The Abattoir Everyone Said No To with Alex Fidoe

In this episode of the Girls in Property podcast, I am joined by Alex Fidoe for one of those conversations that really makes you stop and think about what is possible when you refuse to give up.

Alex shares her journey from working in a corporate role to becoming a self taught property developer, and we dive deep into one of her boldest projects yet converting an old abattoir into something completely new. This is not a glossy overnight success story. We talk honestly about the planning battles, the knock backs, the moments where it would have been easier to walk away, and the sheer belief Alex had to hold onto when others said no.

This episode is a powerful reminder that property is not just about houses. It is about vision, resilience, and being willing to look outside the box. If you have ever thought about commercial property, scaling up, or taking on something that feels a bit scary but exciting at the same time, this conversation will really land.

We also talk about the importance of community, surrounding yourself with the right people, and why backing yourself matters more than having all the answers from the start.

Alex’s story is proof that you do not need permission to dream bigger, and that sometimes the most unexpected spaces can turn into the most incredible opportunities.

This episode is for you if you are ready to challenge what you think property looks like and start believing that you can do things your own way too.

How to Get Involved With The Girls in Property 👇

👩 Join our GIP Community

🎟️ You're Invitation to our Girls in Property Retreat Fri 24 April 2026

💗 Subscribe to Find our Latest Offers & Events Near You

A Big Thank You to Our Sponsored Partners

Lisa Marie Elkhadraoui from @design_boss_diary

Ella Hardy from @landprofits (Click here to book a 45 min FREE discovery call)

Rachel Knight from Title Split Limited - Access 25-35% Capital Uplift

Get In Touch

📷Girls in Property Instagram

📧 girlsinpropertypod@gmail.com

Transcript

0:01

Good morning everyone and welcome to today's episode of the Girls in Property podcast. Welcome to everybody that has been listening for a while. I see you, I hear you, I love your DMs. Thank you so, so much. And thank you for tuning in once again today and welcome to all the brand new listeners as well to Girls in Property. Welcome to the dysfunctional family and welcome to all the fabulous conversations that we are gonna have for 2026. So today's episode I am really excited about because we're going to be talking about something a little bit different within the property space. And we're going to be hearing from somebody who I have actually known for some time. She is an absolutely beautiful member of the girls and property community. She is inspiring. She is just real. She is just everything that I hope and want this industry to be. And also really killing it in what it is that she's doing within the property space with some incredible achievements as well. and doing things a little bit different, which I really like and hopefully inspiring everybody today to think, hmm, that's a good idea. Maybe I could think a little bit more creative going forward in this very competitive buyer's market. So today, without further ado, I would love to introduce Alec Fedoa. Hey, Alec. Hello, Athena. Happy New Year. I know, happy new year. We're still allowed to say that. It's January, it's absolutely fine. We're gonna keep it till the very end. But how are you, Alex? How are you? You're of raring to go for today's episode. I am absolutely raring to go, Athena. First of all, I just want to thank you so much for having me on. You know, I'm a massive fan of the Girls in Prophecy podcast and em I can't believe I'm on. I feel very privileged and I'm really, really excited about it. So um thank you so much. Of course. And you know what, Alex, we were saying just before we press record on this podcast is obviously you've been in my world for some time now. And I know how much you have been such a huge supporter of Girls and Property and listening to all the episodes from day one. And I remember actually, you know, you would always drop into my DMs or we would always obviously chat on WhatsApp and you'd be like, I love this episode. Or you always share it for me. And with everything that you were doing in the industry, which I do with a lot of girls, actually, I just quietly watch. I watch and I think to myself, I like what they're doing. That's inspiring. Or, I love their energy or I love their inspiration or their contribution to supporting other women. And I often hear women in the community say to me, I just went for a coffee with Alex. Oh, Alex just gave me this really big grade of information. Or, Alex was really brilliant in championing me. And I always thought to myself, I would love to get Alex on the podcast because I just think that you are what I believe. is so great about this industry, genuinely supporting other women and men within it and doing inspiring things. So very excited for today's episode. Thank you so much. have to say, Athena, actually, before I joined the Girls in Property, I think I was driving up north and I literally typed in to Spotify property and then your podcast came up and that was the first time I'd listened to the Girls in Property. I think this was just before, I think this was in April 2023 or February, March, you know, 2023 and it was quite close to the April retreat. And I think there was one ticket left and I DM'd you and I said, oh my goodness, is that ticket still left? Because it was very, very lonely and property and obviously I was surrounded by men and I was thinking, wow, this is such a cool community. And yeah, and that's how I first obviously got chatting to you and then joined the community. And yeah, it's been a game changer, Athena. So I just want to say thank you for just creating a beautiful space with, you know, lots of real women who have got each other back, others back and are supporting each other, championing each other because that is how it should be. And, you know, it's just an amazing space. So thank you so much. for creating it. Hahaha! you so much. I didn't, you know what, you, by you just saying that to me, I was like, my God, I, totally forgot that you DMed me and took the last ticket to the retreat two years ago. I totally forgot that. Of course you did. oh my God. A lot has happened in two years, hasn't it? You've become like, like one of my closest friends. Like it's crazy. Oh madness. I have to say it has been a complete game changer for me because, you know, I'm a self-taught developer. So it's a very, very lonely space. And was obviously, it's very male dominated, very different to the world I was in before. And em yeah, it was just a, it was an absolute blessing that I listened to that podcast on that day, because obviously I've met yourself. but I've met some really beautiful women within your community who have really become, you know, really good friends. I've become really good friends with, and I've done lots of networking and it's very much like we're working hard together, but also we're having fun, Athena. You know, we have fun and that's what life is all about. It is stressful, property is stressful, but you've got to have fun. And I think what you're creating in the community is a really good mix. It's a really healthy mix and it's real. Oh, thank you so much. Do you know that is my mantra for this year as well is to make business fun and to have more fun. Like that is, that is my mantra. And I really, really want to instill that. Yeah. I want to instill that in everyone. Like it doesn't have to be so serious. You can be successful and have fun along the way. And so quick plug then thank you, Alex, for doing this. Like if anyone is listening to this and is listening in the car or listening to the podcast, then, then do get involved. Come and join the community, you know, Alex was a person listening to the podcast and now she's here literally on the podcast inspiring others and taking that opportunity of coming to the retreat and making those connections. So if this year is, and I say this Alex, this is the thing I was thinking about the other day actually was about me in this year. I hate this notion of, you know the saying of new year, new me, like I don't like it. For me, this year is about, this year for me is about same uh me, new intentions. So same me, new intentions. So if your new intentions for this year are to get yourself out there, whether it's in property, whether it's in business, whether it's just meeting like-minded people, get yourself in the community and get yourself to the Girls and Property Retreat happening once again on Friday, the 24th of April, 2026. And Alex, I know that you do have your ticket to that already, don't you? You were on the first book yours this time around. So looking forward seeing you there. let's go. And I think, Fina, just on that as well, it's all about just making those small little steps because those small little steps that you do can feel a little bit scary to begin with. And I remember before you were a tree, I knew no one. And it's, you you've got to remember that once you've taken those small little steps, you know, and you keep doing that and you get yourself out of your em comfort zone, that's when, you know, the magic happens. Well said Alex, well said. Yes, love this. my God. I'm just going to put you out there to just promote the retreat. I'll be like, speak to Alex. Amazing. Okay. So Alex, some people are going to know you and some people aren't. So can you please, first of all, start by introducing yourself, tell us a little bit about you, how you actually got into taking on this Victorian um abattoir that you actually now have, which is what we're going to be talking about on today's podcast about this conversion of this abattoir. And you spoke about the fact that you're a self-learned developer and what that even means in your journey, kind of as Alex, starting off in property and where you are now and kind of what you've had to go through and what you're looking forward to to 26 and where you're going to be now taking this to. Yeah, absolutely. Do you know what, Athena, I've had quite a journey. I've had quite a journey. So I'm just going to take it back, I think around seven or eight years ago when I was in my corporate career, I had a very good job within sort of marketing within the FMCG business, after big supermarket accounts and I loved my job. When I came back after maternity leave the second time round, My job became, I suppose, more demanding. I was doing a lot of travelling and actually I was asked to work in my Surrey office four days a week. I'm actually Midlands based. At the time, em my husband was working away actually for a year. So I was kind of forced into a position where, my goodness, my children are my priority and... em I couldn't carry on doing what I was doing. So I was thinking, well, I have to leave and get something else because got to look after my children and I'll have to start again doing something completely different. So I just handed my notes in really not knowing what I was going to do. And I've always been very ambitious, very creative. And I thought, well, maybe I can do what I was doing before part-time. However, those positions unfortunately weren't out there. So um I actually got a teaching assistant job at the time. And then my mum at the time was thinking about um renovating property. um And she asked if I could potentially help sort of project manage something. Obviously I knew nothing about property, but I love a challenge. So I was thinking, well, my husband was working away, this would actually give me the flexibility and the freedom to do drop-offs, pick-ups. My youngest at the time em wasn't actually at school. em So I could work around, you know, work around everything. However, it was quite a scary time because you've got that safety net of that corporate job, that salary coming in, and then suddenly that's taken away, your company car is gone. And it was quite lonely. was quite, you know, I was very lonely. And yes, you know, the project management thing, it went well, but also as well, it was the challenging sort of moments of, don't know, I didn't know any building teams, et cetera, et cetera. So I had to then throw myself into that learning. had to wait six months for builders. and it was incredibly challenging. However, m with regards to sort of m the children and everything else, and everything else like that, m they thought it was important that one parent was around and had that presence because otherwise I'd have had to get a nanny on board, which is not what I wanted to do. So fast forward a little bit, because I've done quite a few projects since then. em Actually on number two uh project, which was actually next door, that was a two up, two down, big extension. This is when actually we went into COVID. And em then something happened in my personal life and I thought, you know what, I need that security of having the corporate job. Now at that time we'd actually sold number one. and we'd sold it for over the asking price and I was thinking, oh, actually, yes, it's been hard work and I've got a lot of learnings out of it, but actually maybe I can live off this money for a bit. But my personal situation had changed and I wanted that security. So actually I did actually go and for interviews and I got offered a job with Weetabix for what I was doing before basically. However, that was full time or nothing, Athena. And at that point I was thinking, okay, I'm loving the flexibility and the freedom that I've got with my children. However, it is a risky business, this property. I don't know how much money I'm going to make now with this, this property and the profits. I was buying and flipping. You don't know. There's not like a fixed salary. So I wanted that security. So I was thinking, well, if I take this corporate job, I'm going to be stuck in this corporate job for a while now. and I'd have to get a nanny because I had the children 9%. At that point, I was a single mother. So at that point, I was thinking, okay, I am going to give this property thing a go. If I mess it all up, I can go back to what I was doing before. So this was during COVID and suddenly prices of materials, everything, labor, everything went up and it was quite a scary time. People couldn't go out and view properties. However, because of the learnings that I'd sort of made and also I was targeting sort of good locations, et cetera, et cetera, suddenly went through a period of actually people were able to view again and the prices of houses actually went up and I managed to secure actually based on the drawings of the development, I managed to sort of draw in people and buyers before I'd actually finished the development of number two. So I was thinking, okay, maybe I'm going to be, maybe I'm going to be all right. I'll be, I mean, I won't sort of go on too much because I've done multiple projects sort of since then, but it's always been buying and flipping. And that's been great because it's been, I've been able to build up a cash pot and basically I was doing the developments and sort of drawing a salary from there and living off them. However, last year was the turning point and last year, I had a property for sale. It was a bungalow, beautiful bungalow. think I can remember you. I was talking to you about this. em last year, the market was tough to sell, really, really tough to sell. You know, I was targeting people that were downsizing from their big family, you know, big five bedroom houses. And those big five bedroom houses, you know, were not selling. They were sitting there. So I stuck with a bungalow that lots of people wanted, but they couldn't sell. And at that point I was panicking because I was thinking, well, this 400,000 pound house, cannot rent out because then I'd have all my capital tied up and I'd be at standstill. I had only one exit strategy and that was to sell. And that was the point where I was thinking, I'm having sleepless nights here. I have got to change and change things now. So I put everything into regards to selling that, actually changed estate agent, know, new photographs, literally we had a fantastic marketing campaign and we managed to sell it. But at the time, and I'm gonna be completely honest with you, so I had bridging finance out on that and it was, I actually developed this incredibly quickly and fast because I'm now at a point where, you know, I can move fast with my. developing them, I've got a really good team of people. em However, then it was sat there for months and I actually had to re-bridge, I to get a second bridge and re-bridge. So had to pay off that bridging loan because it was coming to the end of that year. So I had that sort of stress and that strain. And then I had to put a brand new bridge, had to get a brand new bridging loan on it, which that- That meant extra fees, extra interest, which then obviously ate into my profit margin. So at that point, I was thinking, I cannot get myself into this situation again. Yes, I made money, but I didn't make as much profit. And I think at that point, I thought, now I need to buy property that I have multiple exit strategies on. I cannot be in this situation before I'm, I think... As a single mother, I don't have a partner that's got that, you know, that can give that bump, that security, Athena. And I think, you know, I've got two children, you know, I need to make sure I make this work. So I think at that point I thought, right, I need to be more creative and I need to shop around and do things a little bit differently. So April last year, that actually got sold. So the money came in and beginning of last year, that's when I was thinking, right, I need to look at, know, shop around and different strategies. So I started looking at em sort of smaller properties em and also I wanted to build up my portfolio. So everything that I'd done so far, I had sold, so I hadn't held onto anything. Now I was thinking, okay, I want to buy sort of properties and develop and concentrate on flats. em The rental market is obviously pretty good and I think if I could then accumulate some developments and then create these flats, then I've got that regular income, that security, em and also as well the margins are pretty healthy as well. So I started looking at auctions em because I was thinking, well, I've got the experience to buy and to source, to secure things at auction. So auction can be a little bit risky, but you need to know what you're doing and you need to do your research. So beginning of last year, I found some properties within the town centre. Now town centre wise, I've never done anything within the town centre before. and I found em a couple of properties that are right in the town centre base, about 15 minutes away from me, so I know the area very, very well. em Now, within sort of the town centre and these properties, there were two titles. So one of them was a freehold block of flats, em and the other title was em a Victorian abattoir, which had been basically... empty for a very long, very long time, to be honest. Now it sounds pretty gruesome and abattoir, but actually it's an absolutely beautiful building. It is basically a load of barns, a load of barns, but there's still like refrigeration units, you know, there's a lot of period features sort of there. Now the... The auction was taking place in February last year. So throughout January last year, I took my team and everyone calls them power team and you need to have your power team because em that is, they will help you execute these em deals and these projects much faster. In order for you to be successful developer, you need to get your power team behind you. because you can't do everything on your own. So initially, when I first go and look around properties, I always go on my own because I don't wanna waste much time with my team. They're all very, very busy. So initially, I went around in January last year and obviously I know the town, I know the location very well. And I think for me, I wanted to have a look at the state of the flats that they were in at the minute because I thought, well, if I can develop and refurb or lightly refurb these flats and get tenants in as soon as possible, then then I've got that income in. And then I think the biggest thing for me was actually to have a look at that abattoir building and have a look at it structurally. And also understand, actually, can I get planning permission here? So when I actually went to have a look, was thinking, this is quite an interesting building. The abattoir was about 204 square meters. So it's a good, really good size to play with, a good location. Accessibility was very good. So the second visit, I went the next week and I took my builder, I took my architect, I took a structural engineer and also I got in touch with the planning department. So I took a planning officer and a conservation officer. because it was in a conservation area. obviously there's restrictions in place and I didn't understand what I can do and I can't do. So I took them there. We spent literally a couple of hours there, Athena, and we really sort of got to grips with every single angle of it. And then we started talking through the possibilities of what we could actually do with this building. you know, structural engineer, you know, had a really good look inside. was quite tricky because it was absolutely full of rubbish, absolutely full of rubbish. And it had been empty obviously for a very long time. So at the end of that two hour visit, I actually got the green light from everyone. The planning conservation officer was actually really supportive about what I was doing and said, look, okay, it's in a conservation area. So there's things like... windows and doorways and things like that, but it's a beautiful building. It's a historic building. So as long as I keep it sort of, you know, looking like it is, you know, not mess around too much, then he would be happy. So I thought, great. Okay. So when you, when I did that, I thought, okay, I now need to do my numbers. I now need to understand actually how much it, you know, it could cost to actually develop this. and then actually how much I'm prepared to bid on this. um So I had two different titles, Athena. So I needed to understand the block of flats, you know, once I finished refurbing with that. So it was very, very complicated. Basically the block of flats had been developed into flats from a terrace without any planning permission, without any building reg sign off. There was lots of... you know, complications with numbering, et cetera, et cetera. So I was thinking, actually, um the, you know, because it hadn't got planning or building regs signed off, I could be actually be asked to completely knock it back to a terrace and get rid of these flats. However, with my experience in using the team, we were actually thinking, do you know what, actually, it looks like whoever's developed this actually has done things properly. So. The tricky thing was I had to actually uncover how it had been developed, which is quite tricky because you have to understand the material was used, et cetera, et cetera. So I had to almost start again. I had to have sound testing done, fire eggs sort of done, electrics, you know, I had to put gas in, et cetera, et cetera. So even though it didn't actually cost me a lot of money in developing, there was a lot of undercover detective work to understand. is this safe, what needs doing, ticking the boxes, getting sign off. So I did get to a point where we managed to get the building reg sign off last year, the planning's all sorted and now they're tenanted, which is great. So that's giving me my income, is great. So the biggest challenge has been the abattoir. I got the keys. was the thing, Alex, this is the thing, because you're like monologuing at the moment, which is beautiful and I love it. And I'm like, yes, girl, off you go. It's amazing. But at the same time, I want us to also take a breath and a pause because I've got so many different questions that I want to guide you through for talking about the abattoir so that when people are listening, they can really be like almost getting the real nuggets that we want as opposed to just listening all at the same time. Yeah. know some of that out. Yeah, otherwise it becomes a bit overwhelming for people listening. So let's go backwards to go forward. So the first thing is, wow, like literally wow. Because when I, again, and I've said this to you before, Alex, like I love listening to people's stories because you then get to really know a person and know what they've been through and know kind of why they do what they do and kind of what drives them. I think that's what I really love learning about people is actually what drives them. So first of all, like, There are a lot of single moms that listen to this podcast, Alex loads. And there's a lot of single moms out there who DM me, um, who say to me, Athena, I'm a single mom. I'm I, I want something more for me. I want something more for my future. I'm, I'm sick and tired of all of my money going on to childcare because I'm at work and all of these things. So how like, First of all, just to give a frame, because you've talked about what you've achieved so far in this period of time. So from the day that you actually decided that you were going to go into property developing and taking on your first property to now, 2026, how long have you actually been in it for now and achieved all of this in? Okay, so I probably left my job, I think it was about seven or eight years ago now. Okay, so to be honest with you, I had five years of quite a difficult situation going on personally. So my main priority was my children, 100%. So to be honest, I was doing the property part-time. Now, I just want to be clear, I never gave up my job saying I want to be a property developer. I gave up my job thinking... I want to work for myself. Why? I want to work for myself because I want to be there for my children. And, you know, I had them sort of 90 % of the time to begin with. So I needed to find something that gave me the flexibility and the freedom. And what I was doing was one project at a time, project managing it, being on site, but also my children were on site quite a bit, Athena. And, you know, I had them on the hard hat. And actually, this looking back now, when they were young, they didn't really understand what what mummy was doing really, they were thinking, oh my god, what, you know, but you know, I sat them there with their pat lunches and everything. But what I was doing is obviously working really hard on those projects. But then when I finished them and put them on the market, I then actually had a few months off and sort of tailored around summer holidays so I could be there. And know, and It was getting that work-life balance. nothing's perfect with a work-life balance, but I could be there for my children, for the activities. I could work around, I could work around, be my own boss, have the flexibility there. And that has been amazing. And I look back now and thinking, Blum and Esther, that was hard work. What was I doing going into property, into something that I knew nothing about? But what I would say was, I never had a plan, I wasn't passionate about property at the time, but I think when I first did that first development, it was really hard work, blood, sweat and tears. And literally there were days where I sat on the stairs thinking, what am I doing? I've got quite difficult personal thing going on at the minute, but it actually was an escape from the rubbish that was going on in my personal life. And I think... but also at the same time, it was a challenge. I was pushing myself and because I'm ambitious and I wanted that career, I wanted my children to think, I'm proud of my mom, she's out there working. It gave me purpose, it gave me focus. And I think when those people came to look around those properties at the start and they were creating their family's home, I was thinking, This is actually really nice. I've created a beautiful home that was a state that was run down. And it felt amazing. And I think, yes, I wanted to make some money, but then I kind of fell in love with prophecy that at that point I was thinking, wow, this is a great feeling. I love the fact I've taken something that's in a mess, run down. A lot of these properties, they've got really sad stories behind them. And I think... I've just loved that journey, that process. And at the same time, I was there for my children. I never missed out on, you know, assemblies, you know, the chat when they've had a really rubbish day at school, I'm walking home and talk things through. I was there, Athena. I was there. And I think, you know, it's great. It's been great. So I think... You know, however scary it was, and you know, I think for lots of mums in corporate careers at the moment who feel I'd have that guilt, you know, I think if you find something where it's property or something like that, if you find something that you love, you know, that money, you know, the money and things like that will come. But I think I prioritise the children and I'm so pleased that I was there for them. I love that Alex. So let's help the listeners out because so this is what I want to do. 26 is the year of intentions. So there's going to be people listening to this podcast going, Alex, hear you. Athena, hear you love the idea, love the intention. I'm ready. This is what I want. But I think sometimes what stops people in their tracks is because they love the idea of it, but they literally have no idea what the first step is. And they're terrified because they don't know. So what were that moment you said, this is what I want. I'm gonna take one project at a time. I'm gonna become self-employed. I'm gonna leave my job What were the first three steps in a concise order that you can give were your steps? Not saying they're everybody else's but it would give some inspiration of how another person can start today Okay, so first of all is you need to make sure, well, thinking, okay, so obviously with property, you need the money, you need to go out and buy something. Now, I have em used a mixture of em investor sort of money and also my own money made from my very first sort of family home. em I've used that pot. and em savings basically, em and I've using bridging finance mortgages. There's multiple sort of finance sort of options sort of out there. Now, I know what you say all the time is go out and tell people what you're thinking of doing and speak to people and family and friends. And what I found is to begin with, I was using sort of investing money in a bit of my own money. But then once I was producing these houses, I actually, I wasn't on Instagram or anything like that actually at the time, I just want to make that clear. I had neighbors, family and friends saying, Oh Alex, I've got this pot of money. I'm seeing what you're doing and I trust you and I'm watching you and it's really cool. Could we potentially work together? Could we put some money in? And at the time I was thinking, my God, this is a little bit overwhelming. And I think at that point I was thinking, well, I want that. that control, actually people have got these pots of money in savings, they're not earning much interest and they want their money to work for them. So there's lots of opportunities financially. So number one, obviously you need that finance and there are lots of opportunities sort of out there. I didn't have loads and loads of money in the bank. I was never given any money. you know, any investment, vestum money I have paid interest on and they have been getting a better rate than sat in the bank. So that's number one. Number two is mindset. Mindset. my goodness, Athena. So I think, you know, you have got to go in and think, right, okay, this is, this is a risky business. I don't know, don't know anything. However, I've got to give this, you know, I'm going to give this everything. I'm going to give this. you know, go, I'm going to eh be positive. I mean, I'm very, very positive. And I think there are moments where I think, blummin' nester what I'm doing, but you need the right mindset and surround yourself by the right people. At that point, at the beginning, right at the beginning, and a lot of people will sort of be able to understand where I'm coming from. When I started talking about, I've left my job, I'm do property. I have lot of negativity, Athena, a lot of negativity. And actually I've lost friends and sort of removed myself from situations because I was told, well, expect to lose money on your first one. So much negativity, Athena. And I think I was then doubting myself. And I think at the time I wasn't in any sort of communities or I wasn't doing any networking. So the second thing that, you you know, the third thing I'd actually say is get out there, surrounded yourself, network, speak to people that are doing what you want to do. and have been doing it for a few years and find those people, those real people, join the Girls in Property sort of community because em you need that support because it is a lonely, sort of scary place to begin with. So those were three things. I mean, I could go on and on, but I think those are the three things that I would say that I'd advise anyone listening who's thinking about going into it. you know, to do, to think about. Mm-hmm. Do you know brilliant Alex fabulous? I absolutely love that and I totally agree with you because I think what happens is is the more you start talking about it and the more you start just bringing it into your your neuroscience, if you will, your brain starts to see opportunities everywhere that you go. And I found this with, different things, you know, I'm now back in, back in the gym working out, thank goodness, after a year off and literally I'm now everywhere. I'm now thinking about science or I'm thinking about like, uh, food nutrition and my brain is doing different things now, whereas it wasn't doing it last year because it's at the forefront of, of, of your frontal lobe. And I, and I really think you're right. I think it's about experiencing and speaking to people who aren't that far ahead of you to really think, well, do you know what, how did they do it? Let's really learn from that and the podcast. Something that I would also suggest you do listeners is if I were you, I would just walk around your area. A lot of people tend to think, oh, do you know what, my area is so expensive. Like if you're in the South, you're like, oh, do you know what, it's so expensive. I'm going to go buy up North. I'm going go buy my first property up North. Invest with somebody else who tells me that they can do a turnkey experience for me. hands off investment, you very much. And I'm telling you, I have watched that go so wrong this year for so many people, is absolutely mind boggling how many people have trusted the wrong people this year. I don't recommend that you do it. Personally for me is if you don't have enough for your area, which is the South, find the money for your area in the South and stick to what you know, stick to the streets that you know, stick to the area that you know, walk around your area. Nobody knows it better than you. If you have an issue at that property, you're like 10 minutes away from it, 20 minutes away from it, as opposed to five and a half hours away from it, with you traipsing up and down the M whatever it is. So literally just walk around your area. And if you find a property, what I would do as a first step personally, is let's say you find a rundown property, go onto land registry and find out what the information is about that property. I think it costs about seven quid now, it used to be three, it's about seven quid now, and be like, right, who's the owner? What's the situation? Can you knock on the neighbor's doors? Can you find out about it? And if you get yourself a little gem of a property where you managed to negotiate some sort of payment on it, you can then take that to somebody who's a little bit more experienced and say, I've actually got a direct to vendor opportunity here. Would you mind if I, if I shadow you to learn, can we do an earn and learn? Can we do something, something, you know, think of creative ways that you can bring something to a person and opportunity. before asking for anything in return. So come with something to offer. And then they will be more enticing to go, oh, brilliant. Well done. You found this great. Your initiative. Great. I can see you've got skin in the game. Um, let come under my wing, um, shadow me and learn from me. And then I'll show you how to go on to do your own one and get investors on board and everything like that. That could just be a way to physically take your first step without you even having to risk any money, risk anything. That could be your first step today. So no excuses, everybody. Go and find your rundown property and message me and let me know that you've done it. 100%. yeah. So Athena, so all the sort of the properties that I've done so far are within a 25 minute radius of me. I think location and knowing your area through and through, but also as well, my team are all within sort of half an hour away. it's taken a while to build up my power team and em now it just makes it so much easier. if you find things that are local and also as well, estate agents. get yourself, relationship building is a massive part of what I do. So get yourself out talking to the estate agents because now there's lots of properties that I've managed to get off market and estate agents have approached me saying, Alex, you're perfect for this. It's been on the market for a while. I think there's a deal to be done. And the other big thing that's a part that's part of it is negotiation. My goodness, you you have got to be good at negotiating. And I think if you haven't got those skills, like you said as well, reach out to people, you know, use sources to begin with, because they will have the skills and the knowledge of how to negotiate. Because I've got this saying where you have whatever I buy, I have to sell it. If I wanted to sell it the next day. I need to have made money without doing anything because you make money when you buy. And you know, obviously I really want to get deep into this abattoir now because I managed to, so when I did those figures, I literally, I'm a geek and have to do all the due diligence and everything, but I obviously have a look at the area, guest state agents, you know, to do valuations on the flats on the abattoir when it's all sort of developed. and I spend a lot of time doing that and there's so much work that's been done before you get your bill team on that site. And I managed to negotiate and secure this auction property pre-auction. Now the best time to get, you know, to buy auction properties is either before or after. So I started negotiating a couple of days before. And I just want to talk about really quickly what I did and what I got in place in preparation for that auction because I think, yeah. So for people that haven't bought an auction before, it can be risky, can be nerve wracking. So I really want to sort of help and assist and give people the confidence to actually do this because there's a lot of deals, know, a lot of things. you know, in auction. I think this year there'll be a lot more stock that, you know, in auction. So I really want to help give people the opportunity to get some great deals. So obviously I had done my site visits. I had been given the green light by all my team. I then had to get my finances in place. So I think there's, there are different sort of, you know, ways you can actually buy auction. can actually buy sort of mortgages, bridging finance. I tend to buy with cash and bridging finance. Now, em The biggest cash is king and I wanted to buy this in cash. So I had to get my cash together and I had to prove to the auction house that I had the cash in place. So I had to show them sort of bank balance, say, right, I've got my cash here. I've got the, know, I am ready to go. I am a serious bidder here. So I then also then had to do the background. So you have to have a look at the em the sort of the legal pack, please, please have a look through the legal pack and get, know, pay money to your solicitor to have a look through that. You know, there's certain things with my experience I can scan through and have a look for red flags, but do spend that money and put it through your solicitor to have a look through. And then actually, if you do win that, that bid, they will actually deduct. deduct that money off the final bill anyway. So you're not, you know, you're not losing out, but it is money well spent because you do not want to buy something and commit straight away, pay that deposit and realise there's a mess up because I know, and I've got previous experience from other people that have bought things and they've uncovered some major, major red flags and they've had to pull out and they've lost thousands and thousands of pounds. So that is really needs to be, it's absolute priority. So got my solicitor team to look through, they gave the green flag, but also they picked up various things. And actually, know, those things actually give you negotiation because if there's certain issues and things like that, be like, okay, yeah, there's these issues. So this is why I'm going to put in the bid. So finance, solicitors, power team, you know, do your numbers. And then I started negotiating actually the night before and I sent across my ID. everything ready and I was like a proper geek with it. You have to be like that. The other thing also, it was an estate agent that was actually doing the viewings and I actually knew the estate agents quite well. So obviously continue building up that relationship, show them how interested you are. And then the auction house, I think they were based somewhere down south. I got to know the auction house, speaking to them on the phone, building that relationship up. they know that you're serious and you're an easy option basically. em So I started negotiating the night before, put a very cheeky bid in and it was rejected. em So the auction the next day was online, so online sort of em auction em and it started I think at one o'clock the following day. So obviously I'd been rejected the night before. The next morning, nine o'clock, I was back on the phone. back on the phone. Look, let's get this deal done. You know that I've got the money. You know they've got the funds. I am ready to go. Let's just get this done. So they actually came back to me and said, well, what's your final offer? And they said, well, we've got 1920 people signed up for this auction. I was like, okay, fine. So half an hour later, I went back with my final offer and They said, okay, fine, leave it with us. And at 11.30, so in an hour and a half, whatever later, 11.30, I got a call saying, Alex, it's yours. And I was in complete shock. And I mean, I'm not gonna go into too many details with the figures and things like that. I'll probably talk about that later. Date sort of on my Instagram, but. I couldn't believe the price that I'd actually managed to get it at. And I'd got two titles for my block of flats and my abattoir. And I was thinking, wow, okay, this is cool. And you know what the great thing is about auction is that you can move fast. em you know, you can complete. So I had to exchange, pay that deposit there and then. But I think, yeah. the auction's happening at one o'clock and they've got 19 to 20 people on that call, I assume that what you'd have to have done at 11.30 was literally exchange and put the money down on the telephone, literally. Yeah. The thing is, and this is the other advice, you have to move fast. You have to do your homework, get everything in place so that if you are successful, you have to send that money over now. You've got to do that and you've got to commit and be, because otherwise they're gonna be like, well, if you don't pay that money over right now, we're gonna wait until one o'clock. Yeah. I think people ask, well, why, it doesn't make sense. Why didn't they wait until one o'clock? But I was an easy option for them basically. And I was committed. I had the money there. So you can get these deals done. And I think I really do believe if it had gone to one o'clock and if they had rejected my offer. I'd have had to pay thousands and thousands of pounds more because I'd have had that competition. What you want to do is get rid of that competition. So do your homework, put yourself in the strongest position in order for you to actually get these deals. So you need to have the confidence and that confidence will come with that experience. eh But yes, so that was... m in February when I secured it and I actually managed to extend completion and so you can actually do that you can actually negotiate with them from like the 28 days and I managed to extend it to the 56 days because that I had you know some of the money tied up elsewhere but also as well for me My priority then was to start doing the drawings for the abattoir and working out exactly what we can do with this, how to maximise the space, how to maximise the return, the profit margin, what the options are. So that gave me then time the next couple of months to work really closely with my architect team to actually understand... how to maximise that space, what the demand is, et cetera, et cetera, in the area. this is when we then headed a bit of a bumpy road, Athena. So that was obviously got the keys in April. So my main priority was obviously to get these drawings done, get it into planning ASAP. And then secondly, then my team could go in and start working on the two sort of... the block of flats and then get them into a state, get the building regs sign off, the planning permission so I could rent that out sort of ASAP. So we had various things sort of going on. So end of August is when I was meant to hear about my planning for the abattoir. So we put in planning for four one bed flats, really good sizes. I thought, absolutely fine, Athena. Like I've had planning on, you know, on site already, be a breeze, be fine. So end of August, we were meant to have the deadline, we're meant to get the result. They then are asked for longer. So it was the end of September. End of September, when I found out. Now the planning officer was asking some quite awkward questions and I was thinking, what's going on here? I'm a little bit nervous about this. He was questioning a lot of things. And then, at the end of September, I got a call from my architect saying, Alex, they've rejected this. And I was in absolute shock, but also I then kind of went into panic mode because I was thinking we were meant to, my team were ready to start developing at the end of August. And I was project managing, I was going to project manage this. And I was thinking, Jesus, okay, my options here are, I can appeal. but appeals can take nine months to sort or I have to put a brand new planning application in for maybe something else. We're thinking about maybe at the time we're thinking we could either do an HMO or the flats and I've decided to go down the flat sort of route because you can actually then obviously I was going to title split them and then maybe sell a couple or keep all of them. It gave me multiple options. em Yeah, I pivoted. When we actually got the report in though, Athena, and I think the thing was me and the thing is in this game, you obviously have a lot of rejection. There's a lot of rejection, there's a lot of challenges. When you think you're sailing through, you have a plan, my god, yeah, everything's cool, suddenly, bang, rejection. So that's when you have to move quick and think, okay, this is a situation, let's wait for the report to come through. The report came through. And actually there were a lot of mistakes that had been made, a lot of errors that the planning officer had actually made. So the planning officer was actually a different officer who I originally came to look, you know, to look around it. And I looked through and my architect said, Alex, he has made lots of mistakes. And he was basically saying that it was overdeveloped, but he'd got a lot of the measurements. He'd read a lot of the drawings wrong. And obviously then I was fuming, because I was thinking, hang on, this shouldn't have been rejected. So immediately I said, right, we're going in, you know, I want to go get a meeting with the head of planning. And my architect said, Alex, you know, you can't get in front of these people. You know, they're busy people. I said, let's get him on site, you know, all positivity, let's go. And they said, he won't come on site. And I said, well, there's all these mistakes that have happened. So we actually put together an email and we wrote to the head of planning, we listed the issues and they said, look, we really could do with a meeting, you we'd love to get in front of you and talk these things through. And literally had a response two days later, Athena, the next week I managed to get in front of the head of planning for my local council and the planning manager. And I was thinking, my goodness, this is, I can't believe I managed to do this, but we need to prepare. So we went in, myself and my architect. Zoe and you know we we you know spent quite a lot of time chatting through preparing going through the report in detail so we were armed really to go and sit down and as you can imagine a sort of a mixed emotion as you know I was frustrated upset angry but also I thinking right okay I I need to get across what I'm trying to achieve and obviously as a small developer at the moment so my mission this year And I think because it's town centre based, there's a lot of focus on regeneration of the town centres at the minute. There's a lot of commercial units that are sort of closing em and some town centres, they're dying. And the council focus is to obviously regeneration, get people in. And this is exactly what I was trying to do. And this is why I was so frustrated because this is a town centre based. I was going to... regeneration of a beautiful historic building and a conservation area. But I was trying to bring sort of people into the town centre. And, em you know, I was very much, you know, focused on, okay, if this goes well, I will then buy more of these run down neglected sort of properties within the town centre. And, you know, this will be my mission for 2026, you know, to help with that regeneration, bring people in. And so We were in there for about an hour and a half. The first sort of topic was obviously work through these issues on the report and we did that. And they sat there and they said, yes, no, you're right. And I think one of the issues that the planning officer had was I wanted four flats. He said, well, Alex, you're over developing. Actually, there's only room for three, but the numbers did not stack up for me. So I had to talk those through. and get them to understand that actually, know, the space is there. You know, we were making use of the space, you know, it was correct, the measurements were all correct. And actually, financially, it was not viable for me to only do three. And I said, you know, I'm not doing three, you know, we'll then have to look at another option like an HMO or something. So once we sat there, talked everything through, and we had to make a few alterations, literally only a few alterations. They then sat there, looked at each other. Okay, we're happy now. I thought, okay, great, well, what do I do now? They said, you've got to put in a brand new application. So that's then another two to three months. And then the deadline for that was, I think it was the ninth of December. So I was thinking, Jesus, I've now got to wait another few months, but it was out of my control. And what I would say is there's so many things and in life that are out of your control. And I think you have to take a step back and think, okay, this is out of my control. I've got this rejection, but what can I do now? What are the next steps that I can do to try and get this through? I know what I'm trying to do is obviously improve the town centre, tick all those boxes of regeneration, getting people in. So who do I need to speak to? What do I need to do? Who am I going to use in my power team to get me that planning permission? And I was on a mission, Athena. I was not taking no for an answer. And I cried when I got the rejection. Of course I did. I was in shock and I cried. OK. em I then thought, right, I now need to move fast and I now need to take action. And there were points where I thought, do you know what? You know, there are points where I thinking, why am I doing this? I could just walk away from this. I could knock this thing down. But, you know, I think you've got to have that fire and you've got to have that right mindset to be like, do you know what? Actually, no, I need to make this, I need to make this work. So anyway, so moving on from that. But this is the thing, Alex, because would you believe it? We are already at an hour for the podcast, believe it or not. Like you could, you should literally start your own podcast, girl, because you, you have such enthusiasm and you have such passion that there's so much to get through. We're going to need to do like a part two of this, of this episode. We really are. Because I think what I just want to say, just to kind of like, sort of with this podcast is just to say, cause there will be a part two to this guys. This is part one to be continued. Ha ha! It's to say like what you've demonstrated to me in this moment is first of all somebody said to you Who in your power team you would trust like for example in my power team if my architect was to say to me Athene you're never gonna get in front of them It just doesn't happen. I probably would believe him to be honest with you because he's so knowledgeable that I'd probably go Oh god. Okay, this isn't gonna happen. How can we do this elsewhere? Whereas you and your mentality went no, let's give it a go, there's only opportunity to gain here as I always say, let's send the email and you got a response straight away, like two days is not long at all and you got in front of them the following day and nobody came to save you Alex, nobody came to save you, no one came to tell you how to do it, you stepped up, you're the one who took control of it, you're the one who pivoted and you're the one who made it happen and made a difference. And I think that's what's so important to say is like, if you want something enough, go and get it for yourself. Because if you just manifest and you just sit and you go, this would be nice. And yeah, I've got my intentions and I've got these dreams, but I'm also just going to sit and be scared and not really do anything about it. Then nothing is going to change. and you were the one who really took that forward. So Alex, just to sort of let everybody kind of know, because they're probably sitting at the edge of their seat like a movie. So where is the abattoir up to today? Where is it? What's going on with it today? Okay, so today, the day before Christmas Eve, I got planning approved. I got planning approved. And I need to come back on, because there's so much more I want to say, but really quickly as well, what I want to say, the reason why I carried on and I battled is financially the numbers on this are incredible. The profit margin is fantastic. And I think this is why. That has been my motivation really. And also as well, my mission this year, as I said, is regeneration within sort of town centres and landlords are approaching me within the town centre now, with commercial and residential opportunities. So really quickly, next week we start work. So at the minute, my architects are... sort of creating the really in-depth drawings, which are then gonna be passed on to my building team so we can actually understand exactly what he's doing and also the cost of this. So em I'd love to come back on again and talk more figures and understand how I'm gonna do this and following on sort of from my journey as well. But next week, we actually start, em my build team start and we start sort of dismantling sort of certain parts of it. That's where we're at at the moment, Athena. that's huge Alex and just think about this, you your project managing, you had the team in place in August that we then couldn't go forward with it because of the planning restrictions. But now you've got the same team in place ready to go for January and the architect and you've kept this relationship with this power team who have Probably I've no doubt Alex watched you go through the absolute rollercoaster of emotions and they're probably more than ever once do an amazing job for you because they've watched your tenacity They've watched your care. They've watched your attention to detail They've watched how you've overcome so many things and I bet you more than ever these people by your side are gonna just do such an incredible job for you because they know how much it means to you and For me, I think the power team is the most important thing you can have in this because you know you're going to be going through also like let's face it Alex you were hoping to build in summer through August which has a completely more opportunities than it does at this time of year with the rain and snow and everything like that but if you've got the right team in place they really can do anything so uh all I can say to you is first of all I'm so proud of you second of all I can't wait to see what you do with this I think you deserve all of the massive success that is going to come your way, you deserve it all and I cannot wait to get you back on the podcast and actually I have an idea for you that I'm going to talk to you about off of this podcast as well because I really really like this story and I want to tell continue to tell this story so I'm not going to tell everyone what I thought so I'm going to tell you off of the podcast and everyone else can just um say to be continued But also also Athena I have I won't talk about it now, but I've got some other exciting sort of news coming up That haven't spoken to sort of on my to you actually all Instagram, but honestly, you know follow give me a follow on Instagram because there's some exciting other bits and pieces coming up as well Which I'm what I was going to say, Alex. Yeah, this is what I going to say. So Alex, where can everybody then find you, contact you, DM you, where's the best place? Okay, so a couple of platforms really. So Instagram, I am Alex Fido Property. I have got a Facebook page as well. I've got a website, sort of Sheikabode as well. And then I'm on LinkedIn, Alex Fido Property on there. So I'm starting to sort of get a lot more sort of LinkedIn sort of presence. And also as well, I have got YouTube channel and I am going to sort of document the full story and the journey of the abattoir, the ups and downs, the challenges and be real. Everything I do, I try and be real. wanna be honest. I wanna be honest about my journey and what it's like, Athena. And I know you understand that and you know how important it is to be real. 100 % absolutely and speaking of that I've just realised I completely as a dyslexic mispronounced your surname it's Alex Fido so as so just just to reiterate guys it's Alex Fido not Alex Fido which is what I said originally so make sure we get it right as well and keeping it real noticing my mistakes Oh no, absolutely. I have all sorts of, of scenes, you know, I love it. Well, you know, I get them as well. you we, just roll with it. I now just accept the imperfections. It's far more fun to do it that way. Far more fun. Um, but Alex, I've, I've loved today and actually what I'm going to do is, is I'm just gonna say to everyone listening to this, just before I give you the parting words. So as Alex has said, these are the types of women guys that you can meet inside the Girls and Property community. It is the most brilliant, brilliant family that comes together to share ideas, share inspiration and just to kind of be like. just to give you that kick up the bum to literally show you how you can also take yourself from a position that you don't want to be in to what it is that you do want to be in and only you can get you there, nobody else. And Alex is a beautiful example of that. So if you want to know any more about the community, we're over 120 members now, we've got the whole year to plan out, which is so exciting. Then come and join. We have our calls every Tuesday and first Tuesday of the month and third Tuesday of the month. First Tuesday is always dedicated to something business related, whether it's mindset, whether it's sort of systemizations within your business, funnel marketing, whatever it may be. And then the third Thursday of the month is always in relation to property. So this would be whether we're talking about HMOs, abattoirs, whether we're talking about... anything to do with property, title splits, whatever it may be, land, et cetera. So do come and um join us within that and we built it on Circle as well. So 24 hours a day, you can always be connecting and messaging other women. And then don't forget, we've only got a couple of tickets left now. to the Girls and Property Retreat on Friday 24th of April at Penley Manor in Tring. I'll be bringing together, as I always do, fourth year in a row over 80 women together. And it is going to be about four guest expert speakers, eight expert tables, and the expert table is all about getting up close and intimate. And the day starts about 10 o'clock and finishes at eight, and we have lunch and dinner. And it's just brilliant, isn't it, Alex? Like, I just love it. It's fun. It's fantastic. It is so much fun. Yeah, definitely recommend it. There you go, can come and meet Alex as well, Alex is gonna be there. So Alex, I'd love to give you the parting words today. One thing we didn't get a chance to do at the beginning, because you had that gorgeous monologue and I was like, just let her fly, Athena, was I didn't ask you what you were celebrating at this moment in time. So to finish off today's episode, we usually start with it, we're gonna finish it with it today. What are you celebrating? Do you know what? I suppose I'm celebrating a couple of things, but the main thing is obviously the last few weeks we've had the, you know, the Christmas break. And I think that's given me time to really reflect on last year. And I think it's really important sometimes to stop and reflect on actually what happened last year and, you know, the challenges. And I think what I'm actually celebrating is, you know, I various challenges, work and personal, and I'm actually celebrating how I managed to... sort of take them on and overcome them and how I dealt with them. Because I think at the time, you know, it was an emotional roller coaster and you just think, oh my goodness, you know, it was absolutely boomed, things thrown at me. But I think I'm actually celebrating how I dealt with them and how I managed to keep positive and do all I could that was in my control and how, you know, handling them and, you know, I think when it came to the end of last year, I managed to get through them. I survived and I managed to get my planning permission. So I think I'm celebrating that. And I think as well, during that time and because of that, it's like the universe is kind of testing you a little bit. And I grew so much last year because I had no idea those things were gonna be thrown at me. And it is the universe kind of testing you saying, I'm throwing this at you. this is, know, can you handle this? Because if you want to grow and, you know, get better and, you know, earn more money, et cetera, et cetera, you know, go into that next level, you have to have these things thrown at you and deal with them. And it's about how you deal with those, you know, and who you use in your network. And I think because I've got, you don't have to have many people, but I think because I had the right people in place, to help support me and give me guidance and be like, actually, everything will be okay. Keep going, you have to keep going. And because of that, that is what I'm celebrating today. And I think then lots of seeds and foundations, I think were built and placed last year. And I think 2026 is about executing those things, Athena. Yeah. oh the podcast. Absolutely. And I'm to do a celebration for me and everybody else listening to this. I'm going to make this a group celebration for all of us, which is we are going to be celebrating and this is going to be our mantra, part of our mantra, which is going to be that we are not doing new year, new me. We are going to do a new year, same me, new intentions. And that is what I want to give to you as my parting words to you today. Same us. new intentions and that's what we're going to take forward. So Alex, thank you so much for coming on. Really, really appreciate it. um You're welcome. And as always guys, thank you so much for listening today. Wherever you're tuning in from, whether you are listening in the car, whether you're doing a refurb, whether you're renovating an abattoir, do let me know. Always message. Don't forget to get your ticket either into the community or the Girls and Property Retreat. Sending you loads of love for a fantastic January and the rest of the year. Love you lots. Speak to you soon. Take care, bye.