I had been attending a few networking events for a while and my business partner and I realised there were going to be quite a few people out there like us who were going to be scratching their heads and wondering what to next. We also realised just how little we actually knew about making money from property. We invited some investors that we knew to sit down round a table and write down on a piece of paper how much they had spent on property courses, seminars and such like. The figures ranged from £4,000 to over £70,000.

Given that what we knew was pretty much impossible to do anymore we also realised that there were many people out there who knew how to make real money out of property whatever the market was doing. Perhaps we could use their experience and stories to inform other investors, we could share stories and ideas so that everybody could learn from each other. Instead of charging thousands of pounds for a property course why not charge just a few pounds and put all of the information into a magazine format aimed at people like us – people who want to learn different strategies to find a niche in their local market to make profit.

Two years on we now have 12,500 readers across the UK (and a few overseas) and the magazine has grown from 16 pages to 62.

What’s it about
Every month we are submitted hundreds of property stories from our readers, we bin all of those that are just trying to sell something and feature interesting and innovative strategies from real investors who have done real property deals. It’s a bit like watching property ladder but aimed at a more experienced audience. We don’t really write about overseas property because in truth we can’t get our head around it! The core of the magazine is how to make money from property in your local market.

Our readers range from those just starting out to investors who have personal portfolios well into the hundreds. My job is to ensure that every month we have at least half a dozen articles that are of interest and the strategy can be implemented or adapted by our readers. Some of the strategies require the investor to have access to funds, others are more suited to those who do not have a big pot of cash to start with.

Outside of the magazine we do not undertake any kind of property education, we really feel that for £3.90 per month there is no better way of keeping up to date and finding out different ways to make money from property. Thankfully our readers seem to enjoy the magazine, they tend to pick and choose the bits that are relevant to them and so far 12,500 seem to like what we do.

My own property knowledge has increased dramatically over the past 2 years and I have personally moved from straightforward below market value deals into small scale developments the most recent of which was a house that we purchased and split into flats. In total we spent approx. £130,000 and when finished the 2 flats valued at £86,000 each. I’m just looking at my first self build project and trying to find the land and finance to make it possible!

I have met some fascinating people through running YPN including Sarah Beeny, Kevin Green (Channel 4’s property secret millionaire), Martin Roberts (BBC’s homes under the hammer) and Dolf De Roos (Property Billionaire who works with Donald Trump). Perhaps more relevant to most of our readers we have published over 500 case studies of real investors who have found a niche and built a profitable property business. These range from commercial property developments, land deals, buy to let, refurb and development, HMO’s, lease options, buy to sell, tenant buyers and niche market letting (such as letting residential properties to commercial tenants). Before we publish any editorial piece it’s read by our full team (all 3 of us!) and we decide whether it’s relevant and interesting. We attend a few property networking events each month and it’s always nice to get ideas and feedback for future magazines.

Although running the magazine takes up a lot of time and thereby I have less time to spend on my own property business (I added 5 properties to my portfolio last year) it has meant that the deals that I actually do are far better than those we purchased prior to the credit crunch.

My own investment criteria are as follows
I want to be able to get any capital I invest back out of a deal within 6 months. Any money left in a deal I want paid back out in rental profit within 1 year. After re-mortgaging I aim to make a minimum of £150 per month rental profit on a single let property. I really hate it when I meet people who say “It’s alright for them – they have got loads of money”, these kind of people are just making excuses. The truth about property is that absolutely anybody can make money from property it’s just that 99% choose not to do so. This does not mean that it is easy and there aren’t risks, there are but by and large those who end up losing their shirt do so out of negligence, greed or naivety. The vast majority of people that I have met who have money made it from property.