who is John Pidgeon?

When he isn't training for Ironman competitions or hanging with his family, John Pidgeon is the co-host of the this is property podcast, a 20-year property investor and property coach working with clients nationally to achieve their property investing goals. But there’s more to John than meets the eye, so we wanted to dig deeper and ask him some questions. Check out his answers below.

how did you find yourself working in the property space?

I always wanted to trade my time for money in something that I was passionate about. Early on this was coaching / health and fitness, and then property as I had always invested in residential property and wanted to help others do the same.

what do you do on a daily basis?

My mornings consist of my own training before the kids get up. I drop the kids at school and then work starts. I carry out meetings with potential and current clients, take clarity calls, record some podcasts, run corporate workshops, do some business planning, have marketing meetings, and meet with my buyers agents team. These all filter through my working day/week.

Evenings I spend time coaching AFL, taking kids to various sports, do some backyard activities with the family and watch TV shows with my wife (if we get time!).

what’s your hottest tip when looking for properties as an investor?

Not sure it’s my hottest but you need to be patient. Being a property investor is a long game. Understand that you need to set 10-20 year goals and look at the end game just as much as what you are doing this year.

what’s your property investing strategy?

It is always different - I invest depending on what my portfolio or lifestyle demands at the time. When I first started investing I took the approach of rentvesting meaning that I rented where I wanted to live and invested where my strategy took me. I did this for 15 years before really settling on my principal place of residence. It is very hard to rentvest for the short term and then 3 years later change your mind to buy your own home to live in as often you will need to sell your portfolio which defeats the purpose of building a portfolio.

is there a book, resource or person that’s inspired you in property?

My uncle who was a bank manager was a big influence in my early 20’s. I’ve read plenty of property books, been to many property workshops or expos, and read plenty of motivational books to inspire the long game and keep me focused. I grew up and began investing without the internet so that meant learning from everything I could get my hands on - even if I was sceptical about it, I took a look at it. I always took one thing away from it and it gave me a shield of armour to know what to look out for.

how did you find yourself in property podcasting?

Glen approached me and asked if I wanted to start a podcast together. As a business owner, I had flexibility to dedicate time and was and still am passionate about educating and inspiring others. It was a great fit for my business at the time.

who would get value from your podcast, this is property?

Anyone really. That is not a blaise response - all you need are 2 ears to be able to learn, improve and grow. If you think you know it all, you have closed your ears on life. Back to my above response, you only need to take 1 thing from each episode.

you also have a family - how are you teaching your kids about investing concepts?

Amy and I personally set up a managed fund for each of the 3 kids which will mature when they are ready to handle it. We debit each month into this. In regards to educating, they learn organically from being around us and listening to our conversations around money and investing. They listen a lot (sometimes reluctantly) to Dad’s phone calls in the car. We talk to them about how it is important to give, save and enjoy any money they receive whether they earnt it or not. Money needs to be spoken as a positive to them and around them - e.g. ‘we can’t afford that’ just simply put ‘we are putting our money towards something more important on this occasion’.

if you could give 3 tips to someone who has just started in property, what would you share?

1. Have a really solid and disciplined savings plan - this is in your control.

2. Buy land in desirable locations.

3. Stay at home with parents to maximise point 1 and get into more assets sooner.

Extra tip: Don’t forget cash flow when searching for growth.

what would you tell 20-year-old John if you had the chance today?

• Create a harder savings plan and don’t waste so much in your 20’s.

• Get a trade, avoid the HECS debt and years of no or low income.

• Back yourself in once you have done the research.

• Create solid relations and mentors.

• Treat people equally.

• Don’t let a chance meeting go by.

• Be generous with your time and money.

• Never forget your grassroots and give back to those who invested their time in you.

and finally, what’s your favourite sweet or savoury treat?

Definitely Cadbury’s Dairy milk chocolate!

Connect with John:

• Subscribe to the this is property podcast

• Grab a copy of John’s book, Sort Your Property Out

• Check out John’s property coaching business, Solvere Wealth

• Check out John’s buyers advocate service, Envisage Property