“I have been interested in getting into property development for a while, as I work day to day as an architect with my own practice, but knowing where to start and with which strategy can sometimes be daunting especially with so many options out there.

As an architect I was interested in leveraging my own skill set e.g. using planning gain. I also know and work with a lot of existing property developers, so in some ways I am well placed to make the move into development. But I didn’t have much knowledge of finding sites and getting funding / agreeing deals for the sites I may find.

I met Michael at a property Networking event and what he said made sense. He is a straight talker and I found that is what you need from a mentor. He clearly laid out actions for me to follow up on and checked in with me to see if I had actioned them.

He has been there and done it with his own projects and that gives you confidence that he knows what he is talking about when he gives advice.

At first, we discussed my goals and how best to get there, we discussed the various ways of achieving this based on my own experience, current circumstances and skill set.

I felt Michael has a very methodical way of explaining things, breaking them down into bitesize chunks so they did not seem so daunting. He explained clearly why each action was important to my end goal.

Michael helped me understand how best to set up the foundations of a property business and why it’s important.

He also made me see why agreeing details with business partners current and new is crucial to ensuring things go the way you want them to at the end!

Michael helped me to refine my approach to negotiations with other developers and landowners, ensuring I get remunerated for the work I do. Alongside this we reviewed the way I appraise sites and improved the accuracy of these to ensure more realistic targets.

Michael helped me clarify in my own mind what I could achieve and how best to achieve it.”