Property Investors Awards winner Mariam Radi

From being inspired by her mum, to finding her feet in the property world and turning deals into a profit, Mariam Radi’s journey into property has now seen her win three Property Investors Awards.

Despite the challenges, she’s faced, she’s proven that persistence pays off.

How Mariam’s property journey began

Mariam’s interest in property began at a young age through her mum.

She tells Property118: “My mum was an architect, and she had a love for properties, every time we would walk into a building, she would always point out architectural designs.

“Her passion for property instilled in me the same habit where I now walk into buildings and think how I can make this better.”

Mariam first started in the property business with buy-to-lets.

She explains: “I started when I was about 20 years old, and that’s when I really got into the thick of it. I was nervous at first because it was a new area for me, and I didn’t want to risk more than I could afford to lose.

“I went for a buy to let, and I remember everybody telling me not to do it because I wouldn’t make much money. I may not have made a huge profit, but it was a safe space for me to learn. I built contacts with contractors, and whenever a tenant moved out, I had the opportunity to renovate the space.”

From there, Mariam began flipping derelict terraced houses, making small profits along the way.

“It was only after a few projects where I wasn’t making significant returns on investment that I decided to take the next step. I took a leap and took on the hairdressing salon —that was the project that won me the Property Deal of the Year and Short Lease Deal of the Year,” she says.

Winning Property Deal of the Year and Short Lease Deal of the Year

Mariam explains more about the deal that won her the awards and says: “I found this HMO and it was on offer for relatively cheap, at least 5% below market price.

“I went to the open house viewing and put in an offer, but it got rejected. Then I kept seeing it coming back to the market for about a year.

“Eventually I put in an offer of £80,000 below market price, as I thought at this point the seller was just trying to get rid of the property and then that offer was accepted!”

“I was really happy, but I knew in the back of my mind there must have been a problem with it.”

However, Mariam didn’t realise just how challenging this deal would become until she started the process of securing funding.

She explains: “I tried to get funding for the property, but nobody would lend to me. Then my solicitor told me that every time they sent a letter to the original owner, they weren’t getting a response.

“It turns out the original owner hadn’t even hired a solicitor for two months because they had lost faith that anybody would want to buy it!

“I did a viewing of the property with the owner, and they showed me the basement, saying it belonged to the property next door and that was the issue.

“The owner had been illegally renting out the basement of the neighbouring property, and that’s why nobody wanted to buy it — they’d be inheriting a lawsuit.

“The property next door was owned by the freeholder, and I think that’s why they thought they could rent out the basement.”

Mariam adds that things became even more challenging as she uncovered more about the property’s legal situation.

She explains: “However, the owner didn’t own the leasehold, and it only had 50 years left. It had been a hairdressing salon but had sat vacant for about 20 years.

“I did some research on the leaseholder and found out he was in prison, and his assets had been seized by debt recovery.

“A little light bulb went off in my head — I realised he wasn’t going to come back to fight for the basement, he had no control over it, and debt recovery just wanted their money back.

“I knew the best course of action was for me to buy the hairdressing salon, cancel out the lease, and turn it into a full freehold.”

Property is now worth £425,000

Mariam knew she had a challenge on her hands but her first step was to negotiate the best possible deal.

She tells Property118: “The problem was debt recovery wanted to sell it for as much as possible, and I wanted to buy it for as little as possible.

“I set aside £150,000 and made an offer of £100,000. I also sent several letters of claim after reviewing the lease, identifying violations such as unpaid ground rent and the property being in a state of disrepair.

“The thing about a letter of claim is that you can sue anyone for anything, so I had about three legitimate claims where they had violated the lease.”

Mariam explains the property was sent to auction but luckily things worked out in her favour.

She says: “My £100,000 offer was rejected, and the property was sent to auction. However, this is why I sent multiple letters of claim, when I called the auction house, they were forced to disclose the full legal history of both properties, including all of my letters. That’s because legal responsibility transfers with ownership.

“After they disclosed all of this, nobody bid for the property at auction.

“I offered £100,000 again as that’s what I thought it was worth, but at auction, I ended up getting it for £96,000.”

Mariam ended up transforming the property and made a big profit in the process.

She says: “I cancelled the leasehold, and there was no dispute about the basement. It was converted into a one-bedroom property and is now worth £425,000.”

Young Property Investor of the Year

Mariam also won Young Property Investor of the Year, which she says was a shock but also a proud moment in her journey.

Mariam believes a lot of young property investors sometimes have doubts, just like she did, but it’s important to push past those moments of uncertainty and believe in yourself.

She explains: “Despite my property journey sounding like a breeze, there was a lot of anxiety and self-doubt.

“When you’re meddling with something you haven’t done before, it’s very easy to get into your own head. I would open up social media and see property investors on building sites, wearing hard hats and all the building gear, and I just thought to myself—if I tried to do that, whatever I was trying to build would probably fall apart.

“I just tried to ease myself into it and believe in myself, and that’s what I think other young property investors should do too because if you believe in yourself, you never know what you might go on to achieve.”

Winning the awards has given me a new-found confidence

Mariam explains winning three awards has given her a new-found confidence and how her friends reacted to her winning the award.

She says: “There are a lot of people in the industry that I admire, and I’ve known them for about a year or so. I remember seeing them after the awards, and they said they didn’t even realise I was good at this!

“Their reaction was hilarious; they were really surprised because I don’t share much on social media (but I’m changing that now).

“For those who didn’t know me, winning the award was amazing because it broadened my network. Now, I have new people in my close circle who I wouldn’t have met if it weren’t for the awards.”

She adds: “It’s also given me a newfound confidence — now that I’ve achieved this, I ask myself, ‘What can I do next?’

“It sounds funny, but I love my awards. I actually look at them every night before bed, and at the same time, there’s this voice in my head saying, ‘We’ve got to keep working and keep pushing forward in the property journey.’”

Even if you don’t think you are going to win, it’s worth applying

Mariam adds any aspiring property investors should apply to the Property Investors Awards as it’s a valuable experience.

She says: “Even if you don’t think you are going to win, it’s definitely worth applying. I actually applied the year before and didn’t really think I stood a chance, especially against Emma Fielding, who won and is incredible.

“However, being in that room and seeing my name on the board as a finalist put my name out there. A lot of people came up to me and asked what I was a finalist for, and it opened lots of doors.”

Mariam also says the judges gave her advice on how to improve.

She adds: “It’s much easier to go up to one of the judges at the awards and say, ‘I made finalist, could I get some feedback?’ Since they’ve probably seen your application and have something to base it on.

“I was able to get some really good feedback, rather than if I hadn’t applied and just got some blanket advice from the judges.”

Advice for aspiring property investors

Mariam gives some top advice to aspiring property investors saying alongside finding a good team of contractors, it’s important to know your strengths.

She says: “Understand what your strengths are. I have a legal background and have two law degrees so when it came to the dispute with the basement that’s something I understood.

“Whenever there’s anything that I didn’t understand, I wasn’t afraid to pick up the phone and ask for help from somebody who does have experience in it.

“Do not suffer in silence as a lot of people in this industry are happy to help and give you advice.”

Mariam adds: “What it comes down to is if you love property, then you are going to do well at it.”