The problem with property when starting out is that there are so many variations that can be broken down into vastly different strategies, that just starting on any one can be challenging. The great myth is that it sounds in a way like some kind of “romantic adventure” to create your own destiny in life and to tell the world that you are a property entrepreneur, far removed from the daily rat-race grind as experienced by friends and family.

The truth is that the hardest part of the journey is not only getting started, but gaining momentum as you streamline your efficiency to improve your returns. The reality is that property investing can be a lonely existence, especially from a standing start and with little or no industry experience. So, why is it that most new investors are mostly presented with property strategies that do require upfront costs that prevent them from even getting started?

When speaking to some of them, they are not even aware of many of the fundamentals about property cycles, basic knowledge from books like “Think and Grow Rich” or “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, and board games like “Monopoly” or “Cashflow 101”. The only constant is that markets move in cycles, and that understanding the cycles and warning signals are key indicators of what may work today, whilst being prepared in advance for what your peers can’t see and who simply follow what everyone else is saying and doing.

In Cashflow 101 and Monopoly, you typically start out doing small deals, make cash flow for financial survival whilst gaining practical experience. Yet, often I have to remind people of the high risks they are running because their emotions are really wanting them to “get rich quick” to solve their own underlying personal desperation.

At present, I am deliberately putting myself in the shoes of someone with no substantial savings or equity as I update to 2025 the “How to Buy a House for £1” system that we popularised in the UK after the Global Financial Crisis. I have explained in past newsletters my observations of what the masses are doing today, knowing that the masses rarely have the vision to look over the horizon for what happens next. Even leaders and trainers are reactionists after the event.

Finally, property and business experts will say that this news will frighten people, who will take a simplistic viewpoint that it is merely giving a negative perspective. Often, you’ll end up paying the price later for trusting people with vested interests, who don’t really grasp the bigger picture or what to look out for. While interviewing the hundreds of business minds in “Think and Grow Rich”, don’t you think Napoleon Hill learnt these hard truths too?