I must admit, I find the idea of being an "armchair investor"  very perplexing.

I strongly believe that the best person to look after my money and my financial future is the person I see in the mirror, not a third party with a sales agenda.

I cannot understand the concept of sitting back and letting someone else take all the responsibility for my money, my investment decisions, and my financial future - no matter how trustworthy that person might seem.

I actually want to roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty. I want to strive to understand my investments from every angle. I want to take responsibility for how my money is spent. I want to be on the "factory floor" dealing with the everyday running of the business so that I can grow my skills and knowledge.

If I invest my time and diligence in my property business, then there is hopefully far less chance of it going wrong than just taking someone else's word for it.

Maybe armchair investors sitting back in their armchairs calling themselves "investors" are really "armchair speculators on a third party's ability to make the right buying decisions for them".

Property is not a case of "one size fits all". If you don't want to roll your sleeves up and get your hands dirty, then maybe you shouldn't get involved at all ... ?

If you think of yourself as an "armchair investor", maybe that allows you to feel very disconnected from your property business? If you are not in the thick of it, then there's a strong possibility it will go off the rails.

Passive Investments, Grant Bovey's Imagine Homes, and Instant Access Properties are three high profile companies who have proved that the "armchair investor" concept is a recipe for disaster.

Yes, I can understand that if you are cash rich but time poor you might like a bit of help and support. That is understandable. However, to absolve yourself of all responsibility and "just sign papers", which I have heard someone say recently, is a complete anathema to me personally.

Join the discussion on the Property Tribes forum here.

Ealier this week,  Nick and I spoke to 150 people in Cardiff at a Business Scene event about social media. On our way back on Friday morning, we stopped off in Bristol to view a flat belonging to one of our clients that had recently become vacant. Our client is unable to do any management himself, as he is in the Army and currently serving in Afghanistan.

We checked the flat over, and went into a local letting agent (who we had previously researched) to appoint them to let and manage the flat. We were able to negotiate a small discount off their fully managed fees while we were there, as we always try and help our clients out on reducing commissions.

However, after leaving the shop, they phoned us back about an hour later and said, that, due to our client serving in Afghanistan, they would like to offer him 10% fully managed as a gesture in recognition that he was serving his country. I thought that was a very generous gesture and I think it says a lot about the letting agent and their values as a company.

My question is: what could you do today in your property business to help someone (a customer or a tenant) out a little bit? How could you go that extra mile and make a difference? How might that person talk about your business in their network and how could that reflect on your business in the future? How much more powerful is it when a third party advocates your product or service, rather than you yourself saying "I am brilliant. I am the best"? Can you see the potential that social media has for advocacy - getting a whole army of followers spreading the word about you? This is social media in action right here!

We are now in the era of the "linked" or "networked" economy. One of the features of this is that a small action is amplified by networks. I have now spread the word about this letting agent through Twitter, ecademy, and Property Tribes. The linked economy also follows the law of increasing returns, meaning my one action in publishing this story on the web, means this story is on-line in perpetuity and can be read by an unlimited amount of people. It is also highly targeted to property people in this format. Have a think for a moment how powerful that is and think of how you could apply this to what you are doing in property.

We tend to always hear negative stories about bad service, so let's focus this thread on positive stories where a business has shown that they value and care about their customers.

Let's hear it for the good guys of property!

BTW - the letting agent in Bristol is Clarks.

Join the discussion on Property Tribes forum here.

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Top 10 Tips for remaining productive while working from home

When we first started working from home full time, we thought it would be great.   A 30 second commute to the office meant no more fighting through the rush hour.  We could listen to our favourite music while working, stay in our dressing gowns all day, and generally enjoy home comforts.  Not to mention the joys of not having a boss breathing down our necks or having to ask permission to go to the toilet (yes, really!!).

And then, a little thing called "reality" kicked in. It's not easy to stay productive and effective when you're working at home, especially if you are easily distracted. The techniques which served you well in the office environment don't seem quite so useful when you're working from your home office, or your sofa and things feel all together more "casual".

Here is our guide on how to remain productive when working from home:

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