Re-Incarnation: Utilising Skills From a Former Life To Add Value to Your Investors Today
I'm spending this morning looking at an extension for an HMO we are converting on the fringes of Newcastle: this led me to consider the skills from a former life which can be utilised to add value to investors......I encourage you to do the same......what can you offer that others in the same geographical location, simply can't!
Having a background in architecture for me has led to the following advantages and in some cases allowed me to offer bolt-on services making it a win-win for everyone:
1. Pre-Purchase Advice To Investors
Property investment is fairly complicated and requires great understanding, professional expertise and a detailed execution plan.
There are several steps involved in buying property and ensuring it fits your investment strategy.
If a property doesn’t suit your investment goals you need to know as early as possible so you can avoid costly mistakes - a background in architecture allows me to see potential where others may not and to quickly conclude the feasibility of an investment opportunity from plan.
2. Creating Existing Drawings
If you’re looking to make changes to a property, one of the first things you need are reliable existing drawings.
Without it, you can’t reliably make design changes or improvements to the floor plan in order to maximise cash flow.
Whether it’s your house you’re looking to convert to an HMO or investment property, you need accurate, detailed drawings. In additon, a Change of Use Application must be accompanied by Existing and Proposed Drawings.
Accurate Existing Drawings, help you answer important questions like:
Do the current room sizes comply with Local HMO Regulations?
What if you can only fit 5 bedrooms instead of the 6? How would that affect your cashflow?
Can you actually fit a dormer loft conversion for an extra room?
3. Creating Proposed Drawings
If you’re looking to maximise your Buy To Let or HMO rental income and valuation, you need an efficient and well-optimised layout.
Whatever kind of property it may be, you’ll need to explore creative design changes to the layout to maximise the income (sometimes by up to 20%), keep tenants happy and comply with local regulations. You’ll also need to include these in your planning application.
4. HMO Planning and Building Control
Whether it is pre-planning, permitted development or a full planning application, it can be costly if you get this wrong!
Planning Applications can be complex and a submit, hope and pray approach seldom works and doesn't instill confidence in your investor.
You need to actively work with the Council to understand and ensure your property adheres to local HMO regulations including Sandwiching, HMO Density and Principle Of Use: having a great relationship with the decision makers also helps!
5. Visualisation
Within pockets of the UK, the rental market is getting competitive by the day and tenant expectations are higher than ever. Differentiating yourself from the competition can be essential to a tenant selecting your investment over another - and remember, great design does not neccessaily cost more, it’s just more intelligent! In addition, quality interior design will help you visualise and showcase your property even before it’s ready whether this is done through image boards or CGI modelling.
Moreover, you can use it to market the property and validate tenant demand before you spend money on the renovation - especially in high-end HMOs, for example!
Showcasing what your property will look like is another way to build trust with our investors and confirms choice of deal packager taking into account a holistic approach.
6. Contractor Tendering and Project Management
Understanding the tendering process and knowing a great contractor from an average one is crucial when conducting any refurbishment whether it is a superficial redress of a three bed mid terrace or a full back to brick HMO conversion where the cost of conversion is £10-£12k per room. Using my connections in the industry as well as having knowledge of how to push a project on site has reduced costs for our investors and has minimised the time the property is left vacant. That’s in addition to driving that quality of finish through to snagging!
What did you guys to before you got into property? How has it helped you add value to your investors, I’d love to know!
Lloyd
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