Photo by Hayhurst Estates

It’s been an interesting few weeks, topped off with the Budget finally this week. I think we can say it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, and hopefully the property market can get back to business as usual now!

This month, I want to talk about how you can streamline your house buying process as we go into 2026. We are seeing delays from valuers, lenders and solicitors as we all try to cope with the business volumes that don’t seem to be dropping. Legals have been a particular pinch point recently as clients wanted to purchase before the Budget.

So here are my top tips:

Check your planning

We have seen many properties recently where the planning hasn’t been correct, particularly with large HMOs or small ones within Article 4. It’s so important to know that lenders will check this, and without the correct planning in place it is potentially unmortgageable. There are instances where we can use title insurance, but if the valuer spots that there isn’t planning, this stops us using that, and we’re not in control of what the valuer says!

Also, the licensing team and planning do not communicate, so don’t assume that because you have a licence you already have — or don’t need — planning.

There has also been an increase in HMOs being sold with ‘grandfather rights’, which I covered previously. It’s always best if we know upfront what we’re dealing with so we can make a call on whether it’s something we can work with.

Land Registry

Land Registry is a great source of information before you purchase a property, and I don’t think investors use it to its full potential. It will show you any restrictions currently in place for the property, as well as any leases registered and who currently owns it. Knowing this early on can prevent issues later down the line — usually when we’re in a rush to complete and are then delayed waiting for it to be resolved.

You can purchase a copy of the Land Registry office copies for a small fee, or your solicitor will have them once you’ve instructed them. It’s always useful to have these early on.

Deposit funds

This seems to be a recurring drama — not only for purchases, as lenders are wanting more and more information for the original source of funds for refinances, particularly where a property has been refurbished or converted recently and the value has increased.

My suggestion is to make your trail of funds as simple to explain as possible. Keep all documents such as completion statements from refinances or property sales. Don’t move money unnecessarily so it’s as simple as possible to show where funds have come from.

This goes for investor funds too. We will need the source and trail of funds from the investor, so prepare them for this. If the source of funds is from abroad or anywhere unusual, check with your broker before you commit. Lenders have different appetites for where funds come from, and this is so important to know before you start.

Finally…

I want to cover the disparity between what I am seeing people promote (mainly from sourcers, mentors and property courses) and what actually works. There have been plenty of examples of leases that we can’t work with, company structures that just don’t work with mortgage lenders, and clients expecting to need far less money for a project than they actually do.

It’s always best to obtain financial information from the person who will be arranging finance for you. There aren’t really any magic solutions to this. You can borrow the refurbishment costs, or you can maximise your day-one loan, but you’re going to have to put some funds into the deal — unless it’s so profitable that you can borrow it all and pay it all back from the refinance. I’ve not seen one of those in a while, though!

Be careful with your GDV calculations

I’m seeing some clients wanting big numbers on investment valuations for HMOs, but in most scenarios the rental figures and/or yield percentage aren’t what you would achieve on a valuation report. Being realistic before you start will always help further down the line. This helps to work out how much you can borrow both on a bridge and from investors.

I hope this is helpful. Please get in touch here if you want to have a chat about a specific property or just a general chat about your 2026 plans to see how we can make that work.

About the Author:

Ellie Broadhurst is a specialist mortgage broker working at Baya Financial in partnership with The HMO Roadmap. She works with HMO property investors throughout their journey, from clients starting on their first project through to experienced portfolio landlords and developers. Learn more about Ellie here.