Written by Hanaa Yousof
Property investment, capital, assets – if you’ve ever tried to break into the realm of property investment, you are no stranger to these buzzwords – and their appeals. But beyond the glitz and glamour of the end-goal comes the middle stretch, and the oftentimes confusing financial jargon that accompanies this intermingled with periods of continuous inflation have made the line to success blurrier and blurrier.
Here at Blocks2Bags, we know that the path to the bag isn’t linear, and clarity is key when starting on your journey. This week, we sat down with Tayo from BrickzWithTipz, half of a property and edutainment platform, run by himself and his wife Antoinette. Running an award-winning, Channel 4 featured platform dedicated to acknowledging such difficulties, they use “financial literacy to bridge the gap between dreams and reality”. What does it really mean to get started on your property investment journey, and how can you use it to build wealth for yourself? With expert advice on starting out and an exclusive masterclass on creating edutainment content like BrickzWithTipz, this episode has it all.
KEY BLOCK GEMS FROM BRICKZ WITH TIPZ
Sell property deals to investors to bridge financial gaps – Networking with investors is key here; using the BrickzwithTipz platform, you can essentially sell property deals to investors who will cover costs that block your path.
Buying a property first vs Investing in properties – With years of experience in the property industry, Tayo commented on how buying properties first isn’t necessarily the most lucrative option. For example, using rent-to-rent systems across multiple properties is only one way to climb the property ladder.
Look at market prices in your area when you start out – You are the expert in your area. Look for listings that might be below market value to take advantage and package up deals with investors.
Education builds legitimacy – Property investment is not just about buying properties; learn from your mistakes and keenly analyse every deal you come across to build a roster of information.
Building impact with edutainment – Your journey doesn’t need to end with property investment. Modelling the success of the BrickzWithTipz platform, this episode explored the value of edutainment in making a wider impact.
HOW TO INVEST IN PROPERTIES AND BUILD WEALTH USING BRICKZWITHTIPZ
Find the idea of property investment on a low budget intimidating? You’re not alone. Within our current financial climate, where significant periods of inflation and the cost-of-living crisis have only exacerbated the struggles of buying properties early like prior generations, it seems pointless to even try.
The journey might seem impossible – but the operative word here is seem. And this is where BrickzWithTipz comes in. Emphasising the importance of education and financial literacy, Tayo argued that even with no budget, you could utilise investors to get your foot in the door and capitalise on your skills that aren't necessarily reliant on a higher budget.
“Once there's enough value in the deal you will be able to sell it or be able to find an investor that can bring you the money”, he said, “and then hopefully after a while with education you can get an investor to give you give you the money so you could act on a deal and give the investor their return.”
Networking is key here; equipped with the financial literacy that a platform like BrickzWithTipz offers, trust is at the core of learning to secure deals despite setbacks you might initially think you have. And the results only further embolden this; the BrickzWithTipz platform has helped individuals sell property deals to investors in as little as 24 hours.
Beyond the platform, widening your scope of thought, particularly in our current financial climate might bridge any hindrances that naturally accompany the way inflation has affected the property market. As discussed in this week’s episode, increasing interest rates might initially be disheartening, but Tayo and our hosts discussed the opportunity this could provide. For example, for property owners who might have bought buy-to-let properties and are looking to exit the market and in essence, get rid of their property, may offer a worthy exchange for someone looking to now enter the property market.
“We need to always remember when a deal is being had both parties are getting something they want”, Tayo commented. “The buyer of the deal is might be getting it a little bit below market value and then the person that's selling the property, they want to get rid of the property anyway so you're both serving each other”
WHY YOU SHOULD START YOUR PROPERTY INVESTMENT JOURNEY EARLY
If you’ve tapped into Blocks2Bags before, you know we’ve got into the realities of navigating the finance world, including the economic hardships that can come with investing in assets and decision-making as a whole. And for those looking to start earlier, it might look like a whole other world of difficulty; in the words of Tayo, “when you’re young and you’ve got money, you leak money”. Because ultimately, the notion of owning property prior to even graduating seems not only unfeasible, but something that a lot of people won’t even be considering.
But again, widening your scope can offer you access to a whole new world of opportunity. For example, Tayo gave us a look into his personal journey, where he initially focused on purchasing cars. However, shifting into property as an asset class came in understanding that “property crystallises your money”. The value of entering into the property market, wherein with capital appreciation in play, your asset goes up in value, as opposed to investing in cars – or anything similar – may seem obvious, but the importance of the message really comes in the mindset shift that comes with this.
But how do you start? From the perspective of someone who bought a property first, Tayo actually advised against this, encouraging entering the business of property first. This could be anything from sourcing deals to rent-to-rent practices. And not to worry if this is outside of practically for you at the moment; even packaging deals for investors through knowing the area you’re in and sourcing listings that fall below market value is a viable and worthwhile option, where Tayo pointed out that you are ultimately the expert in your area.
Gaining financial literacy doesn’t need to be difficult; starting out early can actually offer the benefit of learning as you go along, where education can unlock valuable insights and the ability to analyse deals. Equipped with platforms like BrickzWithTipz or even us here at Blocks2Bags, there are multiple ways to begin your journey and demystify the property world.
A MASTERCLASS IN EDUTAINMENT AND MAKING AN IMPACT
BrickzWithTipz has been a legacy years in the making; for Tayo & Antoinette, they’ve balanced building and nurturing a family with making a legitimate impact in the property sector. And this isn’t limited to their business; creating content goes hand-in-hand with their strategy to foster a culture of education, subsequently leading people to fulfilling prospects of a career in property. This is ‘edutainment’; combining entertainment and education can sometimes produce greater results than solely educational content. Impact might seem like something limited to serious, logical work. But in an age that is underpinned by a strong digital culture, adapting to this and considering how this influences the consumption of knowledge means you can reach individuals who would otherwise tune out of the discussions you’re having.
For this week’s Blocks2Bags episode, not only did we discuss this, but we also created a skit live on the show with Tayo for any aspiring edutainment content creators to model. You’ll have to tap into this week’s episode for the full rundown, but here are some key gems from the masterclass:
The ‘Trojan Horse’ Method – Nobody is stranger to clickbait; hyperbolic statements carefully crafted to, as it seems’ ‘trick’ a viewership into latching onto your videos. But for Tayo, what appears like a trick might actually come with a massive benefit. With something he dubs the ‘Trojan Horse Method’ (leading with an entertaining hook to build into educating people as the video closes), he argued that ‘clickbait’ could actually be valuable in helping people stick around to learn. “People don’t actually want to learn but they’ll be thankful for it after”, he said, emphasising the vitality of integrating a creative approach to your content.
Forget perfection & start early – With the proliferation of content creation as a career, there is no lack of people with perfect equipment, editing skills, and the background to produce professional-looking content while making it appear effortless. For Tayo, holding back on the grounds of wanting to reach these standards isn’t something he would recommend. And out Blocks2Bags hosts only emphasised this, reflecting on how producing content comes with too many hurdles to start later. Quoting advice he received, Tayo said “start today, get perfect later”.
The Hook – True or False: the first 2 seconds of your video can affect its trajectory and reach to a massive extent? Here, the former is incredibly important to capturing the attention of an audience, where hooking them in is what the performance of a video relies on. Here, you need to make people think – why do I care about what’s on my screen right now, and why shouldn’t I turn it off?
Why varying your audience is more important than you think – For one last gem, here’s something that even the most seasoned content creators can take away. A piece of advice that gained the BrickzWithTipz platform 20,000 followers and counting, this is varying your content to reach new audiences. While it seems self-explanatory, cementing yourself in a content creation niche might make it seem like all of the work is done. But stopping there can mean stagnancy; producing new and engaging content means interacting with new people who can offer new insights that help keep your work fresh and make a real impact.
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