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Hi all After real world examples here. We are told add value add value add value but how easy is this? What strategies for you have or have not worked well for you in practice? I'm currently seeking to find a property that can be requires some surface works I.e new kitchen/redecoration and ideally can be converted from 1 bed to 2. Is there any advise/experiences you could share please Thanks

Hello, I'm looking for some guidance on a situation I find myself in regarding property. We are a young family and we've owned a new build from new for several years. We are ready to move to something slightly bigger and something that has potential to be our forever home. We've found a potential property and although we've not viewed it inside snooping around it (it's empty) we see it's potential and believe this could be it. Location is perfect and the garden is ample which are two major differences we are looking for in comparison to our current home. I don't know much about property but I understand that most things come at a hefty price these days so things like extensions, electrical, plumbing, roof/insulation can soon eat into any budget. It's described as 'livable' but in reality to get it to what we would want, it needs gutting to be honest. We've had a private offer on our current home and should we accept it then we stand to make around 60k. Appreciate property sales are crazy at the moment but this a huge profit to consider regardless. We have good equity in our current home too. There is lots of interest in the house we are going to view but we are ready to act should we feel like it's the one for us. It will likely be a bidding war so common sense needs to prevail. A few reservations I have are: 1) anyone renovated with a young family and living in the house at the sane time? I have the potential to put everything in storage and live with a family member 2) I would definitely need an extension but do we focus on other things e g insulation, electrical and windows etc. And grin and bear a smaller living space. 3) my current house is all new and shiny and has an EPC of B whereas this new potential house is EPC D, old and needs lots of TLC - am i mad ?? I am under no illusions that should I have a bid accepted there are stressful times ahead but I keep telling myself it will probably all be worth it even if its 10 years down the line. Appreciate that wanting to extend and being able to extend are two very different things. I know lots of people In the trades who will look after me e.g no cowboys. Any advice is much appreciated, my head is spinning. Thanks Dave

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone has any advice or thoughts... tenants have recently vacated a house in Hounslow and I was thinking of refurbishing it before putting it on the market (new carpets/doors/skirting/kitchen/bathroom/electrics). Three estate agents have visited to value the property and advised just selling it as it is allowing the next buyer to renovate it. Is there value to be made in refurbing if I can do a lot of the work myself or should I just sell it? All thoughts, opinions and experiences would be appreciated! Kris

I'm renovating a buy to let flat in a building that has 6 flats. There is already building insurance for the building which is part of the service charge. So i want to findout if I need to get insurance for renovation work. Or is it normal to do renovation without taking out renovation insurance each time? Thanks

Hi All, Would be great if I can get some advice on the below quote: I've also attached the floor plan to add some context. In short, I've turning my flat which I'm moving out of into a BTL property, I've already converted the property to a BTL mortgage and moved the property into a limited company but it needs renovating before it can be let out to tenants. Apart from the double glazing windows which are newish 2-3 years old, everything else needs replacing as this is a very old converted victorian flat which is in need of full modernisation - No structural changes. It's probably been 15-20 years since any updates have been made to the property. I've estimated the work based on research to be around £35K-£40K including VAT with contingency of £5k-10K based size of the property and work required. I thought this was a very generous budget and was hoping to come a bit under this budget but I had a shock when I got a quote for £56K. I've put the breakdown of the quote below. From my side, the contractor is very experienced and does good work based on pictures I've seen and recommendations and I've got a good gut feeling he would do a good job and this would be the final price. However, I feel this is quite expensive based on my original expectations. I also received another quote for £36K but I feel things are missing from this quote and the cost would increase a lot. I am still waiting for other quotes but I think the question that I'm asking is: 1. Is the quote a realistic quote for the work required, if not, what be would be a fair quote? (rough estimate or range being in London, finger in the air type guess) for the size of flat and a full refurbishment required. 2. What information should I ask for to get a better understanding on the quote and to check if things are being priced up. 3. What strategy should I use to bring down the price of the quote if it's not fair. 4. Just any advice in terms of what I'm doing wrong or should start doing, would be much appreciated. Thanks again for reading or responding to this post. Floor Plan of Flat £56K Quote: £36K Quote:

Hi All, Would be great if I can get some advice on the below quote: I've attached the floor plan below but I'm turning this flat which I'm moving out of into a BTL property, I've already converted the property to a BTL mortgage and moved the property into a limited company but it needs renovating before it can be let out to tenants. Apart from the double glazing windows which are 2-3 years old, everything else needs replacing as this is a very old converted victorian flat which is in need of full modernisation. I've estimated the work based on research to be around £35K-£40K with contingency of £5k-10K based on a full refurbishment and size of the property. I thought this was a very generous budget and was hoping to come a bit under this budget but I had a shock when I got a quote for £56K. I've put the breakdown of the quote below. From my side, the contractor is very experienced and does good work based on pictures I've seen and recommendations and I've got a good gut feeling he would do a good job and this would be the final price. However, I feel this is quite expensive based on my original expectations. I also received another quote for £36K but I feel things are missing from this quote and the cost would increase a lot, say by £10K. I am still waiting for other quotes but I think the question that I'm asking is: 1. Is the quote a realistic quote for the work required, if not, what be would be a fair quote? (rough estimate or range being in London, finger in the air type guess) 2. What information should I ask for to get a better understanding on the quote and to check if things are being priced up. 3. What strategy should I use to bring down the price of the quote if it's not fair. 4. Just any advice in terms of what I'm doing wrong or should start doing, would be much appreciated. Thanks again for reading or responding to this post. £56K Quote: £36K Quote: Floor Plan of Flat

Hi All, New to the forum and looking for some insight into what my chances may be of securing a btl mortgage in limited time, So to cut a long story short, I have purchased a flat in auction just on Friday 28/2/21, yes I know it's crazy but I haven't physically seen it. I was outbid on the actual auction, however it didn't meet the reserve so didn't sell. A week later I get a call, it's still available and being offered to me below the reserve before it's back in auction a week later, I make a lowball offer which was refused, I then offer to meet half way to the sellers asking price and I would make a deal today (Friday). A couple hours later I get a call and the seller has accepted! It's local, I know the area and market value, and it's got enough of a margin to cover potential issues, although I'm confident it's a straightforward renovation (new bathroom, kitchen decoration, possibly new boiler), so I FOMO'd and paid the deposit to secure it without viewing, and yes I studied the legal pack and all is good. To cut to the chase it will be a buy-to-let investment, and it is still sold under auction conditions with a 6 week completion date, and my intention is to renovate to a good standard before letting. I want to try to secure a buy-to-let mortgage in time to avoid extra costs of bridge loan. The property does look to be in 'habitable condition' , but my question is is it in 'lettable' condition? The only hurdle I can see that could delay the mortgage application is if the survey may regard it as not in 'lettable' condition before renovation. I know the property was being lived in by the owner/occupiers until recently, from the pictures it obviously needs renovating/modernising, but assuming it has a working kitchen, bathroom, electrics, heating and no holes in the roof, would lenders consider it unlettable just on the basis it needs updating? I want get some idea if this is doable from anyone with experience in getting a buy-to-let mortgage for auction property, and what hurdles you had with it. Pictures are attached. Appreciate your help members. Mohsin.

Hi I'm just in the process of purchasing a first investment property. It needs a light refurb (rewire,new kitchen, bathroom, decoration). Could anyone recommend a building/property services company that specialise in residential refurbs and renovations. I am looking for a 'one stop' service. We will be looking to purchase/refurb 3 properties a year and would like a reliable & reputable company that we could continue to use. Thanks

Hey folks, I'm about to commence with a slight refurb project in my office. The floor is in dire need to get replaced, so I'll do just that. There's also going to be some repainting and decorating included in the project. We get about 100-150 customers per day walking around, so it should be something that can handle that. I'm open to any and all suggestions. Thanks in advance, Robin

Hi Property Hub members Having recently joined Property Hub I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself. I live and work in London and have had a keen interest in property and property investments for several years now. So far much of my attention was on purchasing and refurbishing my own home in London. Now that this is done, I would like to take the next step and invest some of my savings and recurring job income into BTL property. In terms of strategy, I am looking for BTL investments with a yield above 5%. That rules out most of Southern England. So I am planning to invest into BTL properties in some of the larger cities in the North. For me the 2 main constraining factors are limited local knowledge and time: While I know the London property market well, that isn't the case for Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Sunderland and other places in Northern England. To bridge that gap I am planning work with local people and to establish good working relationships which are win-win for both sides. Time is my other constraint. I am working in a demanding office job in London which keeps me very busy Monday to Friday. That leaves me with around an hour each weekday to spend on property management and investments. On a typical weekend I can spend around 8 hours on it. Hence I am looking for property investments which are largely hands-off and don't require a lot of attention during regular working hours. I could travel to Northern England from time to time, especially for important things such as meeting local business partners to work with and for final viewings. But my plan is to limit the number of trips to 5-10 per year. Here's how I intend to gradually progress on this: First, I am looking to learn more by reading many of the very good postings here on the forum. I will also have a number of specific questions that I hope people in this forum will know the answers to. Then, the next step is to complete my first property investment. For this, I am looking for a project with low complexity and low execution risk to start with. I am happy to accept a lower yield for my first project if this helps to reducing complexity and risk. For example, this could be a room in a purpose-built student block or a single let which doesn't require any meaningful renovation work. In this process I am hoping to learn more and to establish contacts with business partners in the North. Finally, with the acquired knowledge, experience and established business contacts I would like take on more complex projects with the potential of higher yields (or capital appreciation) such as larger renovations or multi lets. Via this forum I hope to exchange thoughts with you and to meet potential business partners in Northern England, for example good and reliable property viewers, property sourcers, property management companies and renovation project managers, to build successful long term business relationships with them. Please don't hesitate to send me a PM if you are working in any of these areas, I'd be interested in hearing from you. Looking forward to discussing with you in this forum. Michael

Dear Property Hub community, My name is Luis, I'm a Spanish Construction Engineer that has lived half of his life already here in the UK. I'm passionate about property investment, for now I've done mainly buy to lets and a couple flips. I'm MCIOB, so charted construction manager and I've got my own small design and build company in partnership with an architect and a Surveyor. I'm also working my way into becoming a residential valuer through RICS. almost there, but not just yet! I would be very happy to help anyone interested in investing in property so I can learn about what kind of projects other people do so please do not hesitate to contact me if you've got any worries or queries regarding current or future projects, building works on the go, issues with a fellow builder (we can be a handful sometimes but with patience and beer you might get a smile!) or any others that you think I might be able to help with. I specially love looking at projects to be, feasibility studies to explore the potential of a deal. I'm happy to give rough estimates free of charge and also my opinion as a construction professional on how easy - challenging the idea you've got in mind can be. Bests, Luis

Reintroducing myself, I am Jo, an ambitious woman in the world of property. I am a trained designer and qualified project manager, hoping to form a joint venture with serious and interested parties for the Manchester region over the coming months. Short term goal is to raise enough equity to start tying down equity for long term growth and gain some financial freedom prior to venturing into other opportunities. I already own a BTL property in the Manchester area which has done pretty well over the last couple years, but I am ready to start tackling some larger, challenging and shorter term projects. I was given the opportunity to manage the flip of a Central London property a few months ago, converting a three bed maisonette into a two bed with an additional 'inner room' (pictures included). The idea was to convert the maisonette into a high-spec short term rental. We achieved this but due to the pandemic it's usage has been geared towards mid-term for the foreseeable future bringing in a rental income of 3.2k per month. The overall budget was set at 38k rounded down (excluding furniture/furnishings) and we originally anticipated 4-6 weeks for project completion, in all honesty it was closer to 9 weeks. 21k - labour 2k - bathroom fixtures/fittings/accessories 5.8k flooring/specialist paints/general materials 5k - kitchen units and appliances 500 - garden beautification project 1.7k - empty house expenses (council tax, energy, water) 2.3k - Building Control/HSE Actual Spend - 44.7k (6.4k over budget) 25.8k - labour 1.8k - bathroom fixtures/fittings/accessories 5.8k - flooring/specialist paints/general materials 4.6k - kitchen units and appliances 1.3k - garden beautification project 1.8k - empty house expenses 3.6k - Building Control/HSE The property itself was valued at 515k prior to the renovation and is now thought to come in at around 590-600k (pre-tax profit of approx 40k). Overspend beyond our control: Some may argue that an overspend of 6.4k is relatively good considering the finishing on the property, however despite taking all necessary building control measures (which were initially agreed) the local authority surveyor took issue with the fire suppression system we were hoping to install in the kitchen/diner as it became an open-plan space (please note we submitted the spec of the system with the initial BC application). The surveyor demanded we source a different suppression system, despite the one we initially proposed to use having all the necessary British Standard Certificates. A pretty heated argument ensued between the fire suppression supplier and the local authority inspector. In the end, the client opted for a much more expensive system which satisfied the surveyor adding a fair bit of labour, delay and expense. On rounding up the project and booking the final inspection for the renovation to be granted it's certificate of completion, we learned that inspector had been 'let go' and we were appointed a new inspector. Madness! Second overspend - the beautification of the garden, we anticipated it'd be a relatively small job with the shifting of some soil, weeding and planting of bulbs. The chap we hired to get it done is well known in the community working on gardening jobs for the local council in fact. He was appointed and begun the work...however mid-job he vanished into thin air! Just GONE! We gave it a week, still nothing, then....torrential rain and has he had begun the work on shifting soil, what happened next....MUDSLIDE! In the end, we had to rebuild the wall to reinforce all the soil it supports as it's a sloping garden and shift more soil prior to getting on with the small clear up. The rebuilding of the wall was something we had discussed as part of some follow up work next year...therefore it wasn't costed and the expense of this was brought forward. Gutted, but it looks really good now. Final overspend - totally within our control and will never make this mistake again Asbestos! (Dammit) in small trace amounts were found in the property (built in the late 1980s). We stopped work, sealed up and had an inspector come in and produce a report to confirm the suspicions. In the end, with consultation it was decided it was best to have it removed and the property PVA sealed throughout - adding on an additional 1k of work. Always worthwhile getting an renovation report done prior to having any work done. What happened with the short-term lets well? Well the property was to be managed by a specialist short-term letting agency who had predicted an income of 4k per month at 80% occupancy during the peak seasons and had managed to achieve approximately 3.8k pm during Jan/Feb on a short-term let, so the place was on course to do pretty well until COVID-19 happened. All the images you're about to see are genuinely my interior design skills. My hope is to work on flipping Manchester properties for resale as part of a joint venture (not to this high end finish, unless the opportunity really calls for it).

Hello All, I have been working my butt off for the last two years on flips in the South. I work a 9-5 and have carried out nearly all the work myself, so i have learnt A LOT. Luckily the flips have been really successful and I am now in the fortunate position where i am able to withdraw some of the profits from those flips to invest in BTL properties. The next step is completely new to me. I want to keep my 9-5 (for the time being) and find BTL properties up North with decent yields but i am more focused on long term growth. Two questions; should i be looking at areas that will benefit from the HS2 line? Realistically how many properties will 60k cash get me?! I don't want to waste all the valuable lessons i have learnt flipping properties, so I will still be flipping properties in the South to hopefully generate more income to purchase additional BTL properties up north. What do people think of this strategy? Love the podcasts and visiting the forums here! Thanks in advance! E

Hi all - nice to meet you via the forum. I’m Whitney and I’m based on London. I have 10 months left of my maternity leave and now have the opportunity dedicate time to put together a long term strategy on starting a limited company in property business. A bit of context: Seven years ago a relative asked for advise on how to get young professionals (like myself) interested in their rental property. On visiting, I advise him to renovate the property so it would appeal to his desired tenant. Surprisingly he asked me to run the project and then fill it with tenants. Six months later, after a slash of paint and adding in some new furniture, the property was filled and he was getting an increase of £800 a month. Since then I have continued to mange the property /tenants, I have fluffed and buffed two other rental properties (based on his recommendation) and currently working on another relatives rental property. All properties have been able to increase either rental income or the property values (one it has been both - it’s currently being valued at £475k). I realised about a year and a half ago that I have a bit of a knack for this and want to look into doing it for myself (as well as for others). So now I have some free time, I am very interested in setting up a Limited Company offers multiple services (starting with fluff and buff projects for landlords looking to increase their rental income or property value). However, the mid to long term goal own a portfolio investments/property alongside - mostly including renovations and developments to either sell or rent out. I would love some advise about how to start?, what I should be doing to build my network? And opinions on if this even do able in the current market? Or any opportunities to work with others. In a nut sell: How do you want to work in property? Offer a renovations service to landlords looking to increase value, with an aim my own property to fluff & buff so it can be sold or rented. How much do I have to invest? £2,500 - over five years experience of small renovations, finding and managing tenants and overall project management. What time to do I have? Currently twiddling my thumbs. However, back to work beginning of next year. I enjoy my demanding job, as an Event organiser within the music industry, so I am looking to use my property skills as an extra income for now. Plan for the next 3 years? To have a minimum of 2 buy-to-lets and a minimum of 3 fluff and buffs completed. Again really enjoy my job so interested in working collaboratively or working on projects that offer a quick turn around financial and time wise. I look forward to reading other threads on the forum. Please get in touch - I am open to advice, opinions and opportunities to work with others. Kind regards Whitney

Pleased to meet everyone, below is my introduction (following Rob D’s best-practices), So far in property I have been accidental landlord for about 7 years after moving into my partners home. Following my father’s death in 2017, I sold the South London rental flat to retain a family house and support my mother’s care home costs. My mother had mixed dementia and sadly passed away last December (2019). The family house I jointly owned with my mother has remained dormant since she entered a care home in 2017 – anyone who is familiar with the UK social care system in respect to dementia may appreciate the reasons why it has been difficult to make use of the property. The house I have inherited is in Kingston Upon Hull. I like the idea of investing in Yorkshire, which is good as it seems to be priced about right, however, I am based and work around London. My plan for 2020 is to have one property that I own, in good repair and not too leveraged. This will be a property I can move into myself in due-course, should the need arise, and will otherwise be rented out to pay for upkeep and to provide an income – this may well be the inherited family house which is in need of considerable renovation. If this goes well, in the future, I intend to invest in a second leveraged rental property. I work as a commercial artist developing information/educational and entertainment interactive-products and games, including for virtual and mixed reality. These skills may be of use to other members, and I am always open to discussing new projects. I don’t mind talking about my experience regarding finance/property-ownership and a relative with dementia. I will initially be looking for feedback on owning rental property in Hull, and about budgeting and managing renovation work. Thank you for taking the time to read

Good Afternoon all, I am looking at buying at auction renovating and selling on to build up my pot of money so I can start my portfolio and eventually mean I can stop working. Whilst doing this I will only be working part time and will aim to get each property completed in approximately 4 months, has anyone come across any issue when selling a property in this speed as I know quite a few mortgage companies won't agree to a mortgage for the buyer if it has been previously sold within 6 months Thanks in advance Sam and Kirsti

Hi Everyone, I am brand new to the world of property investment but have been involved in construction all my adult life. I run a Refurbishment/Renovation business in the South East. My goal now is to start a portfolio that will allow me to have more free time. I am keen to learn and eager to succeed but would greatly appreciate any help or advice on offer for someone new to the game. My strategy would be to buy BTL's that require some renovation so I can add value and keep the cash flowing. I am self employed and so is my Fiance although we have equity in our current property our employment status has limited our lenders. I would love to hear if anyone has had a similar situation or any advice on getting started. Thanks in advance. Scott

Hello PropertyHub Community, I've spotted a property in my local area which has been on the market since August '18, listed for £55k, and is currently of vacant possession (I believe the former owner has recently deceased). The property requires a cosmetic refurb, with complete modernisation (including kitchen, flooring, repainting etc.) though nothing 'too' heavy. Sold comparables in the area are more like £75-£80k, so it looks as though there's money in the deal, and it looks to be a great opportunity (has the right fundamentals, location, schools etc. etc.). However......... the property has an EPC rating of G, with the 'potential' to improve to an E, albeit at pretty significant costs: - Cavity wall insulation (£500 - £1500) - Increase hot water cylinder insulation (£15-£30) - Floor insulation - solid floor (£4,000-£6,000) - Change room heaters to condensing boiler (£3,000-£7,000) - Solar water heating (£4,000-£6,000) - Solar panels (£5,000-£8,000). With the regulations coming in from April 2018, all properties let must be grade E above, though I've done a bit of research and stumbled upon the '£3,500 exemption' landlords can register for. "Residential landlords of properties with an EPC rating below E would be required to consider all energy efficiency improvement measures, recommended in an EPC report or other energy efficiency advice report obtained for their property, and implement any recommended measures up to the value of £3,500. If, following the energy efficiency works, the EPC rating of a property was still below E, residential landlords would be able to register an exemption. Residential landlords seeking to register this exemption would need to provide: evidence that £3,500 worth of recommended energy efficiency measures have already been implemented; and three installer quotes showing that further energy efficiency measures, to bring a property up to an EPC E rating, would exceed £3,500." To my understanding, landlords are expected to complete the works costing UNDER £3,500; anything exceeding this is not expected, and therefore the exemption can be applied and the property then let out. In this example therefore, you'd have the cavity wall insulation done (it's a mid terrace, so more like £500) plus the hot water cylinder insulation (relatively minimal cost), and that'd be pretty much it. I'd obviously also look at the state of the existing boiler, as I can't imagine it to be great. Am I understanding the situation correctly? Thanks for your time. Conor

Hi there History I have got hold my hands up and say I have introduced myself before on here and then been caught up in a Tornado of life/renovation and moving house and haven't been back on the forum, so apologies first of all for not replying last time to anyone who messaged. I really would like to get involved on the forum as I know how much help and information is on here. I am on my third own home renovation and also just completed my third flip/buy to sell property. Last time I was on here I was living in a different area (Oldham) but have now moved closer to family where I have been doing my last few projects. Outskirts of Rochdale Skills: Renovating and flipping houses own homes and projects Styling/staging houses to sell (just my own) I used to work in the textile industry as a stylist I renovated an auction property last year that used to be two terraces years ago, I converted the property back into the original two. I came across many hurdles along the way especially with planning. I learnt so much from this project, I am no expert but am happy to share my knowledge on bits that I learnt on this type of project. Current: I am currently looking at my first Single occupancy BTL property, I currently use a family member who invests in my flipping properties, his ROI is set up and works well, (It differs each time depending on profit made) however for my BTL investor I am thinking it would be slightly different as I am loaning less from him and his money will be tied up for a shorter period of time. 65k tied up for 6-8 months Basically the 65k buys the house I am paying for the refurbishments then I plan to refinance after 6 months. Neither of my investors have invested in property historically so I have been doing the research to see what works. would I offer a % per month on the 65k or just a flat rate ROI % for that amount? Do developers give higher ROI % on higher amounts invested, is there some average rates floating around that people tend to stick to for this type of set up? Also the property has flooded previously and is in the high risk area, I have been told that insurers will cover these types of properties but the premiums are higher, but as long as the mortgage company knows you have this cover in place they will re finance. Any advice much appreciated. hope the above makes sense. here are a few pics below of some flips I have done. Thanks Carly

Hi All, I've done a refurbishment befpre and was fortunate to have made on that one £29,000 - Question is, I know i have £52,000 cash aswell as owning a residential property. I'm only 24 so a bit new to this but been researching and reading everything I can so ready to make my next project. Question is: Should I buy a house for £40-50k cash. Then get a loan of £20k to refurbish the house. Or do bridging then use remaining cash to refurb? I know bridging can be interest heavy so my idea of cash is cheaper and then a loan can just get a flexible one and pay off as soon as house sells. Let me know your thoughts Thanks

Hi everyone, I'm about to buy my first flip and have been busy getting quotes from the trades. Using a contractor is out of my price range so I'm going to have to employ the individual trades separately but I'm completely new to the refurbing process and don't really know what order everything needs to be done in. The house needs a complete refurb (it needs central heating putting in, a partial rewire, new bathroom, new kitchen, plastering etc.). Does anybody have a project plan type thing that they would be willing to share with me please or just any advice regarding the order that the jobs need to be done in and how to ensure that I have the right trades turning up at the right time? Thanks in advance, Abby

Hi Everyone Long time reader but first time poster looking for advice about a potential career change. Bit of background on me... currently working as a project manager for a consumer goods company and have 3 years project management experience in a business setting. In property terms I project managed my parent’s new build home and so far one project of my own; the extension and renovation of my current property which I’m in the process of flipping. Fallen out of love with the 9-5 and want to take my property ambitions full time. Until I can build up the capital to generate enough rental income I’m looking to use my project management skills and help others with their projects. Target customers would be investors looking to refurb properties to flip, refinance or just add value who are perhaps time poor, based elsewhere or just don’t want the hassle of managing trades and projects but want the benefit of valuation gains. Questions I’m looking for help on: 1- Is there a demand for such services? 2- Is my background and experience enough to be taken seriously? 3- what would a reasonable fee be for such services? I’ve seen % of total spend mentioned but that seems conflicting if a project manager is trying to limit the budget. Thanks for reading and appreciate any comments.

Hey everyone! Becoming increasingly keen on an investment property in Leeds. We want to go for capital growth rather than a good yield and looking for advice on main areas of Leeds to focus on - whether that be new builds or we do have the resource for refurb projects if it will actually add value in areas that are likely to grow. We can't decide whether to go for city centre flats geared for professionals, or a larger property potentially for student accommodation. Have seen lots of lovely new build flats in the centre, but they seem expensive compared the rest of Leeds and I worry that the market is filled with them. Equally have seen some rather cheap 3/4 beds but we are not from the area and we really don't know which are 'good' and 'bad' roads to choose. What has everyone else experienced in this city? Would love to hear your thoughts. Many thanks in advance for your help and input Anna

Hi all, Up until now I've been following a simple slow and steady investment strategy of buy properties in my local area and letting them out and every few years remortgaging to free up the equity to buy additional property. The problem is that I live in the South East and the yields are pretty poor (At least relative to many other areas in the UK), and having ready Rob Dix book (Complete Guide...) and listened to The Property Podcast I realised that we should be doing much better. What I'd really like to do now is use a Buy Renovate Remortgage (BRR) strategy so that we can keep recycling (At least some of) our deposit so that we can buy properties as a faster rate than if we simply had to save a new deposit for each property. However as already mentioned, we don't live in a good area for investment, which means that we need to look further afield and that's the challenge. Whilst I think I'd be comfortable finding a good 'normal' investment property in a remote location, I'm wondering how practical it is to find and manage a renovation project from a distance? I guess the first challenge will be finding a renovation project in an area that I don't know well. That probably means finding a reputable sourcer who specialises in renovation projects, which could be a challenge given the number of sharks out there. The next challenge will be finding a main contractor to carry our the work. Locally I've built up a bit of a team of trades people I've used and trust, but obviously I won't have that when investing in a new area. So what do people think? Is this a sensible and doable strategy, or does BRR only work if you buy properties in your local area (Or an area you or trusted friends\family know well)? Has anyone actually tried this? If so was it a success? And what advice could you give? Thanks in advance. Ben

Hi Everyone, My name is Bryony and to my great relief found The property Hub and podcast around a month a go. I've been busy currently working on renovating a 2 bed mid terraced 1930's house in Nuneaton. I worked in the power tool industry for 13 years and left early 2017 to follow property full time. I currently have two BTL properties in my portfolio (9 and 7 years respectively) and recently sold a third to fund my first flip.... although perhaps I should convert this to a BTL and release the equity!? It has been a steep learning curve over the past 9 months, along with learning lots about property I have also trained as a tiler and plasterer to maximise profits in the short term. Looking forward to getting to know the community and joining in with some of the conversations. Many thanks, Bryony