Saying “Yes” means saying “No” to something else, with PatMa software creator Simon Pither
Director of Pither Technologies Limited, Simon Pither has been a landlord since 2002. He combined his knowledge of property with his software development skills to create an online software, PaTMa, that makes property management a breeze.
Simon joins me in this episode and shares:
- How he got into property
- His current property strategy
- How his software product, PaTMa, takes all the effort out of property management
In this episode we discuss:
01:00 Introduction to Simon Pither
- ”For me, property began when I was a child.” [01:35]
- Simon talks about buying his first property and his first proper buy-to-let [02:16]
- Taking a break from property, working on his career, writing the first code for his software product PaTMa (Property and Tenant Manager) [03:46]
- Simon’s return to property in 2017 and what he’s worked on since [04:47]
- Something you might not know about Simon [06:31]
08:02 Simon’s strategy with his first property
- “I was effectively living there for free. Put two lodgers in. They were paying the mortgage for me.” [08:24]
08:59 Simon talks about his current property strategy and opportunities he’d like to explore in the future
- Are Simon’s short-term goals revenue-based or capital-appreciation based? [10:01]
- Simon explains why he’s selling a property instead of remortgaging it to get some equity to reinvest [11:26]
- Why Simon’s looking at properties that appeal to families even though the yield is lower [13:28]
16:02 About PaTMa
- What is PaTMa? [16:16]
- PaTMa gives you a pricing history on individual properties. It also gives you estimated rental bills. [16:55]
18:01 Simon’s biggest failure
- In property [18:15]
- Outside of property [22:14]
24:55 Habits that contributed to Simon’s success
Quick Juice Questions
26:46 What do you look for in a property investment, and why?
“Buy-to-let, single let, I deal with family.
I have a lot of emphasis on location. I look for good public transport links, good areas within towns, and then of course 60% plus ROI.”
28:56 Where should someone start if they are new to property?
“I would definitely suggest starting with a local property meetup. Then from there, start small.
I would always advocate spending money on a property and learning as you go rather than spending money elsewhere. There’s no better learning than actually doing. And even if you screw it up, you’re probably going to end up with a property at the end of the day.”
31:05 What most inspires you? When and where are you most inspired?
“I’m not actually sure if this is inspiration per se as just more where I do some of my best thinking. For me, that’s in the shower.”
32:26 Which book has inspired you and changed your thinking the most?
“These are two that have changed my thinking recently.
The first one is The Mom Test. It’s really about not trusting what people say they will do. So you really focus on asking questions around what people have actually done and use that as a basis for making decisions.
Number two is The 12 Week Year. This one has changed a lot in the way I’m approaching my goals, my deadlines, and scheduling of my work.”
34:37 If there’s one last bit of Executive Juice you can share for people who want to get to the top of their property game, what would it be?
“Property is very forgiving, especially if you are in it for the long term. So, don’t be afraid. Get started.”
Quotes
- “I’m definitely focused on revenue. The capital appreciation of property is brilliant, but it’s not how I define my goals.”
- “Over the time I’ve owned properties, they’ve dipped in value as well as gone up in value. And that doesn’t really bother me. It’s definitely a longer-term gain for me.”
- “It can be quite time-consuming to go out and view properties and find them. But that’s nothing compared to the time it takes to actually work through the process and paperwork.”
On why Simon prefers properties that appeal to families
- “Generally speaking, renting to a family and making sure that home is good for them produces long-term lets with little effort from a management point of view.”
On PaTMa
- “It’s software to help self-managing landlords or letting agents or anyone involved in managing property do that more efficiently, save time, automate as much as they can, and get a bit of their life back really.”
Advice:
- “There’s no better learning than actually doing.”
Other quotes:
- “Procrastination is a sign of fear.” Alan Weiss
Connect with Simon Pither:
Books mentioned:
Resources Mentioned:
Previous Episodes Mentioned: