The concept of speed is especially difficult for property investors to wrap their heads around. Solid as a rock, they remain in exactly the same place for decades and decades, surviving even the most stormy of times. This inertia appeals, and thus many people are enthusiastic about such places.

Perhaps the calmness radiating from those properties slowly transfers to their owners. After all, why close a deal today, when the property will still be standing there, unchanged, in a couple of days, weeks or even months?

Maybe I was lucky in not being exclusively interested in real estate during the beginning of my career. I also developed a passion for mobile phones during those years; the latest BlackBerry was my pride and joy. I soon realised that I didn’t know a single member of the real estate industry who had as quick an access to the entire property market as I had. I was able to look up new properties and estimate whether a deal was worth it or not faster than anyon