He had $300 to his name, sleeping on a mate's floor in Perth, Australia. Then a stranger in an empty pub changed everything — and 23 years later he owns 46 properties and manages 800 more. 🏠

In this episode of the Scottish Property Podcast, Nick and Steven sit down with David Lamb — founder of Orange Sales and Lettings in the North East of England. David's journey takes in steelworks apprenticeships, delivering tea bags with a wicker basket, a commercial conversion that doubled in cost during Covid, backpacking through Southeast Asia on passive income, and a chance meeting with a stranger in a pub that got him his first offshore job.

This one's got everything — the crashes, the lessons, the laughs, and a masterclass on building a letting agency from zero to nearly 1,000 properties under management.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Welcome & David's story in numbers

01:01 – Growing up in Billingham, Teesside

01:36 – Private school, kicked out, and finding his feet

03:01 – Walking out on his business teacher after 6 weeks

04:19 – Delivering tea bags door to door with a wicker basket

07:17 – First flip: bought for £52k, made £26k, slept on the floor

10:13 – The 2008 crash — and two new builds he'd just completed on

11:39 – Why new builds off plan was his biggest property mistake

15:03 – Zero knowledge of leverage — the lightbulb moment

16:46 – 46 personal properties: the buy to let foundation

17:05 – Converting 17 offices into 11 apartments

22:44 – Made redundant from the steelworks

23:30 – Backpacking Australia & Southeast Asia

23:51 – $300 left, Perth, and an empty pub

24:29 – The stranger who bought him a pint and changed his life

25:21 – Email Paul Gordon — one message, one offshore career

29:53 – Earning offshore and feeling passive income for the first time

32:33 – Rich Dad Poor Dad, all the books, and going property shopping

34:58 – The 17-office business centre: bought for £450k

35:24 – Covid hits — £450k becomes £750k

37:10 – Starting Orange from a portacabin on site

47:04 – First hire Charlotte — and building the team

49:37 – First agency acquisition

51:01 – Asset purchases vs share purchases explained

51:48 – How David structures every agency deal

51:54 – The deal that'll take Orange over 1,000 properties

53:22 – Why relationships are the real currency in business

54:09 – David's sole role at Orange now: buying agencies

1:00:15 – Business rates, national insurance & the real costs of running a team

1:00:25 – AI in property management — what David is integrating right now

1:03:44 – Why AI will never replace emotions in property

1:05:44 – The bank conversion: planning, apartments & serviced accommodation

1:07:07 – Wrap up & Marbella plans

CONNECT WITH DAVID

@davidlambproperty on Instagram

NETWORKING EVENTS

First Wednesday of every month

📍 Aberdeen | Dundee | Edinburgh | Glasgow

Follow our socials for speakers and details

SPONSORED BY

Prime Property Auctions — earn £1,500 just for sending a WhatsApp. If you know someone selling a property, John and Lewis will pay you £1,500 or 1% of the sale price (whichever is higher) just for passing on their details. They've paid out over £350,000 in referral fees so far.

👉 https://primepropertyauctions.co.uk/

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💬 Would you have sent that email to Paul Gordon? Drop it in the comments 👇

A complicated miscarriage. A goodbye in a hospital room. Two years of everything going wrong. Then they bought their first property — Claire eight months pregnant, the world in lockdown. 🏠

In this episode of the Scottish Property Podcast, Nick and Steven sit down with Claire and Dan MacDonald of Cladan Property — a husband and wife team who started investing in 2020 with no strategy and a sold car, and have quietly built a portfolio of 24 properties in five years.

This one isn't about overnight success. It's about a slow, steady, intentional approach — two young kids, a teaching job, a brand new mortgage advisory business, and a portfolio that's just gone through its biggest and most challenging growth phase yet.

🕐 TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Welcome to Claire and Dan

02:02 – Growing up in the Highlands & how they met

06:39 – The honeymoon that sparked the business idea

07:54 – One-day property events & the financial advisor who said don't bother

14:05 – Claire's teaching career & the stress behind it

17:59 – The difficult years: loss of Dan's mum

24:26 – The complicated miscarriage & why it changed everything

00:20 – Claire starts investing eight months pregnant in lockdown

19:06 – First deal: analysis paralysis & what pushed them through

19:14 – Analysis paralysis & the first purchase

21:23 – Releasing equity to fund deals three and four

22:07 – Selling the car to fund the second property

32:13 – Working with Jillian and Darren Green — mindset & clarity

33:36 – The vision: cash flow number, lifestyle goals & what they're building toward

34:36 – Dan's civil engineering background & the move into property

39:11 – The pivot to short-term lets & the Highland cottage

41:04 – The cottage flat STL in Cardonald

41:14 – 8 months to get the STL licence — what they learned

43:26 – Winter cash flow struggles & the unpredictability of STL

43:40 – The Joseph Todd liquidation post & what it meant for the market

49:25 – Speaking at the April networking event — how it led to two portfolio deals

49:31 – Direct to vendor: the portfolio acquisitions that changed everything

53:31 – Tenanted portfolio — when the cracks started appearing

55:59 – Butting heads as a couple & how they're working through it

1:00:56 – Dan's mortgage advisory business & where to find them

🔑 KEY TOPICS

✅ Starting a property portfolio with savings, a sold car & family equity

✅ The real challenges of buying a tenanted portfolio — what nobody talks about

✅ ADS savings through portfolio deals of 6+ properties

✅ Short-term lets: the cash flow highs, the winter lows & the licensing uncertainty

✅ How speaking at a networking event led to two direct-to-vendor portfolio deals

✅ Balancing a marriage, young kids, teaching and a growing property business

✅ When to pay someone to project manage a refurb (and when their fee pays for itself)

✅ Why Claire and Dan prefer quality and cash flow over chasing numbers

📲 CONNECT WITH CLAIRE & DAN

Instagram: @cladanproperty

Mortgage enquiries: reach out via Dan's Instagram

📅 NETWORKING EVENTS

First Wednesday of every month

📍 Aberdeen | Dundee | Edinburgh | Glasgow

Follow our socials for speakers and details

🤝 SPONSORED BYPrime Property Auctions — know someone selling a property? You could earn £1,500 just for making an introduction. John and Lewis handle everything from the first call to the sale. Over £350,000 in referral fees paid out so far.👉 https://primepropertyauctions.co.uk/

🎙️ ABOUT SCOTTISH PROPERTY PODCAST

Real conversations with real Scottish property investors. No fluff — just honest stories, market updates, and investor journeys.

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👍 Like if you found this valuable

💬 Are you investing as a couple? Drop your experience in the comments 👇

He owns 12 properties. He lives in his mate's spare room. And he accidentally bought a Chinese restaurant from an airport while flying back from Japan.

🏠 In this episode of the Scottish Property Podcast, Nick and Steven sit down with Isaac Cross — a former offshore worker and CERN technician who saved £140k, came off the Scottish Property Podcast course in January, and went all in on property faster than almost anyone they've had on the show.

This one is raw, honest and genuinely funny. Isaac doesn't just talk about the wins. He talks about the bridging nightmare on five properties at once, the deals he overpaid for, the sourcing fees that didn't add up, the solicitor with 98 problems to solve — and what he'd do differently if he was starting again.

🕐 TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Welcome to Isaac Cross & the 52 properties in 52 weeks goal

02:04 – Growing up between Aberdeen and Lanarkshire with a single mum

04:35 – ADHD diagnosis as a kid — and how it shapes the way Isaac works

05:21 – Wanting to go offshore like his dad

06:28 – Electrical apprenticeship & how he was the only one who applied

10:55 – Life offshore: earning £90k in his early 20s

16:20 – Moving to Switzerland for the CERN job

16:29 – The best job title, the most boring job

18:59 – First property: Holytown two-bed at 20

21:14 – Bad mortgage advice, blowing the profit, starting over

26:16 – The power of a good power team

33:24 – The Dennistoun flat — bought at home report in peak Covid

35:04 – Social media, personal brand & why Isaac went all in on content

36:38 – The January networking event that flipped the switch

44:04 – First deal in Aberdeen on a plane to Australia

52:07 – Five properties on one bridge — and 98 problems to solve

60:19 – The Chinese restaurant accident

62:53 – Bidding at auction from Heathrow flying back from Japan

66:45 – The community hub plan for the Carluke commercial unit

71:55 – First private investor on board & what comes next

🔑 KEY TOPICS

✅ How Isaac went from zero to 12 properties in 3 months

✅ Bridging five properties at once — the fees, the problems, the lessons

✅ Why cheap Aberdeen stock served a purpose but he'd do it differently now

✅ Sourcing fees that don't add up — and how to spot them

✅ Accidentally buying commercial property at auction

✅ Building a private investor relationship from scratch

✅ Why social media is already bringing the right people to Isaac

✅ His honest advice to anyone thinking about starting

📲 CONNECT WITH ISAAC

Follow Isaac's property journey on Instagram — @isaaccrossproperty

📅 NETWORKING EVENTS

First Wednesday of every month

📍 Aberdeen | Dundee | Edinburgh | GlasgowFollow our socials for speakers and details

🎙️ ABOUT SCOTTISH PROPERTY PODCAST

Real conversations with real Scottish property investors. No fluff — just honest stories, market updates, and investor journeys.

🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode

👍 Like if you found this valuable

💬 Would you have bought the Chinese restaurant? Drop it in the comments 👇