In the nicest possible way, it's clear that Martin has been around the 'property block' so to speak. Unlike some investors that I meet, Martin has taken on board learning points, remained persistent and changed his strategy along the way. He started his investment journey in 2003 where he bought properties and refurbished them with the primary purpose of holding them for the long term. After all, as he explained when we met, that was what he'd always been taught about property; hold for the long term.

Now though, he is a property trader and whenever he purchases a property he is looking to do as little as possible to it in terms of renovation and then sell on in the fastest time possible. Both strategies look to make profit from property; however they come at it from completely different perspectives.

I start by asking Martin, who bought his first investment property when he was 46, why and how he started his investment journey.    
"I wanted the freedom to choose what I did with my time. I was with Sun Life of Canada for sixteen years and St James Place Partnership for two years. It was at SJP that I met one of the partners who introduced me to two guys who were sourcing houses in Doncaster - I bought my first house for £23,500."    

His attraction to residual income stems from his background working in the financial services industry and his former career as an estate agent. But after being involved in 75 property transactions in an area hundreds of miles away, Martin decided to look a little closer to home. "I was purchasing in the North of England from 2003 until spring 2007 then in June 2007 I met a property mentor who was teaching the sale and rent back strategy. After attending his course I decided on the Medway Towns - Chatham, Gillingham, Rochester etc. to utilise this strategy."