Show Notes
He's your accountant by day and a 54-unit landlord by night. And he charges less than you'd spend on a Friday night out. 🏠
In this episode of the Scottish Property Podcast, Nick and Steven sit down with Matt Herbert — qualified property accountant and 54-unit investor across Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Matt covers everything from his dad being made redundant and discovering property by accident, to doing refurbs after work in his finance job, building a 54-unit portfolio, and why he'd rather help investors structure their businesses properly than charge a fortune for it.
If you've ever wondered what a property accountant actually does for your portfolio — this is the episode to watch.
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – Welcome to Matt Herbert — accountant and 54-unit investor 00:14 – Qualified property accountant at the Glasgow networking events 00:28 – 54-unit buy to let portfolio across Aberdeen and Edinburgh 00:52 – Why Aberdeen is controversial — and Matt's take on it 01:30 – Growing up: dad moved from Wales to Aberdeen for oil and gas 02:06 – Dad made redundant and retrained as a teacher — the lesson it taught Matt 05:54 – Dad's first property: rented to his girlfriend 06:54 – Oil and gas crash 2015 — everyone made redundant 10:40 – First investment property — and the finance stories 12:41 – The First Home Fund: government equity stake explained 14:03 – Planning to buy a bigger home — and how it changed 15:30 – First refurb: doing it himself after work in Edinburgh 16:59 – What clients actually want: financial freedom and passive income 21:45 – Ex-council and social housing stock — what to know 24:27 – Aberdeen market deep dive — buying flats under £40k 24:43 – Partnering with Aiden — sourcing and project management 26:39 – Finding deals at offers over £45k and getting them down 27:57 – Target ROI: 20–25% on all capital invested 28:42 – Aberdeen pitfalls: what to watch out for 28:52 – Structural issues in Aberdeen stock — the same problems everywhere 37:43 – The condemned street nobody saw coming 40:34 – Porous concrete explained — and why it's a serious problem 42:38 – Net cash flow reality: why Aberdeen yields aren't always what they seem 48:41 – Edinburgh: inflated rents and the Alex Walker connection 55:33 – Shareholder structure: getting the limited company right from day one 57:40 – Year end tax planning: what to do when the bill hits £50k 1:00:15 – Mortgage strategy: 75% LTV, five-year fixes 1:00:33 – Set and forget — why Matt loves boring, stable assets
CONNECT WITH MATT https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-herbert-fcca-76558a8a/ https://www.facebook.com/matthew.herbert.980 https://ljyaccountants.co.uk/
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