Bricked It: The First £300,000 Is the Hardest Chapters 10-12 #189

Bricked It: The First £300,000 Is the Hardest Chapters 10-12 #189

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1375666/fan_mail/new] Tailored strategies for every stage of the journey — small, medium and large pot investors — so you know exactly what's possible and what to do next, whether you're starting with £5,000 or £500,000. Three chapters this week, one clear purpose: meeting you wherever you are. Once you know your number from Chapter 9, these chapters map the road ahead for each stage. Small Pot (Chapter 10) — £50,000 to £250,000. If you're not there yet, don't despair; even £100 a month compounds faster than you'd think. Clear expensive consumer debt first, because no investment beats a 25–30% credit card. At £50,000 you've got a deposit for a first buy-to-let or buy-to-sell — though I gently remind you property isn't tax-efficient or divisible, so max your ISAs and pensions before you fall in love with bricks. Medium Pot (Chapter 11) — £250,000 to £500,000, where it gets interesting. More room to diversify, the power of leverage (and its risks — I'd keep debt around 50%), holding companies and SPVs, and a property-savvy accountant on your team. Protection matters here too: could your income cover the mortgage if something happened to you? Large Pot (Chapter 12) — £500,000 and above. A confession: I started my first professional project with £1.1 million, most of it from a Clerkenwell flat that doubled and a decade in banking. My first boss in Sydney told me the first A$300,000 is the hardest to make — after that, compounding does the heavy lifting. At this level, get the basics rock-solid: pay down your home, max every allowance, put protection in place, and hire a professional project manager (around £45,000 a year) so you own investments, not another job. Slowly does it. In this episode: * Small pot: starting from £50k, clearing bad debt first, and why ISAs may beat bricks * Medium pot: diversifying, sensible leverage, holding companies and protection * Large pot: getting the basics right, the right structure, and outsourcing the job * "The first £300,000 is the hardest" — and why compounding rewards patience * How to keep moving up the ladder safely, at any starting point A note on the voice: what you're hearing is an AI-generated version of my voice reading my own words. It's me — just not in the room. I'd rather be upfront about that than pretend otherwise. Every word, every lesson, and every mistake is mine. Which pot are you in, and what's your next step? Tell me on Substack at nicolebremner.substack.com, where paid subscribers get early access, extended commentary, and the chance to ask me anything. Subscribe wherever you listen so the finale lands automatically. Next week: the Conclusion — What to Do Next. Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/NicoleBremner] Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. The view and opinions of the guest speakers do not represent that of the host. Always do your own research.

Bricked It: The Female Tax and Why Your Money Is Your Responsibility Chapters 8 & 9 #188

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1375666/fan_mail/new] Why no woman should outsource her financial future to a partner, the "female tax" quietly draining your savings, and the honest net-worth reckoning that lays the foundation for everything that follows. Two short, sharp chapters this week — and they belong together. Chapter 8, "A Man Is NOT a Financial Plan," is my plea to every woman listening. I share Anya, an intelligent businesswoman who runs her own PR firm yet has no idea what her family has saved or what her husband earns. And Dorothy, who never worked, reached almost 70 with nothing of her own — then divorced, bought a round-the-world ticket and backpacked across Europe at 70. I talk about the "female tax" — the hair, the Botox, the nails, the must-have handbag — and how mindlessly it drains what could be securing your future. The non-negotiable: keep three months of cash in your own account, not a joint one. A partner, however loving, is not a financial plan. Your money is your responsibility. Chapter 9, "Know Your Numbers," is where Part 3 begins and the work gets practical. No shame, no comparison — just an honest picture of where you stand. I walk you through building a simple net-worth statement (yes, the Birkin bags count as assets), set it against real ONS data on what Britons actually have saved by age, and show you how to find the money leaking out through forgotten subscriptions. By the end you'll know your number — and I introduce the three investor categories, small, medium and large pot, that shape the chapters to come. In this episode: * Why outsourcing your finances to a partner leaves you dangerously exposed * Anya and Dorothy: two women, two very different reckonings * The "female tax" and the three-months-cash rule (in your own account) * Building an honest net-worth statement — assets, debts, and your real number * How you actually compare to the average Brit, by age * Finding the leaks in your spending, and the small/medium/large pot categories ahead A note on the voice: what you're hearing is an AI-generated version of my voice reading my own words. It's me — just not in the room. I'd rather be upfront about that than pretend otherwise. Every word, every lesson, and every mistake is mine. Worked out your number? I'd love to hear how it felt. Find me on Substack at nicolebremner.substack.com, where paid subscribers get early access, extended commentary, and the chance to ask me anything. Subscribe wherever you listen so the next episode lands automatically. Next week: Chapter 10 — Small Pot Investors. Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/NicoleBremner] Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. The view and opinions of the guest speakers do not represent that of the host. Always do your own research.

Bricked It: The SAFER System, Strategy, Acquisition, Funding, Exit, Repeat Chapter Seven #187

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1375666/fan_mail/new] The complete SAFER system — Strategy, Acquisition, Funding, Exit, Repeat — the framework I built after losing almost everything, walked through step by step with the real stories behind each one. Everything so far has been the why. This chapter is the how: the complete SAFER system, the framework I built after making just about every mistake possible across a decade and 110 properties. The whole point is that you work through all five steps before you invest a penny — not as you go. It's designed to screen out the deals that will hurt you before you're ever exposed to them. I take each letter in turn. Strategy — what your portfolio actually needs to earn to give you the life you want, across cash, equities, property and pensions (and why speculative bets should be no more than 5% of your net worth). Acquisition — buying smart, knowing your numbers, never budging on your upper price limit. Funding — and here I tell the gut-wrenching story of Pete, who borrowed from a loan shark he met in a Facebook group and lost his 83-year-old mother's entire £113,000 life savings, plus why I'll now only ever fund through a regulated bank. Exit — flexibility, plans A, B and C, and the time I held out for a higher price from a famous buyer (Ross from Friends, no less), got greedy, and lost the deal entirely. Repeat — review, refine, regroup, and the quiet power of compound interest. I also correct a mistake I made for years: no, holding residential property in a limited company does not protect it from inheritance tax. And I close with Barbara — 53, asset-rich, cash-poor, no home of her own — and the radical advice I gave her: sell the entire portfolio, buy a home outright, and live debt-free and in control. In this episode: * The full SAFER framework: Strategy, Acquisition, Funding, Exit, Repeat — and why you run it before you invest * Strategy: what your portfolio must earn, and capping speculation at 5% * Funding: Pete, the loan shark, and a mother's lost life savings — why I only fund through regulated banks now * Exit: the David Schwimmer deal I lost by being greedy, and reading the market * The inheritance tax myth about limited companies that even I got wrong * Barbara's story: when selling everything is the SAFER move A note on the voice: what you're hearing is an AI-generated version of my voice reading my own words. It's me — just not in the room. I'd rather be upfront about that than pretend otherwise. Every word, every lesson, and every mistake is mine. Want help applying SAFER to your own situation? Come find me on Substack at nicolebremner.substack.com, where paid subscribers get early access, extended commentary, and the chance to ask me anything. Subscribe wherever you listen so Chapter 8 lands automatically. Next week: Chapter 8 — A Man Is NOT a Financial Plan. Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/NicoleBremner] Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. The view and opinions of the guest speakers do not represent that of the host. Always do your own research.

Bricked It: It's All About People Chapter Six #186

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1375666/fan_mail/new] People are the most unpredictable part of any investment. The story of a contractor whose gambling brought a project down, and why a good contract — not a handshake — is the safety net that saves you. A hard truth opens Part 2: partner with the wrong people, or without the right contracts, and you'll fail no matter how well you do everything else. Because once you're relying on someone, you've handed over control. I tell the story of Evan, a contractor and close friend of my head builder, who I trusted to run an East London extension. When his team stopped showing up, we discovered he had a serious gambling problem and had gambled the wages and the client's funds — a devastating situation for everyone, Evan included. No amount of planning could have foreseen it. But it taught me something blunt: in any relationship where money is involved, even the closest bonds can break. Look at failed marriages and contested wills if you need proof. So how do you protect yourself? Not with a handshake — with a contract. Sit down with a good lawyer, work through every eventuality, and put protection procedures in place before anything goes wrong. I share the example of Dale and Luke, two partners who wanted to skip planning their exit. When their partnership later frayed, the exit strategy we'd insisted on meant they could part ways amicably — a near-perfect uncoupling. Those mechanisms are priceless. In this episode: * Why people are the single most unpredictable part of any investment * The contractor whose gambling brought a whole project down — and what it cost everyone * "Trust no one": why money tests even your closest relationships * Why a handshake is worthless and a proper contract is your safety net * Dale and Luke: how an exit strategy turned a failing partnership into a clean break A note on the voice: what you're hearing is an AI-generated version of my voice reading my own words. It's me — just not in the room. I'd rather be upfront about that than pretend otherwise. Every word, every lesson, and every mistake is mine. Been burned by a partnership or saved by a contract? Tell me on Substack at nicolebremner.substack.com, where paid subscribers get early access, extended commentary, and the chance to ask me anything. Subscribe wherever you listen so Chapter 7 lands automatically. Next week: Chapter 7 — The SAFER System. Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/NicoleBremner] Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. The view and opinions of the guest speakers do not represent that of the host. Always do your own research.

Bricked It: The Real Deal Chapter Five #185

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1375666/fan_mail/new] Why the property millionaires on your feed haven't weathered a storm — and the real, unglamorous story of my own 15 years in property: the accidental wins, the nightmare flat, and the lessons that built the SAFER system. Scroll through Instagram and you'll find no shortage of self-proclaimed property millionaires promising you the pot of gold from a single seminar. This chapter is my answer to all of them. Here's a tip I share early on: run their name through Companies House and look at the actual accounts — the cash reserves, the liabilities. You'll often see a very different picture from the one on the feed. I don't think most influencers have bad intentions; the problem is many of them have never weathered a real storm. They haven't seen what a 15% market drop does to someone who's highly geared. I have. So I tell you my real story — the whole, unglamorous path. Becoming an accidental landlord with a Clerkenwell flat that sold for double (property's easy, right?). The Hackney flat I bought from a distressed seller that became a years-long nightmare: non-paying tenants for 15 months, four trips to court, damp, and roughly £50,000 I'll probably never recover. The Austrian ski apartment I bought while heavily pregnant and couldn't even view. An assisted sale that worked out well for everyone. And how all of it taught me I'm simply too soft to be a landlord. Fifteen years, the wins and the failures, plus the mistakes I've learned from others — that's the foundation the SAFER system is built on. In this episode: * The Companies House trick for checking if a "property millionaire" is the real deal * Why influencers who've never weathered a downturn are the most dangerous to follow * My accidental-landlord beginnings — and why "property is easy" is a trap * The Hackney flat from hell: 15 months of unpaid rent, four court cases, £50k underwater * Why blind hope doesn't pay the bills, and how my real track record shaped the SAFER system A note on the voice: what you're hearing is an AI-generated version of my voice reading my own words. It's me — just not in the room. I'd rather be upfront about that than pretend otherwise. Every word, every lesson, and every mistake is mine. Spotted a too-good-to-be-true pitch lately? Tell me on Substack at nicolebremner.substack.com, where paid subscribers get early access, extended commentary, and the chance to ask me anything. Subscribe wherever you listen so Chapter 6 lands automatically. Next week: Chapter 6 — It's All About People. Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/NicoleBremner] Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. The view and opinions of the guest speakers do not represent that of the host. Always do your own research.