Introducing Shari McLaren-Sterling a Rent 2 Rent Kickstarter ROCKSTAR!

Shari got her first 2 rent to rent properties in just 4 months of joining the Rent 2 Rent Kickstarter Programme.

Before joining Shari wondered whether it would work for her as she’s young as doesn’t have property experience.

Hello. Hello. I'm delighted and excited to be here with another Rent to Rent Rockstar.

I’m pleased to introduce you today to Shari McLaren. Shari joined the Rent 2 Rent Kickstarter coaching in May and already has two properties onboard and I know that you're going to find her story really inspiring.

We're going to talk about all the highs and lows, trials and tribulations about getting those first two deals. So over to you, Shari.

Stephanie: Hello and how are you doing today?

Shari: I'm good. I'm glad to be here.

Stephanie: Tell us a bit about you and what your situation was before the Kickstarter course?

Shari: I'm 26 and I was working in sales full time before I did the Kickstarter course. I also had an eCommerce business as well selling online. But I knew I wanted to get into property so that I didn't have any money worries and I knew it was a passive income as well.
But I just wasn't really sure about how to get into it. So, I was just looking around for different courses and I came across your websites and investigated them and signed up to the mailing list.

Stephanie: Can I ask you, because obviously we all sign up to lots of different things, what made you decide to go on the course? Because it's a big commitment financially. So, what made you think, yes, I'm going to do this?

Shari: Well, I looked at some of your YouTube videos at first just to see what you would talk about and what information you would give out about rent to rent and what resources you would provide. And I just kind of fell in love with your personality, with the information you were giving as well.

Your delivery was really good and you came across as really genuine. So that's another reason why I wanted to sign up. Also, because you were doing it in the UK, I thought what you'd be teaching would be very applicable. So that really appealed to me.

Stephanie: Did you come across people teaching it in other countries?

Shari: I know there are some people in America who are doing it, but obviously I'd prefer to be taught by people in the UK.

Stephanie: I'd be interested to know about that because I get lots of people asking me from America whether we can do it in America and it's one of those things on my to do list. But anyway, not to be diverted. This is about Shari and not America!

What were you worried about before joining the course or were you worried? I'm normally worried before I make an investment.

Shari: I guess just doing it right because I'm the kind of person who likes to have a structure to everything. I like to plan a lot. I'm the kind of person that when I'm planning for a holiday, I'll plan for every day.
So, having that structure is what I was missing, and what I was fearful of, and what I thought was, what am I going to do next? What do I do if this happens or if something goes wrong over there. So, it was having the structure, which is why I went for the course as well.

Stephanie: Lots of people haven't been on an online course before. Had you been on one before?

Shari: No, and I wasn't really sure what to expect to be honest because I'm just so used to going to a place and being taught and then leaving. So, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it's been great.

Stephanie: Well let's get into talking about how it started off. The first thing that you did was set up your business. Had you already done that beforehand or how did you find that process?

Shari: I had already set up a company with Companies House before, so that was all fine. But I hadn't done things in terms of getting a business bank account yet.
I love how at the start of the course you talk about mindset as well and writing your goals down - I hadn't really done that before, so there was quite a lot that was missing from the business setup. That's why I was appreciative for the course really.

Stephanie: And how long did it take you to set up?

Shari: It didn't take long - I used a website called ‘Companies Made Simple’ and you just put the details in there and then you pay a small fee and then they set it up for you.

Stephanie: I was meaning after you set up the limited company, how long does it take to do the rest of it once you’ve joined the course?

Shari: Not long, maybe two weeks at most. And that was only because it took a while to set up the business bank account because there were three directors - when you have more than two, that's when it can become an issue.

Stephanie: I love that it just took two weeks and that's what we find out is pretty typical. Some people can do it a bit quicker because they've already got some elements in place. I think people were surprised how quickly you can get it done when you know what you need to do.

Let's talk about the next thing because that's the easy bit in a way, isn't it? You've got your business set up so what were you most worried about in terms of going after the landlords and agents?

Shari: What would they think of me? I haven't been in property before - do I have the answers to all of their questions? Am I coming across right? Am I coming across as too desperate or am I not coming across as interested enough?
Just basically why are they going to think of me? And am I saying the right things?

Stephanie: That's a lovely way to put it. You forget some of the feelings that you had, so it's really good to hear somebody else say that they worried what people would think of them.

Tell me about what strategy you decided to do first. Because we talk about two in the course. One is letters to landlords and the other is the agents.

Shari: First I decided to do the letters because I was a bit too scared to get on the phone to agents. I love designing things, so I love the idea of designing my own letter and just getting that out.
And also that meant I could start practicing calling agents whilst the letters were being sent out and hopefully getting calls back as well.

Stephanie: Tell us what happened and how many letters did you send?

Shari: I think it was around 295 letters.

Stephanie: So, you send out your letters, including one to yourself - What was that like when you got it?

Shari: Oh, it was amazing. It was a Wednesday when I received it, and everything looked fine because I was worried about the formatting being wrong and all that stuff. And we actually got two calls the same day.

Stephanie: I remember this because you put it in the group, and you were so excited! So, tell us about these calls and what happened.

Shari: I was at work, so it was my business partner who actually took the call. He picked up one of the calls and it was a landlord who I think were working with a company on supported living and he was interested in what we can do.
The other one was an agent who called because we did send some letters to agents as well - but I think he missed that one.

Stephanie: Both of your deals, did they come from the letters or the agents?

Shari: One of them came through you as a lead and the other one was through an agent.

Stephanie: With the letters you got some calls, but none of them turned into deals. And then with the agent, I know this bit people love to talk about because people are terrified of the agents, and this was one of your fears as well - talk us through how you came to have a deal through an agent, what happened?

Shari: I was looking on Rightmove and I found a property that had four bedrooms and the pictures looked really, really nice in terms of its potential. So, I decided to call the agent and was telling them about what I do.
Although this agent was a bit different to normal ones because they were like an online one – it wasn’t Purple Bricks but similar to Purple Bricks.

They didn't really understand what I was talking about, but I asked to book a viewing anyway. And they said yes, they'd be happy to arrange that for me.

I saw the house and fell in love with it. There were some other people viewing the house as well, and when I was about to leave, I said to the agent working on that day, what could I do to get this house and move forward with it.

I told him about what I do as well. He said that he does some Airbnb stuff, so he kind of knew what I was talking about. I asked what do I need to do next? And he said he'll pass my details on to the agent.
So, I called the next day because I didn't hear anything, and I was just ready to go. But they didn't get back to me. Then before I knew it, the landlord approached me on Facebook.

Stephanie: How did he know to approach you?

Shari: They must have passed my message on to the appropriate person in the agents, and they must have got in contact with the landlord to ask, and then they must have given him my full name to find me.

Stephanie: So, the landlord approached you on Facebook, but what happened next?

Shari: He started the message off with, “I'm sorry to contact you on Facebook it's a bit informal, but I was hoping to have a conversation about the guaranteed rent that you can offer. It does sound very interesting”.

So, I called him that night and I was on the phone to him for a good half an hour because he was asking so many questions. I was surprised by how much I actually knew because I was able to answer the questions.

Stephanie: Can you give us an idea because I know people will be thinking what questions?

Shari: Questions like, “What do you actually do?”, “How do you know that this property is going to fit your criteria and you’re going to rent it out?”, “What do you think of the location? Have you researched the area to make sure that the tenant demand is high enough?”.

He was going in deep and he was also telling me a bit about his history with the property and how he was struggling to rent it out as a single let as well.

He also asked things like, “How you going to be able to afford the rent and make sure that you can keep paying it?” I told him we have an investor and he asked, “Can you tell me more about the investor and their background?”.

He was really making sure that he felt comfortable. But what was reassuring for me was that I did answer all these questions, and he said that he did feel reassured, and felt a lot better about potentially moving forward with me.

Stephanie: That’s a lovely story, and I tell people that it's all about know, like and trust - trust is higher than experience.

There’re so many people who get that first deal and obviously don’t have the experience but that's where the know, like, and trust is so, so important.

There are so many examples of this. Yesterday another one of the women in the group had got her first deal (she wants to announce it herself when she's actually signed the papers as it’s only verbally agreed).

It was the same scenario - the owner really wanted to work with her and really liked her. He had other offers, but I think it's the trust and the honesty and sometimes people have been let down before and that's why they've got all these deep questions to ask you.

So, taking it from there Shari - how did you feel?

Shari: I felt amazing. I had him on speaker so my business partner could hear what I was saying. I was asking for feedback on how I sounded. Was I professional enough? And he said, yes, absolutely fine.
I didn't know at the time that this was going to be the first of many long calls with questions. So, I felt relieved and wow, I do have the knowledge to move forward with this and I can do this.

Stephanie: Great. And are there any tips that you would give to people who are maybe just starting up and thinking like you thought? Are there any tips that you would give on how to be successful?

Shari: One tip that was given to me was, if you don't really know the answer to a question that they ask, just say, “I'll need to speak with my business partner about that and get back to you”.

Or you could just say, “Well that's actually something I want to look into a bit more for you to give you a more solid answer. If you just give me some time, then I'll get back to you on that”.

Stephanie: I think people really appreciate that, because they're so used to people bullshitting all the time and it’s a really refreshing change because you think, okay, this person's on it and she's not just going to give me any old answer.

So, I totally agree with that. And our motto is always, you bring it from the heart, and yes, it's your first time, but you're going to be putting your everything into this one property and that's a bonus for the landlord. And, you've got the systems, and everything set up - you've got the people and you've got the resources.

Shari: He knew we were new to it basically because he had looked us up. What the agent tried to do was put him off going with us by saying things like - they've only been a company for a month or so and telling him all the bad things.
I'm just glad he's still moving forward with us even though he knew we were new to it.

Stephanie: I think people find it hard to believe, and I think I would find that hard to believe before having the experience of it myself.
There is nothing harder than honesty - the person who has your property for you, or anything that you value, you have to know that you can trust them and that you want to work with them. And that you like them and that they're going to be a good partner for you.

And it's the same from our point of view in choosing which landlords to work with.

We've talked a bit about the landlords and the agents, so tell us about the next steps and how you felt when the landlord said yes.

Shari: Wow - it was like… I can actually do this; this is happening and we're going to get these contracts signed and I'm officially going to take off. It was really, really scary, but really exciting at the same time because although you'd given me the next steps, it’s still an experience going through those steps.

So yes, it’s very, very scary - but I just still wanted to keep going and see what I can do.

Stephanie: You put some pictures in the rent to rent success secrets Facebook group. If you want to have a look at Shari’s first HMO, you can join the Facebook group and say hi to Shari and let her know what you think of the rooms. I think they're brilliant!

Are you able to say what your cashflow will be on the first and second property?

Shari: The first four bedroom one will be a £400 profit.

Stephanie: That's fantastic. And the second property is a four bed as well.

We’ve just talked about the first one with the agent and then direct to landlord, now let's have a chat about the one that came through me.

Just to give you an insight, we have an HMO Heaven website which says that we manage properties in Newport in South Wales. But we also get quite a few enquiries on Facebook and through people who find us on Google or our YouTube channel, asking about whether we know of anybody in their area.
And that's what happened in this case - a man called up and I thought it sounded really promising.

Shari tell us what happened next?

Shari: Because I'm in the Facebook group, I get notifications from it, and I got a notification saying Stephanie has posted in the group - and I always look when Stephanie's posted. I saw she was saying there was an opportunity in Northampton and asking if anyone was close by, or if anyone could take on a property in Northampton.

I noticed that the post had been done 30 minutes ago and I thought, Oh God, have I missed it? Then I saw the number of people that had seen the post and it was only four people.
So, I snooped and looked at whether the four people were close to the property, and it turned out they weren't and were quite far away.

I'm based in Birmingham, so it's not too far away from Northampton, but it is a distance. I was thinking can I actually do this. But I thought of the Richard Branson quote where he says…

If there's an opportunity, still go for it. Even though you might not have it all together.

So, I send the email to you and got the details. I think it was in the morning because I called him as soon as I could, which was on my lunch break.
He was a really nice guy, he told me about the property and how it was being managed by an agent, but three out of four rooms hadn't been rented for the past couple of months and so he was considering the guaranteed rent.

Stephanie: And on paper the guaranteed rent looked lower, but then when you broke it down it was a really good offer for him. How long does it take you to drive there?

Shari: Just over an hour and 10 minutes, but it's been alright because my business partner works less hours than I do. He'll have more time to go down there. And because he works in schools as well, that means he's got the six week holidays and the two week holidays off. So, it's working out fine.

Stephanie: That's brilliant. And is that a four bedroom too and a similar cashflow?

Shari: Yes, it’s a four bedroom and similar cashflow – just a little bit higher.

Stephanie: That’s just over £800 a month and because we put a lot of extra cost lines, you have the potential to make a little bit more. That's the way we do it by using the deal analysis so that you've never got a deal that's losing money, unless there's a major catastrophe and we've had some catastrophes, but never a major one.

So well done that is brilliant. You’ve done it in three months - your first property is fully dressed and with some tenants in and once the rest is complete, you'll have over £800 a month cashflow, and on a five-year contract.

And that was the other thing, you were so nervous to ask for five years and to ask for a rent-free period. On our first deal we apparently did ask for five years and he said no.

I know I've asked you this before, but I'm asking you again anyway.
I talk to quite a few people that are thinking about this and maybe they're in a similar situation to yourself where they’re working full time but thinking they’d like to go into property - what would you say and what guidance would you give?

You were nervous and anxious when you came through the course and then a few months later you've done it.

Shari: I guess I did a lot of research into it. I looked at the strategy and thought is it something that I could potentially do? I'm also working on mindset as well.
So although yes, I'm nervous, I know I have a goal and I want to achieve that goal and I know I have to take action in order to achieve that goal. And from my research it seems as though property is a vehicle that can take me to my goal.

I'm just going to do as much as I can, I don't want to be thinking what if later on, so I just went for it and I'm still going for it. I’m still nervous at times, but I just went for it.

Stephanie: That never goes away. You've got a lovely way of speaking. It's very inspirational.

People sill slightly roll their eyes sometimes when I say this, but 80% is mindset because the things that you've got to do are simple, but people don't do them.

Some of the things that are difficult is rejection - you've got two deals, but to get those two deals, you had to speak to lots of people. Though actually in your case, you didn't speak to that many.

Did you go to a lot of viewings?

Shari: In terms of getting those deal, I didn't really have to speak to many people. I went on loads of viewings. I think I was trying to go to 10 in a week. Working full time, that was quite difficult, but I was able to push for it.

Stephanie: Wow. I don’t think we ever did that volume of viewings, but 10 in a week that's crazy. I think that just shows as well that when you take the actions, you get the results.
That’s where some people fall down as it's hard to keep taking the actions when you're still getting no’s. But you can't get a yes until you get a no - you have to go through all the no’s and then the yes will be on the other side.

If you're reading or watching this - Shari is just amazing. You’re amazing because you just started.

People don't always start like you, I was 45 when I started this business and it's like a tragedy that I started so late in my life.

I encourage you just to start… You don't have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great – it’s such a cool line.

Is there anything else that you want to leave people with Shari?

Shari: Other than take action and make sure your mindset is right. If your mindset is not there, you're not going to push for it. Or when a hurdle does come along, you're not going to keep going.

I do hear a lot of people say, what is your why? What is your reason? So, it's good to analyse that and think, is it actually strong enough to get me through the hurdles when they do come.

Stephanie: Yes, that's true. I just want to encourage people if you feel that your mindset isn't there because it's a constant thing.

If you're growing and you're trying to improve what you do and you're putting yourself out there in different ways, you're always going to have fears and barriers and blocks – but it's a continual thing to keep growing.

Wherever you are right now is the perfect place for you to begin and just improve. Shari is going to keep improving, I’m going to keep improving.
We're going to be doing different things tomorrow, next week, next month, next year than we did today and yesterday.

Get the ‘Yes you can plan’ if you're thinking that this might be something for you. Underneath this post you’ll see ‘The six step system to get your first deal’ which you can download and ‘The five secrets to rent to rent success’ and start your own success story and it’s all totally free.

I want to thank you Shari for being an inspiration and for being great fun to be around in the group. And I'm so proud of you and of your success.

Shari: Oh, thank you very much, Stephanie. You've been such a great help both you and Nicky as well with the course and all the guidance that you give.
You went far beyond my expectations and I can't thank you enough for all the help you've given me.

Stephanie:  Brilliant. Well thank you.

If you've got any questions for Sharia or you just want to congratulate her on her success, please comment below.

This is such an inspirational story and I hope it helps you take that first step into your next journey.

Speak to you all soon and take care,

Stephanie and Nicky

Xx

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