revolve around preparing your own business plans, look for people who can fund the project, and make it work like that.
I understood his view and wouldn't say he was totally wrong because everybody has their own goals. Rent to Rent can be beneficial if you are doing multiple of them simultaneously, and it can easily replace the average monthly salary of a person who is working terribly for 40 hours every week to earn that much money. Rent to rent is the best way to replace your full-time income. Get the experience, educate yourself, and experience the cash flow. Rent to Rent properties can easily guarantee you a fixed amount, and the person managing will be very happy to do it as well if he wants to quit his daily job and work in the property business to be his own boss. Josh was more interested in refurb, refinance ventures, and it makes sense. This was his strategy. There are tons of possible ways to earn money in the property sector. If you work hard, learn the business tactics, you can make a yearly wage of an average UK citizen just by making one deal, and this was Josh's minimum profit target for a year, Josh told us during the talk. That sounds great to me as well.
What kind of deals are worth investing?
Before taking on a deal, always ask yourself two questions: Are your learning, or are you earning? In the earlier days, take any deals that will help you learn, and even if you're earning less profit. By the time you will get the relevant experience, then you will concentrate more on the money part, and learning should never stop too. It should always be a perpetual process.
Be prepared for everything…
Josh wanted to buy a Ferrari f35, but then later, the lockdown happened. And that used a lot of Money from Josh's savings. He was left with a completely empty portfolio as all his properties were in rent to rent ventures. Most of his regular and holiday properties were empty during the lockdown, which put him under a lot of stress. He managed to pay his mortgages with all his war chest money. He started renting out the rooms to nurses and still survived somehow. This is what I have predicted too. July August was the best time to look for Rent to Rent ventures because most of the landlords with their empty properties were looking for agents, but everyone was scared. Normal agents are much less motivated but rent to rent agents work hard to make some profit out of these ventures. So as a property investor, it is always a best practice to save something for the rainy days, and it's not that difficult.
Myths and Fears regarding Property Business:
I believe there is a lot of lack of education related to investments, finance, and the property world. Josh also emphasized getting an education before getting involved in the business. Understand the business, obligations, and make sure you're on the right side of the business. Know your weakness and strength and plan according to that. Josh concludes there is not much finance education related to the property world in the country. You need to learn about the sources of money and how to deal with money as it's a huge responsibility. Proper Studies and Training is the only way to get through this.
I believe this is the most lucrative business on the planet, and if you think if you don't need to study to be a property investor, I consider this an insult to the industry. Educate yourself, learn through training, then jump into the game. Most of my property training is for free. I am teaching on youtube and the crash course to give back to the industry and to help people who are enthusiastic about this industry.
Wrapping Up:
Freedom, money, cars, and most importantly, taking care of his family is the driving force for Josh to work hard and smart as a property investor.
“Just Get started , Get Properly educated and Never Give Up” This is what Josh said when asked for a piece of final advice for the aspirants.
If you want to see Josh this detailed interview and his previous interview or if you want to see a whole playlist of people smashing winning in the property business as a result of my pieces of training, go to my youtube channel. Don't forget to do me a massive favor. Like and share my videos and smash the subscribe button. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog. Thank you so much, guys.
Josh's Company is called 2B Property. Find more here: https://www.2bproperty.co.uk/
Connect with Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-knec…
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