Photo by Urban Island Property
Building a successful HMO business is a lot like creating a great symphony… You can’t be the musician and play every single instrument yourself! Instead, you should be the conductor and have the right people—skilled and experienced professionals—around you helping you reach your goals!
There are a number of experts out there who can help you reduce your risks, avoid making huge mistakes and save you time and money, in addition to allowing you to achieve more and run your HMOs more effectively.
Overall, the right experts and professionals can help you grow a profitable and sustainable HMO business and scale it right up. Read below or listen to the full episode on The HMO Podcast to find out what 20 skilled professionals and services you need on your HMO power team!
1. Agents & Sourcers
Agents and property sourcers can navigate the local market for you and identify opportunities that align with your goals and objectives. Having relationships with the right agents or sourcers can enhance the pace you can find and buy HMO properties and help you access deals that you may otherwise have missed or not been able to access in the first place!
You’ll unlikely be able to effectively do this yourself and be able to maintain enough attention across the entire market, while ensuring you don’t miss anything. Additionally, a lot of properties move off the open market, and this is where the right professionals can be especially valuable.
2. Mortgage Broker
There’s a large number of banks and lenders in the market and tons of different types of mortgage products with subspecialties. Having a broker who really understands HMOs is imperative and can save you lots of time and money.
Specialist brokers in the HMO sector understand how different lenders operate, how commercial valuations work, what the rates are at any time and how they might be different to standard buy-to-let mortgages. They also should have good relationships with specialist lenders, even allowing you to access discounted rates!
A specialist mortgage broker should go straight to the most appropriate lender rather than canvassing the whole market, and they’ll understand the nuances of your deal and the lender’s requirements. At The HMO Roadmap, our specialist mortgage broker partner is Ellie Broadhurst.
3. Solicitor
It’s tough to find good solicitors, and that’s often because they’re really busy. You ideally want a solicitor who understands the importance of speed, because that’s where a huge amount of the risk is!
A solicitor who communicates really well with you and the seller’s solicitor is key, ensuring communication doesn’t break down between you and the seller and understanding exactly what you need and does it.
If you find a good solicitor, hold onto them and never let them go, because they’ll save you so much time, money and heartache. Having a solicitor you trust can give you so much confidence when you’re putting offers in and giving your solicitor’s details and they’re off getting the job done.
4. Insurance Broker
As soon as you exchange on a property, you’ll typically be taking on the insurable risks, so you’ll need a good insurance broker. And you’ll need one who really understands HMO products, the type of projects you’re doing and the fact that they may be vacant or undergoing certain works for a period of time.
You need a broker who’s prepared to put the time in to getting you the best deals and policy options from the outset and when renewals come around. Invest time and effort into finding a really good insurance broker who understands what you need and how you operate, works quickly and communicates well.
5. Accountant
You need an accountant who understands the ins and outs of your business objectives and property. They can then help with decision making – when you’re buying properties, refinancing, tracking and recording information, tax planning or making your portfolio more efficient.
You’ll also want an accountant who’s willing to use the accounting systems you’re most comfortable and familiar with. Don’t settle for an accountant who’s lazy or last minute, but you don’t need to spend lots on this. Focus on finding a professional who’s on top of everything, reminding you of things well in advance and who’s diligent and saving you money.
6. Architect
When buying a property to convert into a HMO, it’s essential to understand exactly what you can do with it and what it could be worth at the backend. Very rarely will you be able to come up with the best options on your own. A good architect can ensure you think about structure and functionality and use the floor plan to the very best of its ability.
They should be able to give you feasibility options to help you understand what your deal could be worth and estimated refurb costs. It’s also helpful if they really get the nuances of HMOs, so find an architect with a good combination of aesthetics, functionality, practicality and economy to help you maximise the profitability of your schemes!
At The HMO Roadmap, we’ve partnered with specialist HMO architects and interior designers Andrew and Mary. They are fantastic, and it’s because they also invest in HMOs themselves.
7. Interior Designer
Having a good interior designer on your team is another no-brainer, but this is one of the things that a lot of investors often do themselves. However, many of us aren’t the best at it… including myself!
A good interior designer can help you design a colour palette and fluid design that can pull a concept together and become part of your brand, which can elevate your products, boost your profits and give you the opportunity to rinse and repeat set designs with a few tweaks.
An experienced interior designer is crucial if you really want to maximise the financial performance of your schemes. It can also help on the valuation if everything looks cohesive and professionally planned right down to the furniture. Our architecture partners Andrew and Mary also offer an excellent interior design service.
8. Planning Consultant
There can be real value in having a planning consultant on your side. They should understand everything from heritage and local policy to precedent that’s been set. They’ll look at what’s been successful, unsuccessful and what’s gone to appeal and know how to word things and how to overcome technical objections.
Having the right approach and doing this from the outset when you apply is key. If you end up getting a rejection or it goes to appeal, it’ll take ages. And you might then lose the deal as that’s where there’s a lot of risk.
When it comes to HMOs and especially Article 4 directions, this can be extremely contentious. You really need to understand the nuances and minutiae details of local policy, and sometimes these aren’t publicly available. So, if you’re doing these types of projects, I’d highly recommend you use a planning consultant who specialises in HMOs!
9. Builders & Contractors
You’ll of course need a good general builder or main contractor who can take care of your renovation and development projects for you. This is a tough one as most people have to kiss a few frogs before they find the right one.
Like your solicitor, if you find a good builder or contractor, hold onto them for dear life. Treat them well and never let them go, because that individual will be so important to your HMO business!
10. Electrician
You’ll also need a good electrician l to undertake Electrical Installation Condition Reports for your properties, and inevitably there’ll be some electrical issues that crop up in your HMOs, such as problems with fuse boards or WiFi.
Keep in mind that sometimes you’ll need them to come in at fairly short notice if there’s an emergency or high priority issue to fix, which is why you need to have a trusted electrician in your HMO power team.
11. Gas Engineer
Additionally, as you’ll need gas certificates every year for all of your rental properties, you’ll need a qualified gas engineer who’d be able to effectively undertake these for you. But they also might need to come in at fairly short notice at certain points if you had an emergency in one of your HMOs, which can be very serious!
12. Decorator
As a HMO investor, you’ll find that periodically (and this’ll likely be more often than you think!), you’ll need to touch up your properties.
To ensure this is done to a professional standard, you may want to bring in an expert decorator to do this as this can help you improve your products, boost your rents and ensure your properties don’t fall behind the competition!
13. Valuer
Having a valuer you can call and refer to for advice and get desktop valuations on deals before you buy them or before you finish a refurb can be incredibly useful! Valuers are independent, so they shouldn’t just give you the value you want… But you need someone who understands you, your business, your product and your market.
You’ll of course need to pay this person, but if they also understand lenders and how HMOs are valued commercially, they can help you avoid making big mistakes or taking huge risks. They can also help manage your expectations and give you so much confidence in your projects!
14. Fire Risk Assessor
A lot of investors do fire risk assessments themselves, but if you haven’t completed any specialist training, you’re unlikely to be considered competent by the letter of the law and what HMO licenses require. So, find a good fire risk assessor who’s commercially minded.
However, if you just go local on this, you can get an individual who’ll just give you the gold standard, which could cost an absolute fortune! A fire risk assessor who fully understands the legislation, the types of property you have and how risks are managed can save you huge amounts of money and work.
15. Virtual Assistant
As you build your HMO business, you’ll eventually need a virtual assistant or someone to help pick up the work that you simply don’t have the time, energy or capacity for. This could be all sorts of administrative and bookkeeping tasks, in addition to tenancy progressions and tenant communication.
With this type of professional, you’ll want someone who understands your business model and has experience doing what you’re already doing. If you’ve been thinking about adding to your team and want to find a cost-efficient way to do this, we have a partnership with Jane, who runs Beam – a company specialising in virtual support for HMO investors!
16. Photographer & Videographer
As soon as you finish a project and it looks fantastic, that’s your opportunity to get the very best photos and videos for advertising to tenants and marketing your business. As soon as tenants move in, the brand-new shine will wear off quickly, and you’ll never ever be able to go in and get content of the same quality!
The right photographer and videographer can help you maximise your HMO’s rental value. But also, if you’re looking to raise private finance, boost your profile and authority, enhance your network and demonstrate what you’re capable of, all of that can be captured by a skilled professional with experience in the property space.
You need a specialist who really knows how to make your property look as good as it possibly can right down to the little details and knowing how to best dress and stage a property. At The HMO Roadmap, Dillan is our partner photographer and videographer, and he has tons of experience in property photography and marketing.
17. Property Manager
Maybe you want to self manage your HMOs, and that’s perfectly fine! However, I suspect at some point, you’ll want to find a property manager to allow you to enjoy the benefits of building a property portfolio, so you won’t always want to be running around chasing tenants, organising maintenance work and collecting rents.
Managing HMOs is a tough gig, and problems always happen when you least expect them… So, at the right time for you, find a really good property manager who can deliver the service that you want and who thoroughly understands your tenant demographic and the importance of communication and urgency when it comes to filling your HMOs.
18. Cleaner
In my HMO business, I use cleaners for regular cleans and deep cleans. It’s essential that we have regular cleans in some of our properties just to keep on top of things; it also gives that premium service to professional HMOs.
On the other hand, sometimes things go wrong and you’ll need a deep clean of your property, and you may need this to be done without much warning. A good cleaner who’s flexible with this can help improve your customer service and keep your tenants happy!
We also use deep cleans during the changeover period for our student HMOs. For this, it’s really crucial that you have a cleaner who understands what to expect and the very tight timelines that you have to work to.
19. Handyperson
A good handyperson can do all the little jobs across your portfolio that nobody else really wants to do… It might be tightening up door handles, tying carpet back down or replacing cupboard doors – whatever it might be!
If you do find someone you can trust, treat them well, pay them well and look after them. You can pay them by the hour or on a retainer, but you need someone who understands things can come up at fairly short notice.
Work on forging a relationship with someone who can deal with 90% of the day-to-day issues in your HMOs. Without this individual, you’ll end up running yourself ragged, trying to find people to do these small jobs that they don’t want to do or don’t have the time to do. And if they do, it’ll cost you an absolute fortune.
20. Mentor
Depending on your objectives, experience and where you are on your business journey, a mentor could be the most valuable person you end up having on your HMO power team! A mentor with the right experience can help you identify any issues that you have now or might have later down the line.
They can assess the viability of potential deals and maximise the profitability and performance of your entire HMO business. They can also be motivating, encouraging and provide accountability, while helping give you the know-how, confidence and contacts to help you level up your HMO business!
In an industry where we’re spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on every single deal, the price you’ll pay for a mentor is negligible in the grand scheme of things, especially when you consider how much a good mentor could save you in time and money.
Start Building Your HMO Power Team
These are the 20 professionals you need to make a dream team! If you add all of these experts to your HMO power team, you’ll be a force to be reckoned with… So, start developing relationships with these individuals as and when you need them. This will help you do so much more, much more quickly!
But where do you find these experts? Some professionals you’ll need to find locally, while others may need to be HMO specific. To access my power team and our HMO partners, head to TheHMORoadmap.co.uk. If you become a member, you can even benefit from exclusive discounts with our partners!
And if you haven’t already, join us in The HMO Community, our free Facebook Group with more than 10,000 members who you can get guidance, support, motivation and encouragement from!
About the Author:
Andy Graham is the founder and the lead trainer at The HMO Roadmap! He is also the co-founder of The HMO Mastermind. He writes as a regular columnist in different magazines about a variety of HMO topics and is the host of The HMO Podcast! Follow Andy on Instagram!