Property Investors’ student makes more money than ever in lockdown!
Property Investors’ success student Zayyan Farran Armani has made more money in lockdown than ever before. He has adapted his serviced accommodation and rent-to-rent business to meet the challenges of exceptional circumstances. He has even managed to hit his 2020 goal of grossing six figures just 18 MONTHS after attending our FREE crash course and is now sourcing deals too.
Zayyan adapts to corona crisis with a change of strategy
When travel restrictions were imposed in March to halt the spread of coronavirus, many entrepreneurs letting out furnished rooms on rent-to-rent agreements threw in the towel.
They returned their keys to the landlords and walked away.
Zayyan Farran Armani admitted he too had a ‘mind freeze,’ like a lot of other investors, after Airbnb cancelled bookings in the UK in response to the pandemic.
But then Zayyan looked at the lockdown guidelines and came up with a way around the problem. He set up his own online booking platform for accommodation in Reading and Henley. Using Google Ads and Facebook, he cleverly targeted key workers who were allowed to move about.
His sales pitch on Facebook was that it was ‘a great way for key workers, NHS staff who do not want to compromise their loved ones, to have a place to stay whilst COVID-19 is in play.”
The strategy worked perfectly. Soon he had secured long-term bookings which enabled him to continue paying his landlords their rent, while still making a profit himself.
“I was on holiday in Spain when the cancellations came in. Airbnb, which is everyone’s SA bread and butter, locked off three months of their calendars. Cancellation policies were all gone. I know so many people who relied on Airbnb and had to give back their properties,” says Zayyan.
“It was stressful but then I accepted it was happening and I made a plan. I thought this is a unique experience and asked myself: how is this challenge going to affect me and how am I going to grow from this? How am I going to pivot my strategy? That was key to surviving and even thriving during that period,” says Zayyan.
“We managed to get bookings of three to six months, not at the rate we would normally charge, but we still made a profit for those months. We didn’t have to go in and do any cleaning because of the coronavirus and not being allowed to touch anything, so it balanced out because it saved us lot of time and effort and that’s money.”
Rent-to-rent works all over the world says Samuel Leeds
Zayyan works with a business partner and together they are now offering serviced accommodation in Spain.
It is rent-to-rent SA with a ‘twist,’ he explains. “My partner has experience of running yoga retreats and has a large client base of yoga instructors who want to run yoga retreats. It’s very lucrative. Yoga is growing in popularity.
“I suggested to him doing rent-to-rent in Spain for his clients. He has his own properties he deals with but has a huge supply of clients waiting for two or three years until they can do their retreat.
“I said, why don’t we do some rent-to-rent in Spain with villas for these clients? We’re now renting 12 to 14-bedroom villas in Spain and then offering weekly rentals for the yoga instructors. They’ll pay £5-6,000 euros a week. We pay some of that to the landlords. The instructors will have 12 clients paying them £1,000 each, so everyone is making their money.”
They also plan to package up the service for investors to buy as a rent-to-rent deal on a six to eight-month contract coinciding with the season for this market. It requires more capital up front but promises a different kind of bespoke investment, he says.
Property investors founder and chairman Samuel Leeds is also an advocate of the rent-to-rent strategy which allows people to profit from property without actually owning it.
He says: “Rent-to-rent works worldwide. I’ve got students in the USA, Australia, The Netherlands and Germany. I’ve even had someone in China commenting on YouTube that they’re making six figures off the back of my online training.”
Closer to home Zayyan is also concentrating his efforts on sourcing high-quality, tailor-made deals for investors in the Henley, Marlow and Beaconsfield area.
“We have a partnership with one of the biggest agencies in the UK. They pass us a lot of deals and enquiries from people needing a place for one to three months with a budget of £5-6,000 per month. It means we’re able to cater for our investors. We can say we have a really high-quality deal and we also have high-quality clients.
“We collect a £4-5,000 fee for a rent-to-SA now, compared to a typical sourcing fee of £1,500 to £3,000, because it’s a really high-quality deal. I don’t want to be known as the guy who comes in with thousands of deals every week. We only take on deals we would take on ourselves. Ideally the accommodation is fully furnished.
“We’re trying to look for a perfect area with properties similar to the ones we already rent out.
“In Henley we have three rent-to-rent, two-bedroom houses in a mews area. They’re all detached, beautiful places in the centre of Henley. We know those work and the demand and price we’re getting, so we know what we can do there for investors.”
He adds: “We’re still managing every property we sell a deal on and collecting a fee for that based on a percentage of the rent it achieves. We’re invested in it which gives the investor more confidence that we’re not just going to flog them off to another management company. The more we can get it for it, the more revenue we can generate, so we’re both going to make more.”
Investors need to take responsibility for their investments
Zayyan advises all his investors to do their own due diligence before taking up one of his rent-to-rent deals to ensure it is a strategy they are familiar with.
Samuel agrees: “Some people have the attitude that you’re the expert sourcer and you should make them rich if they pay you £3-4,000 for a deal. That’s not right. An investor has to take responsibility. It is their investment.
“They need to be educated and have their eyes wide open. I pay people all the time to bring me deals and people pay me to bring them deals sometimes. It’s a wide-open transaction. I’m not doing business with someone who is financially illiterate who doesn’t understand the investment.”
Zayyan’s tips
- One of the most important skills to have in this business, apart from sales skills, is communication and being able to build a rapport with someone. If you’re trying to get an agent or a landlord on side, focus on communication.
- You have verbal and non-verbal cues. Only seven per cent of communication is verbal. The rest is body language, the tone of the voice and facial expressions. You have to think how to use these skills to your benefit, whether it’s in an interview, a relationship with a landlord or an agent. It’s a lot harder on the phone.
- If it’s in person, it’s really key to have eye contact. Practise this technique. When introducing yourself to an investor, landlord or a new friend, look them in the eyes. As uncomfortable as it is, keep looking at them until they break eye contact with you first. In that way you can establish yourself as having confidence and a bit of alpha dominance.
- Talk to people like they’re your friend. It comes across in your tone of voice. You’re more relaxed and comfortable. If you know what you’re talking about it makes it easier. Body language is important. For me those are the skills I think are really important to marry up with knowledge.
- Make sure your mind is undefeated and that it can’t be penetrated by people who are going to bring you down and maybe feel threatened you might flourish away from them.
- Having a good relationship with a landlord is key. During the coronavirus pandemic some people found that because they got on well with their landlord they were only charged half the rent.
- Go to the crash course. The energy is mad. I saw so many people already doing deals and sourcing deals. I thought I’m not missing out on this. The content is amazing and it’s free. I also watched a lot of Samuel’s YouTube videos. Consider doing advanced training. When you have a trainer or a mentor and go on a programme with step-by-step instructions, it accelerates your journey massively.
- Don’t try to get into any business without spending a penny. Ideally you need £5,000 in the bank to set up your business properly and get some contracts and a website. Your website is like your CV. You’re not going to get a job without having a CV first.
The verdict from Samuel Leeds
“Zayyan is a driven, make-it-happen person. Anyone can become financially free, make six figures and go on to become a millionaire. However, it takes a special person to do that – someone who not only has the knowledge and skills but has got that natural ability to adapt and be fluid. What Zayyan did is adapted during the lockdown to protect his livelihood.
“His long-term project, which he is working on now, is to establish a network of sourcers in every major city in the UK and match up their deals with investors and management companies – like co-dealing on steroids. I can’t wait to see that happen. Someone said that by helping other people get what they want, you get what you want. He’s certainly on the right track.”
Zayyan Contacts:
Facebook Group is – https://www.facebook.com/groups/eleva…
Facebook Profile – https://www.facebook.com/zayyan.armani/
Instagram – @zayyanamani
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