Building Wealth Together: Introducing Our New Partner, Blanc Property Finance

Welcome back to a super special episode of the Girls in Property Podcast!

Today, Athena introduces our fabulous new main sponsor and partner, Adele Turton from Blanc Property Finance.

Get ready for a whirlwind of fun and laughter as we dive deep into the story & person behind the brand. Adele shares the delightful origin of the name Blanc Property Finance, inspired by her love for the mountains and her daughter's ski racing adventures. She also reveals how representing a boutique mortgage brokerage helps her stand out from the crowd! 

Athena and Adele chat about their exciting future plans and the powerful impact of women teaming up to build wealth in a male-dominated industry.

Welcome aboard, Adele and Blanc Property Finance! We're thrilled to have you as part of our podcast family and to join us in creating the change we want to see in the world! 

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Thank you to our main sponsor of this podcast Blanc Property Finance

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Disclaimer: None of the content in our podcast is intended to constitute legal or financial advice. All interviews ...

Transcript

0:02

Hello everyone, good morning and welcome to today's episode of the Girls in Property podcast. So you probably heard that we had a slightly different introduction to usual and that is because I am so honoured and so pleased that today Girls in Property has its first ever partner that we are going to be partnering with going forward and the person I'd like to introduce you to is Adele Turton from Blank Property Finance. Hi Adele. Hi everyone, hi, thank you for having me. Very, very excited about this. Yeah, this is super, super exciting. Finally, Girls and Property has its first ever partnership, which is super, super incredible. And I love the fact it's you. I love the fact that it's you who's really bossing it in the finance world, showing the fact that, you know, women can be business owners, create this, and we're really sort of making a difference in both the property and the finance world and showing what women can do. And I know that our values when we've spoken are so aligned with that. And I'm just so... appreciative and so excited at the fact that it's you that we are partnering with. So very, very exciting. So of course, a lot of the girls got to actually meet you at the Girls and Property retreat. However, for those who didn't get a chance to meet you or even the girls that did, do you want to just take a moment to reintroduce yourself, tell everyone a bit about you and we can take the conversation from there. Yes, so my name is Adele, my company is called Blonk Property Finance. I am a commercial finance broker. I've done this a long time now, over 20 years, 25 years, something like that. I finally started my own business in 2007 after leaving the legal profession. And that's quite important because I use a lot of the skills from that area because I did a lot of contract law. Really works with what I do and that's really how I got into this. I realised that contract law really helps with investors and developers and I can sort of restructure things and find different solutions. I rebranded the business a few years ago and came up with Blanc Property Finance because I've got a huge love of mountains, Blanc as in Mont Blanc, and my daughter is a ski racer which is, I just love being in the mountains so I thought why not, it's so difficult naming a business, so difficult. Harder than naming your child a dog, I think, is naming a business. But I finally got there and that's really where it came from. We've got a boutique style brokerage in Manchester. We are currently recruiting actually. We're looking to expand our admin case support team. We're looking for an insurance broker because we bring a lot more services in-house to add on to what we already do. I specialize in finance for property investors, whether that is a developer or its portfolio landlord. That's really the core of what we do. And then you've got offshoots from that would be the protection. We can do residential, we do regulated work, but we don't do it. We don't do a lot of it. It's mainly investor type stuff. We do commercial term. There's lots of different offshoots off it. but that's basically what we've done and we've done this for, like I said, since 2007. Wow, incredible. And I'm going to be touching on some of this, especially the boutique part, because I think that's so important. But just before I do, I definitely want to go back to what you said earlier. So you're a mum to a daughter who does ski racing. I mean, that must take, I imagine that takes so much dedication from both her and you as a parent as well. does, it does. So she is, I talked to Ski when she was four, I can't claim credit for how she skis now. She overtook me by the time she was about seven. She's got balls of steel as my daughter. And she's very, very competitive, very. So she just took to it. So we started, we were on holiday one year and she saw some freestyle skis and she saw some races. I want to try that. So I said, look, before you do freestyle, I want you to learn how to race. So there was a camp at the local indoor center. So I just plopped straight into a camp, not realizing that these kids have been racing since it was like really small. And I went, my God, I thought my daughter could skate. I was like, wow. So yeah, she sort of had to then like with anything, she sort of then went back to a beginner stage because she then wanted to go up a level. She started racing when she was about nine. That's when she started to get into it. And she... was asked to join the team 18 months later so she started going out to Austria from about 10 and a half I know crazy and then she was selected for Team GB for the children's team this is her second year now so she will have been 13 when she was selected first. So do you see her like going all the way to the Olympics? Ideally, the goal, the dream is to be World Cup and Europa Cup, which is what it is in ski racing terms. Like you would be the Premier League, we have World Cup and Europa Cup and it's an international competition. Olympics, yes. Of course, who doesn't want to represent the country at the Olympics? That is, we've just had one of our juniors, a very famous family, a colour carrot Smiths, done exceptionally well at the Youth Olympics, like better than we've ever done. Gold, silver, she did really, really well. So, yes, yes and no, but the idea is that she makes a career from it and she becomes a professional, she can't be professional yet, she's too young, a professional racer. She spends probably six months away from home. She's back and forward, she lives in Austria. in the winter months then travels to whichever European country they're racing in and she'll come home for a week or two. To be a mum and to have that, I can only imagine the commitment. So when I was growing up, till I was 18 years old, I used to dance. I used to dance six hours on a Saturday every single week. I used to dance two hours on a Tuesday. I used to dance like two hours on a Wednesday. And I remember my mum. taking me to all the rehearsals, taking me to all the lessons, taking me to all the things and it takes over your life, you know, it really does and I can imagine as a mum like how committed you are and of course your daughter is to doing that and at such a young age to have that like you're teaching her so many amazing skills as a person and the commitment she has to do to therefore do that so you're raising an incredible person by by doing that. A lot of people say, you know, is this for the Olympics? Yes, it is. The chances of like, the chances of somebody making premiership football is less than half a percent. It's similar with ski racing, but that's because it's not our national sport. It's not funded at all. So when Allegra is selected for GMB, she has to pay for a kit. She has to pay for the coaching. She has to pay to get there. None of it is funded at all. But that's really a side issue. It's the dedication, the commitment, the resilience, the getting back up and trying again and keeping going to the things that she is learning wouldn't be taught in school because society isn't like this anymore. You know, it's changed so much. So it's sad that she's away. It's sad that she doesn't have friends in school, but she's with her team all the time. So she's got a different kind of childhood. She does miss school friends, obviously. She's a teenage girl, but she has got probably better relationships that are more fulfilling. And she's seen the world. She's got friends all over the world. She's got friends in New Zealand, she's got friends in Holland, France, Italy, Austria. They're all over. So, which is better. And it is a lot. It is a lot. It is a lot of organizing. this to you when you first told me about this when we were having our conversations and I said to you, she will thank you for this. Like you doing this for her. She really, really will because it doesn't just take commitment from her. It take commitment from you as her mum as well. When you're messaging me like, Athena on Saturday, I'm going to be sitting around the ski slopes for six hours. So I respond to you then. And I'm like, God, I know I can remember those Saturdays. So yeah. Sorry that we deviated, but I think it's so important that people really understand you understand therefore how Blanc came up with the name for Blanc Property Finance and kind of how important the mountains are to you and the branding as well. And I wanted to just really emphasize that. The other thing is, is just for I go on celebrations, could you also talk about this idea around the boutique -ness of your firm? Because obviously when you're a mortgage broker, it's so... I always find that there are, let's face it, there are so many different brokers out there. There are literally hundreds of thousands, literally hundreds and they're all different. Let's face it. And I think for me, cause I've, I've worked in a lot, a lot of broker firms and obviously you can work with ones that have got like hundreds of staff and ones that are really small. And for me, I always find that the boutique ones, it's this hierarchy as well. It's not like, you got to speak to the, you know, the June. when you first start in this industry, as with any business, you're told to scale, employ loads of people, build your business and then sell it. Everybody's dream is to sell their business. Actually achieving that is extremely difficult. And if you don't have the skill set to be able to do the job and work on the business, you're never going to get there. So you're either need a lot of external investment, which I do know businesses that have done that. I've also seen the struggles they go through with the stress associated with that kind of cash flow, that kind of turnover, that kind of headcount. And this is why I said I've grown and retracted, I've grown and retracted because I've been sort of really trying to work out what do I love to do, what is my passion, and I really love what I do. If I grow a business, I no longer do that. you're then dealing with whoever because I'm growing the business, I'm working on the business, I can't deal with the work, the intensity that I like to deal with it at and grow the business. There's just not enough hours in the day, you know, we deal with about 20 or 30 refurb HMO stuff a month as well as everything else, that is a lot of work. And part of the success of my business, is my tenacity, it's my skill set, it's basically what I bring to it. So I had to then decide, do I want to scale a business? No, I don't, because I would have done it by now. I don't, I'm quite happy with the way it is. You are right that when you deal with a bigger company, you are not dealing with that person with a passion. You're not dealing with me anymore, you're dealing with somebody that I've employed. And I have sort of recognized that regardless of employee benefits or the promise of higher earnings or a great bonus structure or whatever, that person isn't me. That person doesn't do things the way I do it. So then the blank property or a delta, it's in these gone from what it is that we do. And I sort of decided to take it in another direction. I've got no issues with more brokers, none at all, but they really have to be aligned with. the way I do things. If they do things in a different way and there is a space for that, there's no issue with that. But I've sort of evolved this idea into having more support so I can be the one leading at the front and dealing with the technical parts of it that they need me for. And then we've got case managers almost like paraplanners following up the rear and then they're dealing with the volume. Going back to the boutique bigger firm analogy. I am a relationship broker, I'm not a transactional broker. So people will say, well my broker doesn't charge a fee. Well I do, but you've literally got my left and my right arm and my brain. This is not, you're not gonna fill out a form and then off it goes and then we get, but that's not what we do. We provide proper consultation and I really enjoy the relationship side. I really enjoy it. It's something that makes me tick connecting with people and finding solutions. So we're not transactional based. stack it high, sell them cheap, it's just not what we do. And there is a place for that and there are clients for that and I'll often say to people, I don't think we're the right brokerage for you because what you're wanting isn't what we do. And I have tried to do it, it just doesn't work. It's not what we want to do. Absolutely. a person and as a business, absolutely. But you just hit it in, hit the nail on the head when you said you're a relationship broker, relationship manager. And I just think that that is exactly, it's all about that, especially when you've got your business, which is yours, like that's your business, you built, and so I think that's so important. Before I sort of delve any deeper into it, what I'd also like to do, and by the way, this is about, This is this is usually done a lot earlier than this, but I just wanted to talk to you about ski racing and about booties. Usually this happens after about five minutes into the podcast. I'm sorry, girls. But could you also please tell us something that you are celebrating at the moment? Because I always love that with the Monday weeks. let me think. I am celebrating a number of different things. These are personal things. I'm celebrating my garden's almost finished, which has been, yeah, it's a huge thing. Although there's still more to do because now I want to build an extension, which means I've got to move all the garden again. so I am enjoying that and spending as much time as I possibly can out there in the sun. that, that's a big thing because it's quite a... relaxing space, you just sit there and enjoy it instead of the being building materials everywhere which people in my industry, when you're married to a trader that tends to what happens. There's only cement mixer in the background, that's not there now. I'm also celebrating my son seeming to come into his own, he's growing up, he's eight in June and to me he's still the baby because he's the last one. I moved to his school last year and I put him into a school which hold the same values as us and they're really putting things into him pastorally as well as a lot more sport and he's not a particularly sporty kid. I think he might be a food critic when he leaves school. That's kind of where he's fabulous at shopping and he's great actually. Shopping in a spot of lunch is killing rather than going to the football. He's not that kind of kid but he's really sort of... His personality is developing and it's making me feel... You get mum -guilt. Anybody who's a mum who's listening, mum-guilt is always there. Even when you're doing it all right. Mum -guilt all the time. And I sort of feel more reassured that he's now finding out who he is, he's doing his judo competitions, he's having a go at pickleball, he's happy. And I think, if anything, my business is for me. for my children, for my family, that's the main driver. I did do a Tony Robbins thing once and they said that your main thing shouldn't be your children because it sort of changes the dynamics, but it's definitely my why. But for, not for the nice holidays, not for the nice Christmas presents, for him as a human being, as an individual that he's able to grow when he's happy. Yeah. What an amazing thing to celebrate. I absolutely adore that. I really do. And you know, Adele, we get loads of people that come on here and talk about mum guilt. You know, they talk about, they say that's a real thing because you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't. You know, you're guilty if you're not spending time in your business, you're guilty if you're not spending time with the kids and you just can't win. And it's so, it's such an awful place to be, but it sounds as if everyone's doing amazing. The garden, by the way, I completely hear you because my garden looks ridiculously bad at the moment and it's... driving me insane and I keep using the excuse of, it's the end of May, I'll do it in June. You know what, I think people underestimate how hard gardening is. We've actually got, we've got a really big garden, so we've got three quarters of an acre, so we've got a guy that comes and cuts the grass. He only comes every two weeks, because he charges too much to do it every bloody week. And it's meadow grass, so it's really thick. And it looks beautiful for about half a day, and then it bloody grows again, which is great, but I keep saying, well, we'll get rid of it, and we'll just get a dry done mower, and nobody will do it. It takes up a lot of time. It's bloody hard work, his God. It's real graft. It's like building. It's hard. Yeah, it is. garden is probably the size of your lounge, you know it's tiny but I still look at it and go no there is no time for gardening but I need to do it so you've inspired me, I must do some gardening. get a plan, get a piece of paper of what it is. You can actually draw a picture, not just a list of what way you want what. We've got a big, like a long, it's about five meter run down one side. It's probably longer than that actually. And I'm putting like, God we're going totally off subject. I'm putting like meadow, like long grasses and tall flowers and I want it to look all natural but obviously not. Because I'm planting it all and the bloody dog keeps going out and peeing on the bloody plants. you know what I love this and that's why I love the podcast that's why I think that you're fab to partner with because this is what I knew the podcast would be you know it doesn't it is a real conversation as it were and that's actually what I'm I'm celebrating so I'm actually celebrating the partnership with you today Adele because you know, girls and girls and property. And this is actually something that I really want to say to all the listeners listening to this. This whole idea about when you start a business and you start a concept or a project, listen to my words. When I say to you like, just start because I'm telling you this podcast started on January 15th last year. And my god, we didn't have anything. We had nothing. No, like you listen to the original episodes, you can hear how we started, you can hear the echoes, you can hear the, you can hear the fact we were in a room where above it was lunchtime and all the chairs were moving. And so the audio is horrendous. And it's like, yeah, but we started and therefore we grew and developed. And now I've taken it over and, and Now it is what it is. And now we're in a position where so many listeners now listen, like as I mentioned to you, you know, 22 and a half thousand downloads, 350 downloads within the first seven days, you know, girls messaging me going, my God, Athena, that podcast was so inspiring. Thank you so much. I'll go to events and I'll say my name. And then they're like, you're your girls and property. And I'm like, yeah. And it's mad. Like it's mad. And the fact that we're now in a position. where we're having conversations and had our conversation to say, actually, let's join forces and let's partner together is so strong. Like it's so, so strong. And I just think like, we're about, like I'm all about being the change we want to see in this world, the change we want to see in this industry. And I can't wait for Girls and Property as it already is. Like I always say to people, this is just the beginning. It really is. Like people don't realize my vision for this and how, how... big it's going to grow. And I'm so excited to bring you along the journey with me, Adele, as well. And for us to do that and just to really show what a difference we can make within this industry. So I'm just so grateful that you actually saw me, saw us and went, you know what, I see what you're doing. I see your vision and I'm in as well. And that just means the world to me. So thank you. no, you're welcome. I think it's quite an impulsive decision. But my impulsive decisions are usually right. They're nearly always right. It's when I have to think about something, do I really want to do this? That it's just not right for whatever reason. But yeah, absolutely. I thought, yeah, let's just get on with it. Just get on with it is basically probably my motto to me. Just get on with it. I've just started in the gym again recently. and the first week was absolutely diabolical but I was there every week, every day sorry, it was shocking, absolutely shocking, I couldn't even finish the sets, I was getting distracted but I still turned up and now this week, this was only last week by the way, this week I'm much stronger and I can feel it already that I'm stronger, I'm able to do more, I'm able to finish things and you have to just start and I think that's true of literally anything in your life, you have to start. if you wait for it to be perfect, which I know quite a lot of people do, you know, the logo has to be perfect, the website has to be perfect, the... I don't know, like this has, whatever it is, it has to be perfect, like let it go. And I'm having to learn this myself as well. Like it's really, really hard to the point where like last night, the community actually launched last night. And for me, it still wasn't perfect, which is why I went out so late. And then at one point I went, Athena, it just has to go now. Like you have to launch. Okay. It might be at 80%, but you can fix it. Like just, just let it go. Just, just launch. Just. or that when things are... can I say it? A little bit rough around the edge, although it's more authentic though. Because one thing that I am seeing now, especially with social media, which I am not great with at all, I'm too busy, but it is something that I do need to address, that there's such a massive information now, so much information, and people don't know who to listen to. And people tend to listen to the ones that are most polished, when actually, in any industry. The one that is the most polished just paid the marketing people the most money so it looks absolutely perfect but if there's no actual content just get in there, get your hands dirty, get on with it. I think that's, for me anyway, that just comes across just, it's just better, it's just more authentic, it's more real. Do you know what I've learned? If you want my honest take on this, this is what I've learned. I think in social media, people actually listen to and buy from the people behind the business and behind the brand. And I think that if you remain true and authentic to your true self, for example, I remember, you know, when I read the girls and property book, I instantly... and by the way I was in my pajamas with a pineapple on my head I instantly put my camera on because of the way I was feeling in that moment put the camera on and I went hey girls I'm sat here in my dressing gown and pineapple on my head but I just want to say thank you so much if I had gone up and had a shower and done my makeup and done that I might have forgotten how I felt in the exact moment of reading those messages And nobody cares. Like literally, this is what I'm learning. Nobody cares. Nobody like, everyone's got so much going on in their own life. They're not actually really caring that you turned up in a dressing gown. But as long as you're authentic and true to yourself, that is what people are going to buy from. So my advice to anyone starting a business is don't worry about it being polished. Don't worry about it being finished. Just worry about turning up as a decent human being. And trust me, people will naturally flock to you. Naturally. You don't have to chase them. They will come to you. Yeah, agreed. Yeah, that's exciting. So let's talk about Blunt Property Finance. Let's talk about mortgages after about 20 minute conversation about other things. I love that. I absolutely love that. It's my favorite type of podcast. Okay. So let me ask you some questions that potentially naturally you might not have been asked before, but I think that's the juicy stuff when it comes to this world. So first of all, let's start with just the basics, which is on a day to day basis with helping clients. you know, to get the best out of it. What would you say was the most, the subject that you help people with the most? Is it HMO conversions? Is it buy to let? Is it commercial to resi? Like what is your main thing? HMO refurb, so HMO acquisition, purchase, refurb and then exit. We do a lot of that. We do a lot of it. It takes longer than what you first anticipate usually because we've built up a reputation as well as we've got clients that have been with us for 25 years and then we've also got and they're our core clients that are always there. and then we've got a reputation for helping new investors actually get the right advice. So there's a lot of consultation, it's free consultation, but we charge a broker fee. I had a conversation with somebody about this this morning where they wanted to waive an application fee. I said, that's fine, but I'll then charge you for all your consultations when you have endless questions, which is normal, which is allowed. So we will hand hold. We can be by your side in the boardroom. You can just drop us the details in an email. It can be very different ones that have worked this for so long, don't need a consultation call at each stage of the process. Some of them do. There's an ongoing, what's the word? What's the word I'm looking for? It's almost like a conveyor belt of where people's understanding is. of what it is that they're doing. So they don't understand architect funds, they don't understand that you need 10 % contingency on your bill cost, that the VAT is only 5%. These are little things. Then there's the workings of the facility and how that gives you your vehicle to produce this HML. We always start at the end actually, we always look at the exits. The biggest question I'm asked is what is the yield in this area? I'm like, I have no idea. I've got a rough idea what I think it might be, but you need to go and speak to some surveyors, they'll speak to you. You know, this is what I'm looking to do. And it's that, what's the word, soft fact advice that, you know, the stuff that pads it out that people forget, you know, anybody, my dog could probably put you into a bridge. Bridge and lenders can be relatively easy to deal with, but it's structuring the deal to success, which is where the skill comes in, which is where all these soft... and what is that right word, soft facts, comes into it. like findings and things. Yeah, like how that particular lender deals with party wall agreements, how fast their lawyer is, how well that lawyer engages with your lawyer. Do they copy me into the legal? Because there's another thing that we do is that I'll tend to push the legal through as well instead of we get to offer them that's it. We'll make sure that it's communicated and it's moving through. The question that they always get is, is that it now for the legal questions? Probably not, because they're lawyers. They like to ask you another question off the back of the answers. So it's just about educating people and, I don't know what the word is, reassuring, advising of what is the next thing. I don't want to say comforting because it doesn't sound right at all, but it's just reassuring that this is what to expect. However, as with all things property related, you never quite get what you start out with. And that's the beauty. and the downside of it for me, there is always an opportunity to create a new solution, to find a new solution, a new opportunity. It's just not the one that you thought it was going to be. And that's having that flexibility to be adaptable basically. That's the biggest thing that I can give to people. But do you know Adele, that's huge, that is massive because I have spoken to so many brokers, I can't tell you how many brokers I've spoken to and literally you can tell the difference between one to another because one will literally give you what they deem to be the most, what's the word, the most obvious answer. They're like, well the obvious answer is this because of this. And it's like, yeah, but that might be the obvious answer but that's not the right answer because of actually you're to go around it. 100%. So the question is, what's the cheapest rate? Well, the cheapest rate is zero, but nobody can have it. So it's irrelevant. So it's what's the best advice for you in your circumstances with your plans and goals with what is available. And I then make it work in the middle. I'd get it to gel and mix it up to produce whatever it is that we're producing on the other end. And it's normally, what are you trying to achieve? How are you going to get there? and we sort of then reverse engineer it and then we start. A lot of people have, I spoke with a lady yesterday who was interested in doing service accommodation but literally buying manor houses and doing a service accommodation business from that and that sounds like a really wonderful thing to do but the task is enormous. It's absolutely enormous and then she was talking about using an investor's money. I'm like, okay, so when do you need to pay the investor back? 12 months, mate. know at least five years that is a business that's a hotel it is not a HMO where you would borrow third -party monies to help with your deposit we'll fund the rest full build and then we'll exit and then hopefully you'll repay the investor that kind of project is much much bigger we're talking about a trading business and the thing is I know people sort of that a lot of people have got into SA and they're using buy to let this is obviously changing and and you know rightly so it's essentially a B &B it's just there's no B it's just a B there's a first B not the second B but you need to run it as a business and I always say to people with a HMO this is a business you know once I've done my bit and we've refinanced and you wave off into the sunset you've got to run this business now for the next at least five years if you've got a five -year deal ideally nobody takes on that amount of work goes through that much pain. and confusion and cost to sell it, but you're doing it to create future income, you know, for future generations or for you. So you have to treat it as a business. You've got to run it as a business. You've got to look at over leveraging. You've got to look at overheads. What is your cashflow? Is your cashflow less than one month's rent for one room? Then there is an issue because you get a void and you're under water. You know, all these little things that we sort of had into it. You don't forget about that. Have you thought about this? Have you spoken to this person? That it's, at first it's a lot, but it is a lot. I see a lot of people saying passive income, anybody can do it. It takes a lot to be in property. You have to be a particular type of person or somebody with a lot of money that can pay somebody else to do it. And that's not where most people are. Most people want to, you know, they want to get involved. They want to understand it more. And I think I call myself the grim reaper of HMOS. Which is ironic because we do so many of them because I'm very real with, no you're not going to achieve that. Are you sure about those bill costs? They look too low. I'll literally interrogate people and really prod and poke so I get down to the actual core of what's going on. And the reason I do that is I can often spot problems before they've come up and I can deal with that problem before it happens so that when we actually get into it the process should be much smoother. Should. I say should because things always come out that you've missed or you haven't envisaged. isn't that what you want? I always feel like you're going above and beyond with that in a way because you know... are. It's obviously my personality type that I'm probably a little bit obsessive. I want to... Probably. equal side because I was speaking to Anastasia last week about this, who you met at the retreat, the independent legal advisor, Isla. And she said as lawyers, you're trained to see the problems. You're literally trained to see what could go wrong. That's how you're wired. And so maybe the background is why you do that. litigation as well so when I look at things I see risk, I just see risk all the time. So the famous quote that I often get from project managers is, we've never had to do this before or no other lender does that, yeah they do, they all do it. But you know, you can't compare one job to another with different lenders, with different clients, with different bills, everything is different, you know the circumstances within each deal. is often there's a difference somewhere. I often get, we've never had to do that before. This shouldn't be this difficult. Trust me, if a lender, usually with the right lender, because there are a lot of wrong lenders as well, if the lender is asking for something to protect themselves, it's actually protecting you as well. And a lot of people just say, yeah, but it's slowing down completion. Trust me, you do not want one of these jobs going wrong. You just do not want it. It will be catastrophic. you just made a point which is you know, I could give I could give it to my dog to set up a bridge It's so easy. That's not the hard bit The hard bit is the exits and what actually happens at the end and I've I know many many people Who have gone through bridging done? Hmo conversions and it literally has not gone the way they think it was gonna go At the end and then they got stuck with really high exit fees and extensions and I just think to myself I would rather have somebody okay, it might be I mean, not that I would find this, but a person might be like, she's asking another question and all, but they, what they don't realize is, is hold on a minute. Adele's trying to help you. Blank Property Finance is trying to help you. And also this is for five years. This isn't for a week. This isn't for a day. This is for five years. It needs to be correct. But I would rather you be like... if you borrowed money from an investor or You've used your mother's money, or you're using. I don't know your sister's house of security of the busy series This is this is people's lives and it's not just a transaction It's and often people have come to this point because they want to improve their lives for you to Not put that effort into it to make sure that they're going to achieve their dreams look if I lose it if a client goes under I've lost a client the lender isn't going to be happy even though the lender will mostly take it on the chin. A client and a lender to me are both clients. I'm sat in the middle of both of them. I need to keep the lender happy, I need to keep the client happy. And I do that by protecting both parties. If I'm protecting lender, I'm protecting client and vice versa. And that's really, really important. Being able to repay lender with the exit is key. Sometimes there's a wild card because there's a, we'll call them a rogue surveyor, they're not rogue surveyors. you know there's somebody it's in an area where it's it's a little bit undiscovered for HMOs for example we get this a lot more in the northeast fewer people fewer surveyors less opportunity to get that that yield based commercial valuation which is much stronger in the south but you've then got lower bill cost and lower purchase price so it sort of still fits in there are certain things I can't tell you what the value is going to value the property I can't I wouldn't be sat here if I was, I'd be on my yacht with my helipad. There's so many things that I can't predict. We can do a lot of due diligence so that you feel comfortable enough. So these are the risks. These are the things. It doesn't matter what anybody tells you, they cannot predict this. Your project manager, the course leader, whoever, your mentor, your coach, whatever, cannot tell you these things. This is not down to them. This is a third party. Are you still happy with that risk? And that's really, you understanding the pros and the cons and the risks is where I really sit, really, that's kind of what I want to do, which is why I can't stat them high and sell it cheap and do that. I've never got to sleep. It'd just be endless. You cannot deliver that level of service if you want to be doing 100 applications a month. Well, you could do with more people, I guess, but not with me. And going back to that point that we raised before, I also value my time and my downtime because I'm creating a life as everybody else is trying to do. I'm going to spend all my time working and no time enjoying it. And it's about having that balance. Balance with everything, balance with advice, risk, the whole thing. I love that you represent that as well and I love that you've just said that because for a lot of the listeners as well, including myself, you know, when you start out a business, it's really hard. And I've spoken about this many, many times in the podcast about when you're starting a business, you know, you have to stoke the fire. You have to be the one who really gives it its all. But I love that you're promoting this idea of a work -life balance. It's like, I don't want to take on and step on high, sell them cheap. Like it's not what I'm here to represent. I'm here to represent something else and to have those relationships. So. I think that's great. If you were going to think about, so remind me, how long in years has Blank Property Finance been now operating for? Three years. this company has been operating for two years, maybe three, and the previous company merged into Blanc Property Finance from that. So the previous company was Plan A Investment Mortgage Brokers, and that company sort of, I sort of drew a line under that one, and then started another business. A number of different reasons. I just, I think I was hanging onto it because it was, It took me on quite a long journey, ins and outs, ups and downs, highs and lows. And I think I got to a place where it's time to start a new chapter. And it was a very long chapter. I didn't, I'm in the process of closing that company and I don't want to do it. But why am I keeping it? You know, sometimes I am a bit of a, what's the word? I'm very, good God, my brain today. Why can't I think of the words? I like things from the past. I'm quite nostalgic. but also just be brave and move forward. You can't keep looking back. Well, this was going to be one of my questions actually, because I'm finding at the moment and I think it's really important to do as well is if you think about therefore when you started in the journey and kind of moving into Blank Property Finance, what do you think like you've learned the most about like you as a business woman, but also you as a person from when you first started out to you actually being the person you are today? Was there one thing that you learned or a couple of things? positive, I'll keep this positive, being a woman in a man's world, I'll keep it positive. I think that you are not everybody's cup of tea and that's okay. I have got quite a distinct personality and that doesn't work for everybody and that's totally okay. As much as I don't care what the people think, I do. Obviously, we all do, we all want to be liked as a human need. to be liked and accepted and it's taken me some time to get to the point where I recognise the kind of business that I want to be for the life that I want to live and therefore this is how my business needs to operate and as a result of that I can't deal with every investor in the UK, it's impossible. The other thing that I'm still getting to terms with and it's something... So double -edged sword being so passionate about what you do is that sometimes you take things personally and I'm really pushing with that that it's so hard when you have got a real drive and passion for what you do for the right reasons that when I don't know a client goes elsewhere and it happens you know you'd be a fool to think that people don't do that other not speaking to other brokers but I find it yeah I take it personally. and I shouldn't do, but you've got to appreciate if you've got all that passion and drive and you're giving people so much for it not to be reciprocated, it does impact you. But so I've decided to acknowledge it and then let it go because that is who I am. I can't just ignore who I am. I'll speak my mind. I really, really understand where you're coming from then. The only thing I can kind of relate to in doing that and tell me if this is the same. So my past life, I was a premium travel consultant for seven years. And I used to put these incredible itineraries together for people that came into the shop and wanted these itineraries. And I remember people coming in and asking for one thing and I would go away and create them a whole new thing that was mind blowing from them. and then they take it across the road to Travel Bag who would take up like 200 pounds and then they'd either not call me and just boost me telling me that they're gonna be back in an hour to pay the deposit or they'll come back without even asking me first. I've just come back and say, we've just booked you right. Your whole itinerary that you came up with with Travel Bag for 200 pounds cheaper. And let me tell you Adele, I took that personally. well, yeah, because in sales, and that's, that's what that is, that sales, I'm a sales person. I love selling, I think I love it, but I do it in a different way. It's a relationship sale. And I think when you do it, so I've been involved in car leasing many, many, many, many years ago. Wow. That is cutthroat. Give me property any day of the week. That is beyond, because it's so fast moving and you're literally closing people in one phone call to buy a 250 ,000 pound car or lease one. and the commissions are high and I do think that brokering has got a very similar... Some people got quite negative opinions of brokers, stack it high, sell them cheap or they're making money from doing nothing. So I'm quite proud of how much work I do do. There is a bit of a trend where... people are referring to another broker or they say no if you want to work with me you need to use my broker but I may have done six months worth of prep with this client and they'll take everything that I've done and just give it to this other broker and this other broker is just processing the application however they nearly always come back and you've just got to reassure yourself they either weren't right for you or not aligned with what you're doing or they'll be back. There is a lot that do end up having to come back and I'm not meaning I'm just like, can I just say something? Told you so. Because we have had a very open conversation about it. There are others that look, I think part of the reason they don't tell you is they're probably embarrassed. Most people have good intentions. Most people do. Some people don't. Some people set out to take the information from me. There was somebody maybe a year ago, they were referring clients to me. so that they could get all of the due diligence and the framework and literally then giving them to another broker. And it's like, what? You know, it's just not on. It's not on. what? These are the stories, Adele. These are the stories where, you know, you have to, in business, as business owners, we have to earn our scars like we really do, and we've all got them. It happens. Can't dwell. the slower you can't, you're stopping yourself from moving on and actually that one person out of a hundred and you then neglecting the other 99 because they do love you, they do appreciate you, they are loyal. You know I've put clients that would never, they've always paid full fees, they've never questioned it, they have always worked with me exclusively. If I needed something, you know needed, I don't know, I needed to borrow a vast amount of money, they'd do it. That's the kind of people I want to work with. I want to work with the people that I would want. Some clients have become friends. I don't work with friends though. I don't have a friend that becomes a client. I do not do that. Don't do it. I remember, so I've sold a lot of holidays in my lifetime, my goodness, a lot of holidays. And the most challenging customers by a country mile were friends and family. They were messaging me at like one o'clock in the morning asking questions. I'm like, not at work. Not at work. I would have people, bearing in mind I was much younger then and obviously when you're much younger things tend to happen more frequently like, I don't know, somebody's boyfriend got arrested on the night out I'd get a phone call at half past three in the morning asking me for advice, I'm like I'm a corporate litigator I'm not criminal loyal, what, I don't, did he do it? Well then guess what, he's been arrested, it's just madness people think because they know you, you can either break the rules or bend the rules or... do something normal, that is a fact, he did get into that fight, so he got arrested, it's half past three and I'm also, I'm not criminal, are you? I don't go public denation, I sue people! more. Yeah. But you know what? This is why I love it. And I love the fact of just going back to the brokerage side. Like, we really are just breaking stigmas and barriers in the finance world, aren't we? And I just love it. I really do. And you know, as people say, like sometimes you can see not all. And I want to make sure I make that really, really clear. We're not talking about all. We're talking about a few. that could still be stuck, let's say, in the past or stuck in their own way of doing things, which attracts to some people because everybody has their own people that they go to, but could be a bit stuffy and could be a bit... Like for me, the thing that used to put me off many brokers and why I've moved brokers so many times was I remember brokers, first of all, using really complicated terminology with me. And then when I didn't understand what they were saying to me, they would make me feel... silly about it or stupid. Yeah, and I remember thinking, yeah, and I remember them saying, well, how do you not know what that is? And I'm like, well, you know, and I... think it. I may be sometimes think it when I've explained net day one advance 38 times in the same conversation. They go, what's net day one advance? I'm going deep breath. Right, OK. What net day one advance is because I so I do use the correct terminology because what I have noticed is in especially in the property industry, especially from courses or groups, people have invented new sayings like preval. There's no such thing as a preval. It's just evaluation for the bridge. There is not a preval to me as a state agent going out. And that is a pre, it's not evaluation. It's no such thing. It doesn't exist. There is other terminology that people have started to bring in. Now, the one thing, this has changed. I will admit this has changed. So maybe five years ago, there'd be a lot of new project managers. Now, to me, a project manager is a degree level qualification in the construction industry. It is a proper professional. Job it is not somebody that knows how to manage a bill team to deliver HM or refurbished and this sort of started to come in I'm a project manager. I'm going okay Can I have you PI? What's PI? I'm going good lord. I'll be banging my head on the desk. It's but that's another profession that's attached to it. I think and You have to explain things in layman's terms. That's part of my job so that If I can't get you to understand this, then we really shouldn't be doing it. And that goes back to understanding the risk of what it is that you're doing. So this is why I like working with new people. We'll then start to morph you into using the correct terminology. Commercial valuation is the biggest thing. And what has happened, so prior to five, I'm going to use five years as the break point. So prior to five years, commercial valuation is something that was used, it was used incorrectly. And now what's happened is the rest of the industry has started using the word commercial valuation. It's actually a single investment valuation, SIV. If you ask a surveyor, so you've got two types, you would have VP, vacant possession and market value, and you would have SIV, which is a single investment valuation. The term commercial came from a commercial survey for a commercial building, because you would value that using the lease. So the value would be created. So the vacant possession would be if it was empty, and the SIV would be with the lease. And then HMO investors got hold of this commercial valuation terminology that they just create. I'm like, it's not the right word. It's an investment valuation. And now even lenders call it commercial valuations. Everybody is so strange that it's managed to shift even value of say commercial valuation. I'm like, it's not the... Yeah, even I do it now because I gave up trying to, I gave up correcting people. I'm literally fighting against the tide. SMIB, Small Goal Investment Plan. SIV, that's what the true, so if you went to do a course as a surveyor, that's what it would be called. But it's sort of being given a new name. And it used to really force people, it's not commercial valuation, stop saying that, because that could be anything. It could be anything, a commercial valuation. It's an investment valuation because you're valuing the investment. But, yeah, yeah. said and I've spoken to brokers before who have also called it a commercial valuation. The whole, honestly, it shifted. So now I've just accepted that I have to go with, and I don't want to go with the crowd, by the way. I'd like it to be different. So I've had to now join the crowd and it's a bloody commercial valuation. Okay, do you know what they go? I didn't know that that's a nugget that I've literally learned today and That's what's so wonderful. You just learn every day. Don't you that's the beauty of life? But I love that and if we're thinking about kind of therefore the you know, if you were to give okay Let's go with this Adele. If you let's say we've got listeners out there who are looking to take on their first Investment property this now I always advise people to start small rather than like starting commercial conversions and HMO conversions I always say start small and grow from there because believe me you will learn a lot a lot from just doing a blighter let but very very quickly but let's just say you know doesn't matter what strategy they're going to go for it is their first investment property what advice would you give someone starting out today to say this is what you should do first? Whether it's due diligence on your target market for the end product, due diligence on the build team, and really due diligence on the build team because if you get that wrong it will be very expensive. Due diligence on the rents. Due diligence is massive and I think it's very hard to do due diligence when you don't understand what you're supposed to be doing due diligence on. It is very hard to do that. And so I do spend a lot of time helping people with sources of where to find things. And then also look at what else is going on in the market to sort of give them a bit of a steer. Just to give me an example of what it is that you want to do. And then I will show you how it will work. And then from there, if you said that I wanted this more, we then need to adapt the plan. Do you see what I mean? You're constantly reviewing the figures and reading. Yeah, working backwards. So if you give me an example, I don't know, the house is, I don't know, 150,000. I'm going to spend 160 on it. And I want it to be my 450 when it's finished. Where did you get your 450 from? well, so -and -so had it commercial valuation. And that's where it came back down the other house. And well, I'll tell people what commercial. When I first started doing a lot of this kind of stuff, people were asked for a commercial valuation. I love that. I'd be like, do you know what commercial valuation is? No, I've just been told to ask for it because they've been on a course and they've been told in a rather fashion this is how it works. But this list that they teach people has so many different offshoots from it that you couldn't probably deliver all that information in one course anyway, there's far too much to it. Then it's constantly, I have question questions, I'm questionable why do you want that and do you understand what that means? So to get to that, you really yield off to get that value if you really yield whatever it is, 10 .25. Is that really in that area? You know, if you're talking about the North East, no it's not. If you're talking somewhere in the Biglands, potentially. You're not really getting people to understand, understand what it is they're asking for. That's probably... I love that. And you're absolutely right. And geography as well is so, so different. You know, the South is so different to the North and the Midlands and the yields will be different as well. So I love that. So do due diligence on all aspects. And as you say, what the hardest bit is, is it's okay to say to someone go and do due diligence, but then they'll say to you, yeah, but on what? I don't really understand as it were. So... It's this idea of the way I see it is if you're going to be going and doing a bi-telete refurb, for example, what I would be doing is understanding, let's go with due diligence. I'd be first of all looking at, first of all, Buying at the right price because as I've always said you make your money when you actually purchase and I've always said that so it's like really understanding. Okay. Well, this is the purchase we're gonna do You know, and we're gonna look at either doing it as You know probate property or we're gonna look at making it that the in the best way we can be Looking at others that sold in the area I'm really looking at that comparison and then looking at build costs looking at what it's going to cost, looking at what it's going to cost to refinance and really therefore getting the numbers right from the get go in that. So I agree with you, you know, due diligence is such an important thing to always, always have under your belt and never to rush things, you know, get, get educated and really understand even if it's your first one, how to do it, because believe me, you can get as much educated as you want until you actually go through the process of doing it. The doing is your learning. Like you can learn as much as you want from a textbook. As much as you want from a classroom, you'll never learn as much as the day you stepped foot on the field and did your first ever investment property. It's life changing. So, Yeah, I think get educated and go. I love that. So in true fashion, Adele, then to finish off the podcast today. So usually how we do it is we do one of two things and you can choose which one you want. We either do if you've got a personal property mishap or an investment property mishap that you've got that you could give an example for, but you. Or a mortgage mishap or an example or something. It's just a bit of fun to finish the podcast on. Okay, I'll tell you this one because this one was quite recent. So I had a client that ran me and told me this after the fact and the colour still drained from my face. He didn't tell me when it was happening because he knew what would happen. So he rang me and says, I just need to just update you on what's happened in the middle of the bill. Because one thing I do do is I help clients with transciousness, especially when they're new to it. So the agent, the lender and the asset manager of the client and the building just to make sure. Sometimes it becomes a lot of work because you've got four people to satisfy. But I'll help people understand what it is that they're doing, why the lender's now asking for a signed by law agreement, whatever it is. But it's been fascinating, so I just want to let you know that this happened a couple of weeks ago, so I don't mean to tell you too much when I'm going, right, what do you mean? Well, the building went out and now this property was subsided, so it already had quite serious structural problems with it to begin with. Right, so keep that in mind. The building, the bedroom and the roof town, all of the internal walls. From a house that was sinking. So all that was left was the front and the back wall and the roof. Now the roof is the heaviest part of the house. So you can imagine what these walls are doing and the coach went, ooooh. He went, but that's not everything. And I went, my god, he's holding it, somebody. But everybody's still alive. He went, well. You know the problem on the back corner where they were going to be clapping in one corner, all the way across to the other, the full end of the house. And you could put your arm into the next door neighbour's leg. I went, I don't know who it was. So I just told them to get out of the neighbours and get them into a hotel. And they went, were they still alive? It went, look, they were on holiday. That's possibly one of the most dangerous. one that I've ever heard because I'm laughing now I wasn't. How did it get fixed? Well they forgot to put, I always forget the name of the room, they were supposed to put supports in, like a thing that they had, and then you've got plants on top that hold everything up. They didn't, they just took everything out, they all locked them out. And they haven't supported the building. This already had structural problems to begin with, so it was already a weakened property. The roof really could have just collapsed in. And, you know, God forbid somebody could have died quite easily. And then the client would have gone to prison for that. I mean that is a property disaster isn't it? biggest problem. And the builder, the comment from the building walls, wait for this. How was I meant to know? How was I meant to know? my god. You know what, it's like cowboys, it really is. Like, it's mad out there, it really, really is. Right, guys, do your due diligence on builders, on everything, like get recommendations. just to answer that, when you're doing your due diligence for builders, don't ask them what GED they've achieved because he's a builder. Ask them how quickly they've delivered a six -page, so six -page, what's your usual full -time, how quickly they've delivered it, how many times have you used contingency, how in -depth. These are the questions that you need to be asking, have you got any, know that there'll be an introduction through some data, speak to that person. about issues. Look, there's always issues with builders. There always is. It's how they overcome, with everything in life, it's how they deal with it and how they overcome it. You know, they're just down chills and point the finger at somebody else, other than say, right, this is what we do now. Things always change in the building. You're taking it back to brick. You are recovering, potentially something you are said you weren't aware of. So, be inactive about that mindset, but like, what's the solution? What's the solution? Yeah. Yeah. love that. you know, I could literally talk to you all day. I really could about all, about, about all sorts. Like you have so many stories and I just, I just love it. but we'll have, we'll just have to get you on again, quite frankly. So that's absolutely fine. Cause, cause I think that that's what this podcast is all about. It's really about understanding the person behind the business as well. And we can sit and talk about mortgages and all of that. And yeah, like that's fine. But it's also about. the fun behind it as well and that's what I'm all about with this podcast is really understanding. Yeah, it's relationships, educational and just empowerment and having fun. That's what it is. But you know what? I'm so excited for where our direction is going to go now that you're partnering with Girls and Property. I'm excited to see to see that the future for it. Of course, we've got the Christmas Gala on Saturday, 7th of December as well. So you're going to be there. So, yeah, it's just really, really exciting. I thank you so much for coming on this podcast today. I think, you know, if you don't mind me saying, you know, you have told me in the past that, you know, you're not always that confident in front of a podcast or a microphone or anything. And I hope the listeners will. because I'm actually a bit of a... sorry. I'm very opinionated, but there's certain things that I just recoil. Like the microphone. You're like, what? I'm so nervous. well, there you go. But I'm sure that all the listeners will agree in saying like what an amazing job you've done today. So well done. And I'm sure that everyone is going to want to speak to you after this one. I know that obviously those those have but ladies spoke to you after the retreat. But of course, we've got lots of listeners, both male and listeners of this podcast. So if people wanted to find you and they wanted to just spark that initial conversation with you, where is the best place for them to do that? and news hello at Blonk from Spinalands.com UK and Blonk is B -L -A -N -C. Perfect. And on socials, where can they find you on socials? fans on Insta. I do have a Twitter account but it's not reactive. I'm not on TikTok as you can imagine. Just with me going like that. But you're on you're on Instagram are you if people want to define you yeah fantastic And if you want to get in touch with me at all I am Athena Dobson underscore official We are girls and property on Instagram And if you want to email we're girls and property pod at gmail .com Like I said the community literally got launched on Monday 20th So by the time this episode will come out been running for three weeks And by the time this episode comes out, which will be Monday the 3rd of June, I'm hosting the welcome meeting tomorrow, Tuesday the 4th of June at 7 .30. So if you haven't signed up to the community yet and you'd like to do so and be in that welcome meeting, then either drop me a DM with the word community to the Girls in Property Instagram page or sign up under girlsinpropertypod .com and you'll find all the information on there or in our bio and I'll see you there tomorrow night. Adele, thank you so much. Massive, massive appreciation. I hope you have a fantastic week ahead and I will see you soon. Thank you. See you later. Bye. Enjoy your Monday. Bye.