Mighty Pete Lonton from the Fire In The Belly show is an author, soon to be TEDx speaker (Jan 2021), podcast host, mentor, entrepreneur, property investor, husband, and father of three beautiful girls.
Pete’s background is in project management and property, but his true passion is the ‘Fire In The Belly’ show and project. His mission is to help others find their potential and become the mightiest version of themselves.
Pete openly talks about losing both of his parents, suffering periods of depression, business downturn, burn-out, and ultimately his years spent not stoking ‘Fire In The Belly.’ In 2017, at 37.5 years of age, that changed, and he is now on a journey of learning, growing, accepting, and inspiring others.
“Not everything that shimmers is gold. Just because it looks good and it smells good doesn’t mean it is good.”
Pete Lonton
Worst investment ever
Pete started investing in property 20 years ago in his early 20s. It has always been something that has worked for him in the background. Pete, over time, came up with a very successful property investment model that was super simple. The model looked for a 10% growth yield that brought a return on investment in three years. Pete retained the asset but would add value to it or buy an undervalued property and get it back up to value.
Exploring new opportunities
Pete had the opportunity to meet somebody who was a much bigger investor than him. The man was heading towards retirement, and his portfolio was about ten times the size of Pete’s portfolio. The man wanted to offload his portfolio, and Pete saw an opportunity to grow his portfolio. The two gentlemen quickly grew on each other and had a good rapport.
Sizing up the opportunity
Pete got invited to go and take a look at the properties with a view of potentially doing a deal. One particular property stood out as a good investment opportunity. The Gulf Open was coming to a location in Northern Ireland, and as a result, accommodation was under severe demand. The property could be developed into a guest house, or it could be knocked down and built into ten apartments. The property, therefore, had both short term and long term potential.
The universe bending to make this happen
The deal was a five-year lease, with an agreement to buy. So that gave Pete five years of a head start on the lease agreement. The sale price to be paid in five years was pre-agreed on the commitment to sell and for Pete to buy. With this kind of arrangement, financing the deal would not be a problem for Pete. Contracts were drawn in just a matter of days, and everything seemed to be moving along pretty fast. The pressure to close the deal was on.
One little issue
Everything seemed to be right with this deal except one thing—it went against his property investment model. Pete started feeling off about the whole deal, and he decided to run it through someone else who would look at it with fresh eyes.
Pete assembled his family, friends, and colleagues, took them to the property, and asked them for their feedback. They were all against the deal. Their reaction came as a huge shocker for Pete but was also a big wake up call.
Backing out of an agreement
Fortunately, Pete had not signed the deal yet though they had had a gentleman’s handshake. Pete felt guilty about having to back out of the deal, but he had to protect himself from making his worst investment ever.
Lessons learned
Stick to your investment model
Do not let anyone rush you into a deal, especially if it goes against your investment model.
Take time to make significant decisions
Before you make a major decision, sleep on it, and give it some more thought. You never have to make a decision right away.
Not everything that shimmers is gold
Just because it looks good and it smells good does not mean it is good. Do not let the excitement of something new cloud your judgment.
Andrew’s takeaways
Urgency is just a sales tool. Take your time before investing in property
Whenever you are purchasing property, remember that urgency is just a sales tool. Occasionally, urgency is real, such as when a property is to be foreclosed on, and the owner wants to get out of it right away because the bank has given a deadline. But in normal circumstances, be sure to take your time before investing in property.
If you have a system that works, don’t break it
If you have a system that works well for you, do not break it. Always stick with your system.
Protect your interests even if it means reneging on a contract
You have a right to protect your interests, even if it means backing out of a contract. Do not accept to get caught up in contracts because sometimes the pain of what comes out of a contract is not worth it.
Actionable advice
Know what you are good at and do it repeatedly.
No. 1 goal for the next 12 months
Pete’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to build passive assets that will be working for him while he sleeps. These include books, podcasts, property, and intellectual property.
Parting words
“Be the best version of yourself. Find and live by the fire in your belly.”
Pete Lonton
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