Sharing my Property Development Journey Online
On the 15th January 2018, I uploaded my very first picture to the Beespace Instagram grid – then called Honey Bee Properties (long story!). It was a collage, made up of images of my Serviced Accommodation one bedroom apartment in Matlock, Derbyshire.
Why did I take to Instagram to show the world what I was doing with my properties? Well, it wasn’t because I wanted to show off. It was, in fact, the opposite. After a failed startup wedding business (more on that another time), I decided I would try and give property investing a go.
My fiancé and I had unintentionally played around with flipping properties for a few years, but we’d been doing it the hard way. We would buy an old run-down property, live in it, and renovate at the same time (not for the faint-hearted!) Once all the hard work was done we would sell it, take the profit, and move on. This is how we slowly built our cash-pot up.
Behind the scenes, after baby number 1, I started educating myself on a variety of property strategies by reading as many books as I could, listening to podcasts, and watching Youtube videos. It was after I watched a series of Youtube videos by Inside Property Investing, featuring Nicole Bremner, that I decided to step-up what I was doing and try my hand at HMOs – ‘Houses in Multiple Occupation’.
During summer 2017 I completed my first HMO conversion, with baby number 2 arriving only a few days later – I wouldn’t advise doing both in the same week!
Fast forward to January 2018 and I had purchased two more properties; Little Dark House and Copper House. And so, after some persuasion from my fiancé Tim from McNeil C
Three months into sharing my property journey on Instagram, I met with Grant Robe from ProVest Holdings, who had found me via the platform. We chatted all about HMO design, what his vision was for the ProVest investment portfolio, and how he wanted it to look. After the meeting, he hired me as their Designer, and we’ve been working together ever since!
I think it’s fair to say that 2018 was a big year for the property community on Instagram, and hand-on-heart it’s been such a friendly experience for me so far. If you’re new to
1. Fat Properties
The best design-lead landlords, based near the lakes – lucky them! I’m always excited to see what Phillipa and Tom do next!
2. Inside Property Investing
Mike and Victoria are such genuine, down-to-earth Northerners, who know everything about HMOs and commercial conversions. They help so many of us by sharing what they do – including the good and the bad.
3. Jonathan Ioannou
Jonathan is such a lovely guy. The totally normal, boy-next-door type that has done incredibly well for himself, in such a short space of time. He also has a wicked eye for design and detail!
4. Property Apprentice
Craig is a ‘must-follow’. He’s a true grafter and has all of the banter. If you want singing to at
5. Claire Norwood
Claire is genuinely one of the nicest people you could ever wish to meet, and has played a huge part in bringing the Instagram female property community together. Claire is working on some incredible property projects at the moment which I’m very excited to see unfold!
6. Maygreen Investments
Rob and Sarah from Maygreen Investments are definitely ones to watch. They live in London but actively invest in Manchester. Look out for their stunning luxury interiors!
So there we have it! That’s the story of how my journey into Property Development began, and why I chose to start
The Instagram squares have been a real game-changer for me – if you’re on there too, come and say hi!
