Today I’m delighted to be joined by Maria Thomson, Founder of London Edinburgh Holdings, and a passionate property investor, focused on commercial to residential conversions across Scotland.

During the interview, we’ll look at her varied career, what exactly drove her away from her successful job as a solicitor into the world of property, and how her approach to commercial to residential conversions shows that there’s opportunity in any location to make money from property, not just down south.

Apologies for the uneven audio in the first 10 minutes – Skype was definitely having some issues during our interview – but the content from Maria is well worth a listen, her passion really is infectious.

Listen to this episode below:

Here’s a sneak peek at what we discussed this time:

03.30 – From a career as a court litigator to personal struggles to travelling the world, Maria talks about life before property.

“In the property world, what I see a lot of, is people looking for the perfect deal – they spend a fortune and never get off the starting block!”

09.46 – Maria’s first dabble in property, a commercial to residential conversion in Scotland.

13.11 – Why Maria and her husband turned their backs on the financially-driven corporate world and focussed on achieving family happiness and success.

17.11 – Maria’s reflections on success, and how to achieve it.

“Success leaves clues.”

18.57 – Positivity, mindset and the importance of being forward-thinking.

21.24 – How Maria convinced her husband to get on board with property, and their first investment in 2017.

23.19 – Risk-taking, utilising transferable skills and how Maria juggles multiple businesses.

25.44 – Maria’s investment strategy.

29.46 – Why Maria is so attracted to commercial to residential conversion projects.

32.41 – The benefits of investing in Edinburgh, the second-best property market in the world.

34.57 – Why Maria believes every area has a selling point, and the benefits of going against the grain.

“You really want to be in a place where other people don’t believe they can make it happen.”

37.35 – Finding your niche, taking inspiration from other’s success and getting ahead of the competition.

40.51 – The importance of actively finding opportunities; of mindset and self-belief.

“Whether it’s true or not, it doesn’t matter – you make it true!”

48.38 – A closer look at Maria’s current projects.

53.13 – How and why Maria operates a sales-led investment strategy.

55.53 – Value-engineering, and how you can use it to keep to budget.

1.02.56 – Maria’s plans for the future.

Show Sponsors

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Links Mentioned

Follow Maria’s progress, and find out more about her latest projects, by connecting with or  her on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.