Welcome to Conversations with Authors, where I – Alison Thompson, AKA The Proof Fairy – meet amazing authors and find out what inspires them to write and what advice they would offer other aspiring authors.
 
My guests on the show today are Ashley Wong and Alan Walton. Ashley and Alan both work in the financial services industry and have been property investors since 2009. Alongside working full time jobs, they have recently found the time to write and publish their first book Choose the Right Letting Agent: A Property Investor’s Guide

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During our conversation we talk about lockdown writing and using a coach to help you structure and write a book. My guests also outline how they went about writing a book in partnership, and how they are using it as the launchpad for a new business. 

Ashley and Alan both work in the financial services industry. In 2009, they decided to become property investors and also to educate themselves in this area. Since then they have expanded their property portfolio across London and the Midlands, and they are continuing to grow this today.

They are still in full-time employment and they match their property investment to the time available outside of their day jobs.  They have chosen to have letting agents perform the full management of their properties, while they focus on their jobs and their lives. 

Ashley has developed a keen interest in residential lettings and property management and has completed the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) Propertymark qualification, while also having completed her legal studies part time. These qualifications have certainly helped them understand the legal aspects of property management. They have both had letters published in the National Residential Landlords’ Association Winter 2020 magazine, and again in the Summer 2021 issue.  One of these was for The Big Question: ‘Do You Use an Agent?’ where they highlighted the positives of using an agent to manage their properties.  Ashley was also featured in the same publication in the Spring 2021 Meet the Landlord section. 

Ashley and Alan have been hosting a property mastermind since 2019, where they work together with other investors for mutual advice and support on their property investment journey.  Through their extensive experience with letting agents, they have also assisted investors and tenants to review their letting agents’ terms and conditions and tenancy agreements, highlighting matters of concern which require follow up as well as the use of effective resolution procedures when landlords have problems with their letting agents.

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Conversations with Authors is a Proof Fairy Production and hosted by Alison Thompson, AKA The Proof Fairy. To find out more about Alison and the services she offers authors, including proofreading, book formatting and cover design, visit http://www.theprooffairy.com