4walls Blog

Spring is in the air ... well, I'm trying to convince myself that it is ... and our thoughts turn to summer holidays.

As more and more people are seeing the opportunity to use social media for property networking and business exposure, I just thought I would share with you the little network of holiday letting friends that I have built up on Twitter.

@Beside_The_Sea

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I think it would be true to say that, here in the U.K., the desire to own our own home is ingrained into our culture.  Newspaper headlines charting the rise (and fall) of property prices are an almost daily occurance, not to mention the myriad of property programmes on the box - "A Place in the Sun", "A Place by the Sea", "Property Ladder", "Dream Homes", "Buy, Build, or Restore", "Homes Under The Hammer", "Escape to the Country" ... the list goes on and I admit to being an avid viewer myself!



And this isn't a recent phenomenon.  Our grandparents almost certainly said "invest your money in bricks and mortar".

Then there is the famous saying "An Englishman's home is his castle" .... and a more recent home owner's mantra "the average U.K. property doubles in value every seven years ... ".

These sayings might be cliches, but they are cliches for a reason.

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1.  On the 27th of January, we are running our first property/social media networking event of the year, taking place in Guildford. Nick, my husband, will be our speaker, and he will be presenting a talk entitled: Find out why a portfolio of web content could be as valuable as a portfolio of property.  There is a heated debate on this subject on Property Tribes, which will give you some insight into this topical subject. Full details for the event and registration is >>> here.

We are a group of serious, committed, and well-connected investors, and our non-sales agenda ensures that the information shared is always valuable and authentic.  We endeavour to offer high quality and supportive networking with like-minded people who want to share information, collaborate, and help each other.  Property Tribes member, Adrian Standing, had this to say about our events: "The great thing about PT is that its refreshingly different from the other stuff you see and hear on the property circuit. I particularly enjoyed your meeting with Thomas Power and Nick Dare in Weybridge and it was the best networking meeting I went to in 2009."

2.  Then on 6th February, Nick is running a one day training course in Guildford entitled:  How to implement a social media strategy for your business.  Nick is widely regarded as one of the foremost exponents of social media in the U.K. and was recently featured in this blog Social Media Superstars alongside some of the top SM names in the world including Louis Gray and Chris Brogan.

If you are just starting to see the potential of social media in your business, this is your chance to learn from one of the best! For just £80.00 for the day (including lunch), you can add another powerful dimension to your business exposure and start to harness the power of the social web and understand how to monetise it. This event is particularly suited to letting agents, developers, deal sourcers, and property professionals. Read here how Sally Aisling of Surrey Lets generated £7K of business out of Twitter in just four months!.  Full event details and booking >>>> here.

Both off and on-line networking create serendipitous occurances that will fuel your business, not just in 2010, but in perpetuity, as whatever you publish on-line remains there indefinitely!  With 31 billion searches on google each month, you cannot afford not to have an on-line presence on the social web.

3.  Our preferred broker, John Simpson of Resident Broker, has kindly offered Fee Free mortgage arranging (no broker fee) and a complimentary consultation for all members of Property Tribes. You can contact him on 07974 198396. Please mention "Property Tribes offer" when you call him.

4.  If you need some furniture for your rental property or holiday let, we use and recommend David Phillips Living.  If you contact Drew at David Phillips on 0845 371 1280 and mention "Property Tribes" you will receive a 5% discount off all furniture pack orders over £2.5K.  Drew is also offering Tribal members the fantastic Cornwall sofa unit (which we have in our holiday lets) discounted from £618.00 to £449.00 including VAT if you order before 13th February.  This sofa is teflon coated so incredibly hard-wearing and perfect for smaller rooms!

Our philosophy is that there is strength in numbers, and as a group we can negotiate better deals for all of us!  We only ever recommend products and services that we have used ourselves and that we know to be ethical and trustworthy, so we hope the above helps you move forwards in 2010. (and saves you a few $$$!).