Our 3 best deals from the last 12 months

0:01Hey everyone, Rob B here with Rob D and you are listening to The Property Podcast. This week we do something that we've never done before. We reveal to you deals that we've put together over the last few months and each of these deals is completely unique. It's completely different. We've gone at it with a different angle but I think you're going to be surprised by what we've been able to put together over the last few months.

0:32welcome to the property podcast thank you for joining us in case you don't know we run a business that buys more than 100 million pounds worth of property for our clients every year you can find out about that at propertyhub.net slash invest and today we are lifting the curtain we're showing you three of the best deals we've done over the past year to share our thinking about what we look for when we invest and to inspire you with what's possible so it's time for our new story of the week now and rob i like the headline so normally i say let's go beyond the headlines but i'm happy to stop with the headline because the headline of this week's news story says mortgage rates may have reached their peak says money facts well i hope money facts are right rob but don't worry everyone we have read beyond the headline yes and stabilized is the word because over the past week rates have not been coming down well they've come down by 0.01 of a percent but they have stopped increasing and they're increasingly more buy-to-let products on the market so all those deals that are being pulled because prices were all over the place they're now finding their way back on, meaning if you are taking out a mortgage or refinancing at the moment, you're going to have more options.

1:32And the person from Money Facts says that sentiment is improved, swap rates are coming down, and there are fewer expectations for base rate hikes. So all sounding good, Rob, but mortgages are the hot topic of the moment. So make sure you're listening to the podcast over the next couple of weeks, because we've got a mortgage broker coming onto the show to give you the inside story and tell you exactly what you should be thinking about right now. As we say at the top of every episode, every year we help our clients buy over£100 million worth of UK property. That is a lot of property, which means that our team gets to see more deals than pretty much anyone else.

2:03Funny thing is, we tend not to talk about it that much on the podcast. It's quite unusual that we talk about specifics of deals that we've done, probably because we don't want to come across as pushing our service. But this week, we're going to make an exception because we think it's important that you know what's possible in today's market. We've talked a lot recently about how it's a buyer's market, how there are great deals to be done, how everyone else switching off or getting scared means the opportunities are there. So to really bring that to life, we're going to show you three deals that we've done, three of our best from the last 12 months.

2:35Not to try and sell you on these deals, these are all long since gone, but to show you our thinking, show you what we look for in an opportunity, and to hopefully inspire you a little bit and show you what's possible. And we'd love your feedback once you've listened to this episode because like Rob said in all the years way over 10 now that we've been doing a podcast we've never ever revealed our deals to you before and again to repeat these are completely sold out so it's not us selling you it's showing you what is possible and I think deal one that we're going to cover first will surprise many listeners because a lot of people assume that a property hub invest we only ever do new build properties and we do and we're going to give you an example of a deal that we've done on a new build very soon.

3:21But before we do, let's talk about a completely different type of deal, tenanted stock. In this example, a developer was selling a portfolio, so they retained their stock. They decided to hold onto it, but wanted to liquidate. And because it was a large portfolio, it was hard for it to be broken up and sold individually because it would have taken forever but trying to find an institutional buyer was also a challenge as well and that's where a property of invest we can be a bit nimble because we've been really reputable investors along we work with reputable developers bring the two together and that niche works magic and that's what we've achieved here so this deal was in Hull yes Hull so you might have not heard this talk about Hull a lot but that's why it's interesting right because a lot of people just write it off instantly.

4:11Many people have a perceived view of a certain area, but that's how opportunities get missed. Because in Hull, the capital growth in the last 12 months there has been 3.8%. That puts it as one of the highest areas for capital growth over the last 12 months. But that didn't happen by random. Savills have forecast 28.2 % growth in the Yorkshire and Humber region over the next five years. But in Hull itself, there's a 1 billion regeneration plan underway. Now, one billion of regeneration in a city the size of Hull is unheard of. That type of investment is normally reserved for the likes of Manchester or Birmingham, of course, London.

4:53But you don't hear of cities like Hull getting that sort of money pumped into it. But already before that money goes in, we have to remember that Hull also is the renewables capital of the UK. Siemens have a huge wind turbine factory there and all the offshore wind industry has decided to base itself, or the vast majority of it, has decided to base itself in and around Hull as well. So you've got these high-end jobs which currently exist in Hull, more are coming to Hull, plus this one billion going in as well. So that's why we were very open to doing a deal there but rob it's one thing having a great area to invest in and we believe we identify that with hull but you don't want to then don't buy something overpriced but because we did this portfolio deal we managed to get an incredible deal for our investors yeah the position of strength that we had here is that they wanted to sell this portfolio and maybe in a really strong market they could do it one by one on the open market but in the downbeat market we have today it could take ages and be a lot of hassle so they wanted to get it all gone in one go and for that reason we managed to negotiate a 12 % discount and as we always say when we talk about discounts make sure it's a true discount not a discount from an asking price here we validated what they were actually worth and then managed to negotiate 12 % off that now because yields are generally high in this area anyway and because we got in a discount that meant that the yields on this were incredible The yields, depending on which property it was, went up to 8.3%.

6:26And again, is that a real yield or is it based off some fantasy rent? Because these were tenanted. So we knew how much rent they would produce because they already were. And of course, our clients were getting that income from day one. And I haven't mentioned the purchase price yet. If you're used to prices in the Southeast, prepare to fall off your chair. So before I discount, one of these three bedroom houses would have cost£165 ,000. £165 ,000. And then we've got a 12 % discount off that as well. that sounds insanely cheap but Rob we've got to make a distinction here between cheap and affordable because this is a mistake that a lot of people make and believe it or not this is far from the cheapest thing you could buy in this area no I've actually got one of them which I regret as you can probably tell already by the tone of my voice this was a purchase I made many many years ago it might even be over 10 anyway a long time ago but not long enough that I haven't forgotten about it well i still own it and with the consistent problems i have with it it still gives me issues and that property is a three-bed apartment and it's worth less than that one bed so that's all you need to know and it's worth significantly less as well so these are nowhere near the cheapest end of hull in fact they're really really nice properties and it's really really good stock it's important do not make the mistakes that we have made we share our mistakes on the podcast sometimes we feel a bit silly sharing the ball but you learn and hopefully you use those lessons that we felt the pain of to make better decisions and I think it's worth highlighting this is a really easy investment to make the price is easy you've got the knowledge of what your yield is going to be from day one you've got the history of that tenant before you go in it just is a set and forget you buy it it's going to pop into your portfolio and hopefully run along nicely and because you've not gone in at the cheap end of that city you shouldn't compromise you but shouldn't have as many issues and challenges that I've had by going into the cheap part of that city.

8:28So a great deal a great discount a great yield and certainty as well around the numbers. It's no surprise that that deal sold out in a flash but the next one was incredibly popular with our investors as well remember we're talking about the best deals here and this is very different Rob. We are going from one extreme to the other and while it's very different it is an incredible investment. It's one that really stood out. It wasn't just a good standard, it was arguably the best development in the entire city and the city being Birmingham. Yes, different in all the ways really because Hull, I actually really like Hull but it doesn't come to mind when you think of property hotspots.

9:11Birmingham absolutely does. We've actively targeted Birmingham over the past year we still are doing so because it's had such a transformation over the last five ten years and that transformation continues to happen and we don't believe that it's been fully priced in if you look at the prices that you can get in at for really great stuff there is still a lot of value there so the city very different the investment very different as well so whereas the whole houses are described as a steady workhorse kind of investment very effective nothing too exciting this is the one you'd want to show off this is one of the best new developments in the city.

9:42And something else we've repeatedly said on the podcast over the years is that it's worth owning the best. When you own the best, everything gets easier. It's the first to get capital growth and you can take your pick of the best tenants. So the marquee example of this approach was Deansgate Square in Manchester, where we did an incredible deal quite some years ago now, before the Manchester story was as obvious as it is now. But what was obvious was that this was going to be the best development in the city. It was built by Rennica who are the best developer in the city everything they build is incredible and if you looked at the spec and the quality is just phenomenal clearly miles above everything else in the city at that time and as a result in terms of capital growth and rental growth that's performed astonishingly well and what we believe we were seeing here Rob what really attracted us to this opportunity was this really looked like the Birmingham equivalent.

10:29Yes this was absolutely top end it was setting a new standard for quality not just in specification but meanity as well it is an incredible development and you know what for those who went into Dean's Gate Square even if you hadn't got a deal from ourselves you would have done very very well and this is the type of investment that you would probably do well if you paid full price here but when you can get a deal and you get that high-end quality as well when the two combine it makes it irresistible and that's why this deal makes the list. Now why would a developer want to do the deal? Well we have to remember there's been volatility in the market, there's been uncertainty but also the biggest one, sentiment.

11:16We talked about how they set the back half of last year, sentiment was really poor. Sentiment recently has been really poor so we're pushing for really strong deals at the moment but these windows don't exist very often. But because the window does exist we were able to get 16 % off yes you heard right 16 % off the development was completed so we had evidence of all the other completions to see that that was genuine so it wasn't them putting the price up by 16 and saying you can have 16 off it was an evidenced discount and when you are getting 16 % off like a development like that it meant that some of our investors were getting units for£66 ,000 less than others had paid for identical units.

12:04£66 ,000. That is incredible. But I think it's worth saying this happened off the back of months of negotiation. This wasn't done on a phone call. It took a long time to put this together. But it was worth that effort because our clients absolutely love this deal. Why wouldn't you? If you buy the best, and then you somehow get a deal on it, it becomes great. 8 % would have been amazing. I'm sure we would have sold them all out at 8%, but at 16%, it becomes a complete no-brainer. And because of that, it absolutely makes our list of some of the best deals that we've done in the last six months. I think it's important to remind everyone at this part of the episode is that we're telling you about these deals because you, right now, should be pushing for strong deals as well.

12:54We're doing it to motivate you into action not to settle for a mediocre deal. The market is a very interesting place right now. It's not going to last. These discounts, 16%, it was unheard of. Yes, we achieved it in 2025, but for years before that, we're talking about 10 years probably since we were able to put together a discount level of that amount. So that shows you how unique this window is. So at the very least, you should always be getting a genuine deal, a genuine discount when you're putting deals together right now. It is absolutely an investor's market. Take full advantage of it. And the principles of that deal is going for the best, and it really was the very best, and then debting yourself a deal.

13:42That investment feels like the people who've invested in there will do incredibly well from a capital growth point of view in the years to come. Not even long-term, medium-term, and possibly even short term, especially because you've got that built-in discount from day one. Yeah, when you're starting£66 ,000 ahead, it's hard not to do well, isn't it? Maybe not discounts of that magnitude, but real discounts are possible and, like you said, Rob, mandatory in this market. You can't be settling for less. You can't be doing average. And we've got one more deal to talk about, which certainly is not average.

14:12And this is a really interesting one because this deal was off plan. And a lot of people, when they hear off plan, they'll have a little involuntary shudder or they'll start feeling a bit nervous because they've heard the stories about off-plan. They've heard about the people who overpaid. They've heard about the people who lost their deposits because the building never got built and the developer ran off with the money. And those things do happen. A large part of the reason that people work with us is not just the discount, it's the fact that we've done all the research and made all the checks and removed the risk of that happening and insisted on a deal structure that keeps everyone protected.

14:42We do that for every off-plan deal, but this was a particularly special kind of off-plan deal because it was off-plan, but had already been built and was tenanted. this building was being sold by a fund and again it was off market so it was something that you wouldn't be able to see on right move or anything like that but because of the way that they needed to structure the deal the way that the timings needed to work there was something like six nine months between committing to the deal and being able to complete which is amazing because our investors got to lock in the current price by putting down only 10 percent benefiting from any uplift during those months until they put down the rest of their deposit and complete it so this was a really unique one because you had off-plan deal mechanics but with a building that you could see and that was occupied and that was tenanted and you could see the track record so that was great but it's no good rob just the mechanics being great the actual property investment needs to be as well and this one really was if nothing else just because of the location the mechanics of this deal made it really really interesting as rob's already explained but because it was a build to rent project the specification of this development was amazing and amenities as well the co-working space that was put together didn't just make it arguably the best co-working space in any apartment scheme in manchester but one of the best co-working spaces in manchester itself i'm not saying it is the best but that's the level those residents were able to access and i personally went to this development because it was bang in the center of manchester so it was easy to walked to it was like a two minute walk from our office and when i walked around you you just got the buzz of the place the co-working space was being used it was full there was a real energy there it was really cool to see the rooftop cinema was also pretty nice it was concierge 24 7 private dining rooms the lot it had everything it's because it was a bill terensky but breaking that up and giving it to our clients made it really really attractive now the discount was good on this one the discount was seven percent again proven because we could see what other units have been selling for the number of pound notes difference though was close to 38 000 pounds but for me what made this so compelling from an investment point of view is yes the discount was good but because it was such high spec you'd expect to do well from a capital growth but also the occupancy rate was ridiculously high and the average void periods being just 11 days yes 11 days with such tenant demand because it was such a high spec development the yields were up to 7.6 percent now if it was in Hull or somewhere else that isn't city centre Manchester you'd go okay 7.6 is a good yield but in Manchester that's phenomenal and then combined with the level of specification of this development it's unreal and they were tenanted remember these were tenanted as well so it wasn't a speculative red being put against them we knew what levels were being achieved to add a credible yield and a credible ROI.

17:59But normally your compromise is that you don't get something high end. You don't get the best, but you were getting the best here. So you had a tenant ready deal. You had benefits of off plan. You had a top spec development and an incredible return on your money as well, but while benefiting from the likelihood of strong capital growth in the future. So another very different deal. All of them we've taken you through today are completely different, but all are compelling for different reasons. I'd be really interested to hear from you listeners, like which stands out for you? Which one would you choose?

18:40But Rob, I think before we wrap up, let's tie this all back together. What are the core principles people should be taking from this the big one for me the one i want to really ram home right now is this unique window we're in and that people not settling take advantage of it it's a bit of a wake-up episode i think this one all these deals are gone they're sold it's not about us trying to sell property up invest deals it's about it's trying to sell you on waking up and not letting noise hold you back but i think these are the things we can learn as well yeah i think every deal that we've spoken about shows a different side of why we pick the opportunities we do because remember we turn down the vast majority of things that we see because they're not suitable for some reason or other so the first giant filter is the location there are big parts of the country that just don't work then we filter on the numbers the track record of the developer and all number of other things but then once we've counted out what obviously doesn't work for one reason or another then we start getting picky and we start looking for certain things one of the things we look for is something that is at the high end whatever that means for the local market so the deal we talked about in Birmingham is like super luxury how end however you define it but even the houses we're talking about in Hull at 165 ,000 pre-discount those are high end for the area and when you buy at the top end of the market as we've said everything gets easier something else we always look to do is to de-risk so inherently with property there are always risks and you have to manage those risks you can't eliminate them you need to manage them so we talked about off plan as an example where we do off plan deals we always structure them so you're protected we will not take on a deal where the deposit is put at risk but we did the same thing with the Manchester deal we talked about in a different way that was de-risked because they were already tenanted so we knew what the tenant demand was like we knew what the rents were and we knew what the occupancy rate had been so that removes a whole set of questions you normally have you can't do that on every deal but the point is the more question marks you can remove the better and that ties in precisely with what we're talking about with the current market we hear from a lot of people especially if they're calling into the Ask Rob and Rob podcast, who are saying, I'm looking at this deal, but the lease is short, but it's got this tenant who's behind on their rent and I need to get them out.

20:46But the neighbours are problematic, but it's in this area that's not so great. What do you think? And we'd always caution against that. But in the current market, no. Why would you do that? You don't need to settle. There's more property on the market than there has been for years. So the perfect deal doesn't exist. It's never going to tick every single box. But if you find yourself settling, I'd really think again. And to bring it back to your point, Rob, I think that's the most important message. Maybe an individual listening can't go and get 16 % off an incredible development because we are buying in bulk and we do have long-term relationships and a track record, which means of course we're going to be able to do better deals than average.

21:20But the fact that we are doing even better deals than we have done for years means that even if you can't get up to that level, you should still be really pushing yourself because that's where you make your money. You make your money by doing great deals and hanging in there and holding in for the long term and letting time work its magic. And now it's easier to do that than it has been for a very long time. So it's time for Hub Extra now, the part of the show where we give you more. Now, if you like those deals and you want more of those, the obvious Hub Extra for you would be to check out Property Hub Invest.

21:49Go to propertyhub.net forward slash invest. But that'll just be a resource for some of you. What I'm going to give you now is I think a resource that will be beneficial to the vast majority of you and that is in my opinion the perfect white t-shirt well any t-shirt actually any color you like but I started on my quest for the perfect white t-shirt at least two years ago and being the weird geek that I am I didn't just go and buy a couple I went and bought from multiple sources I also did a lot of research I watched YouTube videos. And a little bonus for you here is this great YouTuber called The Iron Snail.

22:29I'll link to him in the show notes. He does incredible videos on the quality of clothing and gets into incredible detail. It sounds dull. I promise you he's really entertaining, really entertaining. So go and check out his YouTube channel if you like to consume things like this. But let me give you some of the brands that I have tried and ruled out. I know them were awful, but they just didn't win. They weren't the best for me. So Ask It is a brand I tried. Get a lot of people to have that brand up for t-shirts. And they were good. They were good. They were up there. But for me, there was a better option.

23:04I tried Gap, cheap and cheerful. They start out quite nice, but then they quickly fall apart and lose their shape and their colour. Tried all the usual suspects like your Zara, your Mango, all those type of stores. And I do have some nice stuff from there. But again, there's better options. Rise and Fall, another premium t-shirt provider. I think their t-shirts are like£40, something like that. I was willing to try different price points as well, so I'm not just looking for cheap. But for me, the winner after a long review process and going around the houses, and a clear winner on my ad as well, is Uniqlo and their Aerosene t-shirt.

23:45Now, we will provide a link in the show notes but what I would say is that website does not do this t-shirt any justice. I remember looking at their website and going no not for me. Maybe it's the models they use for the t-shirts. It might be that I'm not a fan of some of the other Uniqlo stuff that they do you know their type of style or fashion but I went into the store I picked it up for myself and the quality of these t-shirts for 20 pounds is unbelievable. It's got a great level of thickness but because of the AERISM technology, they really feel light and breathable. So they combined both worlds.

24:19It has that quality feel because it feels thick, but they're light and breathable as well because of the technology that they use. If you are into this type of thing, then I'd really recommend you pop into a store. No, Uniqlo haven't sponsored us. We don't get sponsored. The Uniqlo recommendation is organic. It's wholehearted. Do check it out. £20, pounds unbelievable quality for what you get going to the store i've picked them up in different colors now as well and because of that aerism technology great for the summer months ahead a strong recommendation and a little bonus one from me as well is zara athletics so if you like your gym and sportswear and you're looking for something a bit different or you're fed up of overpaying then i'd recommend this brand it was it came back to me i played paddle recently with a podcast listener Joe hey Joe if you're listening and he was wearing Zara Athletics and I remembered that I got a load of Zara Athletics stuff as well and it is really really high quality stuff right it's really good stuff it's rarely in the stores so you'll find it hard to find it when you go in store but you can get it online I'd highly recommend if you're sporty gym paddle wherever you like to do check out Zara Athletics that's another recommendation as well the price quality ratio on that and the Uniqlo stuff is phenomenal.

25:39You were a man who knows his t-shirts. That was impressive. You've clearly done your research. So thank you because that means I don't have to. And I appreciate the little YouTube recommendation in there as well. So you'll find a link to all of those in today's show notes as well as a link to Property of Invest. And let's throw in a cheeky link as well to our YouTube channel because the team's got some really great stuff going on on there at the moment as well. But that's it for this episode. I hope we've inspired you about just what is possible and we'll see you again next week. Bye bye. Bye bye.