Have you dreamt of growing a property portfolio, only to find the barriers to entry too high? Or the advice on property investing too complex?

UK property investor and founder of the Property Investors Network Simon Zutshi says, most people who could easily start the journey on the property ladder don’t, because of three big myths:

Myth 1: You need to be wealthy to invest in property

Simon bought his first house while in a job with Cadbury’s, during the time when he was still paying off his student debt. Determined to invest, he took a loan out from a family member, to start his journey and promised to repay the loan with interest. 

Why was he so determined to get started early? He says “Investing in property is a bit like owning your own cash machine - as long as you buy the right thing in the right area”.

Simon bought a house with extra rooms, and rented out 2 of them to friends, who were in college, effectively paying off the mortgage and bills. 

Simon says there are many ways to get started with other people’s help, instead of waiting to save enough to invest (which can take decades). You can put a deal together that is mutually beneficial and allows someone to provide financing, or even join someone's team and leverage your time instead of money, to be a part of their deal.

You may have hidden assets in your property, business, or pension, or even money saved in the bank where you’re losing money, as the inflation is higher than the interest. The point is, you don’t need to be wealthy to get started. You just need to be determined to start now - and then connect to those who can support you.

Simon continued investing in properties after hiring a financial advisor, and in 2001 he left Cadbury’s. By 2003 he had completely replaced his income at Cadbury’s, with the residual income from his properties. 

Myth 2: You need to invest all on your own

Realising that there was no easy way for investors to learn from and partner with each other, Simon started the Property Investors Network (PIN) in 2003. Today it is the longest running and most successful network of its kind,  with upwards of 50 meetings a month, all over the UK. The network provides a supportive environment to help people become better investors, learning from others and hearing from some of the top property investors in the country. 

To teach people the knowledge, support and mindset they needed, Simon also started running training courses in 2003, and in 2007 he launched a year-long mastermind program, with a target to lead people to a £50k residual income and a £1 million property portfolio over 12 months. 

Simon says “Effective investing takes a team that supports your strengths and weaknesses. Those who try to invest on their own, usually fail because of the area where they are weakest, whether it is a lack of the right connections, not enough attention to the numbers, or not having a strong enough sense of the market.”

Simon began using Wealth Dynamics, the world’s leading assessment for entrepreneurs, to show the investors he was coaching, how to follow one of eight paths in their investment and team building strategies.

Greg Reed, is an example of the kind of path that is possible when you commit to a property pathway. Greg worked at Cadbury’s for over 20 years, and took redundancy when the company was taken over by Kraft Foods in 2010.  

Greg joined Simon’s mastermind program, and set an income target of £50k from property (his salary at Cadbury’s after 8 years). He hit that target within 8 months. 

How did Greg do it? He connected with 2 other people on the mastermind program with different Wealth Dynamics profiles, and they worked as a team. After hitting his first target, he went on to reach £114k in residual recurring income by the end of the year.

Myth 3: You are restricted by your local property market

Following the value of using Wealth Dynamics in his coaching, Simon partnered with the creator of Wealth Dynamics, Roger James Hamilton, to begin developing Wealth Dynamics for real estate investors. In the process, he joined Roger’s Impact Investor Group, with investors from around the world. He also launched Crowdproperty, which has become a leading property crowdfunding site. 

This year, Simon’s property network has grown into Australia, Asia and Africa and he says “There are now ways for individuals to invest in properties internationally that weren’t so easy a few years ago. When you think globally, you can invest in the best markets, which may not be your local neighbourhood, and you can spread your risk in both property returns and currency values.”

“At a time when jobs are less secure than ever, it’s more important now than ever to begin building income from a property portfolio. Over the coming years we’re connecting property investors in different markets together so they can share their knowledge, resources and experiences with each other.”

The new Wealth Dynamics for real estate Investor test and reports are launching in November 2017, and Simon will be running global retreats at Entrepreneur Resorts and Beach Clubs for property investors. Country specific property investment trainings are already running in the U.K. and Australia, and are now expanding globally. 

Have you been guilty of letting one or more of these myths hold you back?

Before worrying about how much money you can invest in property, begin by asking how much time you’re willing to invest, and then commit to it and connect to others who are actively investing.

“The rich invest in time, the poor invest in money.” ~ Warren Buffett