Ray Cooke: From 3 Houses to Beans on Toast — On the Housing Crisis, the 2008 Crash & How to Actually Build Wealth | Made in Chaos EP031
Ryan Curtis sits down with Ray Cooke, one of Ireland’s most recognisable estate agents. Ray built his brand from nothing, nearly lost everything in the 2008 crash, and has watched the Irish property market from the inside for over two decades. This is an honest, blunt, genuinely useful conversation about housing, money and what it really takes to build wealth.
What we cover:
Growing up in Rathcoole and finding out in his late 30s he was dyslexic
Working in the pub from age 11 and the saving habit that shaped his life
Hotel management at 17, moving to Kerry alone, and why he pivoted to property
Setting up his business in 2005, right before the crash
How 2008 nearly destroyed him, viewing one house 82 times before it sold
Living on beans on toast and going to his mam’s to be fed while owning three properties
The bank manager who ripped up his business plan three times and saved his company
Why 2008 won’t repeat, and how lending rules have completely changed
The truth about estate agents, ghost bidding, and why buyers hate them but sellers don’t
Whether the housing crisis is the agents’ fault or the government’s
His blunt, honest take on saving, sacrifice and getting on the property ladder
What he’d change first if he woke up as housing minister
Why he blames civil service waste and short-term political thinking
How to build wealth starting with 20 grand
Lifestyle creep, keeping up with the Joneses, and the biggest money mistake people make
Why he gives free advice to strangers and what he gets out of it
His mantra: keep moving forward
Ryan Curtis is a former Irish MMA fighter who was paralysed from the neck down following a training accident. Told he would never walk again, he defied medical odds through sheer determination and rebuilt his life from the ground up. Made in Chaos exists to platform guests who have faced real adversity and come out with hard-earned wisdom worth sharing.
Follow Ray: @raycookeauctioneers
Follow Ryan: @chaoscurtis
Follow the Podcast: @madeinchaospod
Subscribe for weekly episodes
Sponsored by The Ink Factory, Ireland’s highest rated tattoo studio. theinkfactory.ie | @theinkfactory
#RayCooke #HousingCrisis #IrishProperty #2008Crash #EstateAgent #BuildingWealth #PropertyLadder #MadeInChaos #IrishPodcast #Mortgages #FirstTimeBuyer #Saving #Money #Ireland #Sacrifice
Credit to : Made In Chaos