The Property Accountant With 54 Buy-to-Lets
Episode Overview
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.
Episode 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
Useful Links
Join our monthly property networking events across Scotland and connect with investors, landlords and industry experts. View Upcoming Events
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Listen to more episodes of The Scottish Property Podcast and explore conversations with investors, landlords and industry experts across Scotland. Browse Episodes
Would you do your own refurb to save money? Drop it in the comments
