The HMO That Looked Fine Until We Actually Looked

The HMO That Looked Fine Until We Actually Looked

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit secretpropertyclub.substack.com [https://secretpropertyclub.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] Paid subscribers get our full 14-Point HMO Inspection Checklist PDF, so you can take the same checks with you on your next viewing. First Impressions vs. Reality Walking into this HMO for the first time, it looked like a fairly standard job. No Boiler, No Clear Heating We couldn’t locate a boiler anywhere in the property. Fire Doors: The Biggest Red Flag Several fire doors don’t sit flush in their casings, slam far too hard, or have gaps underneath big enough to defeat the point of having a fire door at all. Flooring: A Pattern of Cut Corners New carpet in one room looked promising at first glance, but the same issue shows up throughout the house: The Attic Conversion: Impressive, But Unverified Upstairs, a loft conversion had been added. A genuinely nice space with potential, but seemingly done without planning permission or building regs sign-off. The Small Stuff That Still Matters Not everything here is serious. Why This Matters for Agents and Rent-to-Renters None of this is about criticising for the sake of it. Related Reading The 12-Step Tenant Screening Process That Can Save Landlords Thousands [https://secretpropertyclub.substack.com/p/the-12-step-tenant-screening-process] Working with Trades (Valeria’s 4-Question Framework) [https://secretpropertyclub.substack.com/p/working-with-trades-valerias-4-question] What Changes for Landlords Under the Renters’ Rights Act? [https://secretpropertyclub.substack.com/p/what-changes-for-landlords-under] Want the Full Inspection Checklist? We’ve turned everything we look for on these walkthroughs into a single, practical checklist. The exact points we check before taking on management or a rent-to-rent deal, from fire doors and flooring to heating and room compliance. It’s designed to be printed or kept on your phone for every viewing. The full checklist is available to download below for paid subscribers.

Renters Rights Act Evictions: The Real Numbers

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit secretpropertyclub.substack.com [https://secretpropertyclub.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] Episode: Inside The UK's Biggest HMO Data Set, With Van From Coho Heidi sits down with Van, founder of Coho, the property management platform that started with HMOs and now covers landlords, agents, single lets and serviced accommodation. Coho holds more HMO data than anyone else in the country, and in this episode Van shares what that data actually shows about evictions, rents, occupancy and who's really renting right now. In This Episode: 00:01 — Who Van is and how Coho started. 01:04 — Why Coho was built to do everything well instead of one thing brilliantly. 02:54 — Coho's answer to SpareRoom: building a marketplace around "who you live with," not just listings. 06:16 — Managing tenants without smartphones, and Heidi's experience housing ex-offenders and vulnerable tenants. 13:00 — Why remote virtual assistants often outperform in-house teams. 16:06 — What makes Coho's data different from SpareRoom's. 18:30 — The Renters Rights Act eviction spike: what the data actually shows. 21:08 — Heidi's own story: a ten-year tenant given a Section 21 before the house had even been appraised. 26:00 — Why headline rent figures don't match real-terms rent data. 27:47 — HMO conversions, luxury rooms, and why some landlords are cutting rents. 32:00 — Why tenants choose house shares for more than just the price. 35:42 — The rise of over-40s and divorcees in house shares. 36:18 — Older men fleeing relationship breakdown and domestic violence, and the housing gap nobody talks about. 39:12 — How the Renters Rights Act had the opposite effect landlords expected. 41:06 — Why occupancy is falling across HMOs and single lets, and the housing crisis paradox. 44:18 — What's next for Coho, including their SpareRoom competitor and AI plans. 45:34 — Where to find Van. Links Mentioned: Coho: coho.management [http://coho.management] Secret Property Club: secretpropertyclub.com [http://secretpropertyclub.com]

What makes a property SA-friendly?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit secretpropertyclub.substack.com [https://secretpropertyclub.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] This is lesson #3. The whole Serviced Accommodation training guide is available here. [https://secretpropertyclub.substack.com/p/service-accommodation-training-course] I get given a lot of “can you turn this into a serviced accommodation” viewings. Most of them come from one of two places. Either the last tenants trashed it, or it just wasn’t getting the return the owner expected as a normal let. Either way, I’m the one who has to walk round and decide if it can work. Here’s one I did recently. Grimsby. Big house, odd layout, on what’s probably one of the worst streets in the town. On paper, that should be a no. Except I know we’ve got five other units in that exact area running at 100% occupancy. So “bad street” doesn’t automatically mean “bad SA.” It means I have to look harder, not walk away. This is what I’m actually checking when I’m stood in a room deciding if it earns its keep. Want the full walkthrough, plus the rest of the course? This lesson is part of the full Serviced Accommodation Training Course [https://secretpropertyclub.substack.com/p/service-accommodation-training-course], included in every premium membership at no extra cost. No upsells, no paid add-ons, just the training, the tools, and direct access to me and the team. Upgrade to Premium Membership [https://secretpropertyclub.substack.com/subscribe] to unlock this lesson and the rest of the course.

The 12-Step Tenant Screening Process That Can Save Landlords Thousands

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit secretpropertyclub.substack.com [https://secretpropertyclub.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] One bad tenant can cost far more than a missed rent payment. It can mean months of stress, legal fees, repairs, lost income, and countless hours spent chasing problems that could have been avoided. After managing more than 250 properties for over 100 landlords, I learned something important: Successful landlords don’t rely on instinct. They rely on process. Tenant screening isn’t about finding the “perfect” tenant. It’s about reducing risk. When you use the same process every time, you make better decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and protect both your property and your peace of mind. In this article, I’ll walk you through the exact framework I used to screen tenants consistently and confidently. The Real Cost of a Bad Tenant Most landlords focus only on missed rent. The real costs go much further: * Lost time chasing payments. * Legal fees and eviction costs. * Additional repairs and maintenance. * Void periods between tenancies. * Mental stress and distraction. When your attention is consumed by tenant problems, you lose the time and energy needed to grow your portfolio and enjoy life outside property. Bad tenants cost time, money, and peace of mind. The Mindset Shift: You Are Reducing Risk Tenant screening isn’t about judging people. It’s about assessing risk. You are running a business, and every applicant should go through the same process. No exceptions. Don’t let urgency, sympathy, or pressure override your criteria. If an applicant cannot pass your checks, the answer is simple: It’s a no. The Screening Funnel Every applicant should move through the same repeatable process: * Identity and right to rent. * Affordability checks. * Employment verification. * Income checks. * Credit checks. * References from employer and landlord. * Housing history. * Bank statements. * Benefits assessment. * Guarantors (if required). * Documentation storage. * Gut feeling. The order in which you do these checks matters. Your gut feeling comes last, not first. Paid subscribers can continue reading below to access: * The complete breakdown of all 12 screening checks. * The red flags that immediately end an application. * My decision-making framework for accepting or declining tenants. * A real-life case study showing how one bad tenant can cost over £6,000. * Downloadable 12-step tenant screening checklist (PDF). * Full 31-minute video training.

The Asset Protection Strategy Most Property Investors Never Set Up

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit secretpropertyclub.substack.com [https://secretpropertyclub.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] Most property investors are laser-focused on the next deal. The next refinance. The next flip. The next “one that changes everything”. And that’s exactly why so many people end up building something valuable that’s surprisingly fragile. Not because they’re reckless. Because protection feels like admin. It feels like something you do later. But here’s the truth. The bigger your portfolio gets, the more you’ve got to lose. Not just to tax over time, but to the stuff nobody plans for. A claim. A dispute. A messy situation that puts your assets in the firing line. Or simply dying with the wrong structure and watching unnecessary inheritance tax chew through what you spent years building. If you’re serious about building wealth, you’ve got to get serious about protecting your assets. In this session, we’re joined by Paul Elliott from IQ Business Services [https://iqbusinessservices.co.uk/], who’s been teaching this stuff for over a decade. Paul walks through an asset-shelter strategy that’s been used by the wealthy for generations, as well as the core challenge most investors face with traditional UK trust structures. The interesting part is this. The strategy Paul explains isn’t just about giving assets away. It’s about how you can protect your assets while still maintaining day-to-day control of your property business. That’s what the full video breaks down step by step. Only premium members have access to this video. [https://secretpropertyclub.substack.com/] Watch the full training and get the full breakdown, including: * The simple “3 roles” inside a trust, and why control is the bit most people underestimate. * The core problem with traditional UK trusts for active investors (and what that can lead to in real life). * The “do not own anything, control everything” idea explained. * How the offshore trust + UK PMC structure works. * What Paul says about when it’s worth looking at this (and what numbers matter). * The risks and what HMRC scrutiny has looked like historically, according to Paul. If you’ve ever thought, “I should probably sort the protection side of the business”, this is the episode. Only premium members have access to this video. [https://secretpropertyclub.substack.com/] Disclaimer: Nothing here is personal financial or legal advice. Use this as education, then speak to qualified professionals about your exact situation.