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Pinnacle Homes

North West based.

Property conversations — helping people sell when it’s right, and helping investors find well-structured, hands-off opportunities that make more sense than leaving cash in the bank.

30/07/2026

Article 4 & what it actually means for this project.

Basically it removes your automatic right to convert a house into a 6 bed HMO. Once it kicks in, you need full planning permission instead.

In Warrington, that’s going to be 25th September 2026. So my rights are still active right now, but that that’s why I need this place 50% tenanted before then.

If I miss it I could end up needing full planning permission for something I’ve already built and tenanted. This would delay the refinance and cost me more on the bridging finance. Worst case, that could mean reversing the work.

Article 4’s spreading across a lot of Greater Manchester too, making HMO conversions slower and more uncertain for anyone starting out.

On the flip side, that probably works in my favour. Less new HMO stock, rental market already stretched, more landlords selling than buying. Less supply, more people needing a room. Including mine.

So yeah, everything right now is timed around that date. Building control, compliance, licensing, staging and tenanting. No room for any more delays.

If you’ve done an HMO before, or you’re mid way through one, what key advice or lessons can you share? drop them below.

02/04/2026

I’m not sure if it’s just the algorithm but there’s a lot of noise at the moment, rates, inflation, wars, lenders changing things.

One thing I noticed during Covid and ever since is when things feel uncertain, most people sit and wait. However, in property I’ve seen that this is usually when more opportunities start to appear.

Sales fall through.
Landlords decide to sell.
Buyers can’t get finance.

In a booming market, most deals work.

In an uncertain market, you actually have to know your numbers, understand risk, and be able to structure deals properly; something I’ve been learning throughout the years.

That’s what I’m trying to focus on this year, understanding deals, working with the right people, and putting myself in a position to buy the right projects that have multiple exits.

If anyone know of a property that needs work, isn’t selling or has fallen through, let me know.

19/03/2026

WHY SOME PROPERTY SALES FALL THROUGH

Recently I’ve noticed a lot more properties being reduced or popping back up on Rightmove after being sold months ago.

It got me thinking a bit more about where things are heading.

With everything going on in the Middle East, especially the situation with Iran, there’s clearly some uncertainty around rates again.

You can already see it feeding through.

Lenders seem a bit more cautious, and swap rates (which drive mortgage pricing) have jumped, meaning deals now need to be assessed closer to stress test levels again.

I don’t think people have fully clocked yet how quickly things can shift when confidence drops.

Even on my own HMO, the refinance rate has likely increased by around 1% in just a couple of weeks.

We’re already starting to see, and will probably continue to see:

• Valuations coming in lower than expected
• Lenders tightening criteria
• Survey issues being taken more seriously
• Buyers relying on finance that doesn’t quite stack

And when that happens, deals fall apart.

It’s not always the property.
It’s often the structure around it.

That naturally leads to more fall-throughs.

On top of that, you’ve got the usual reasons:

• Chains collapsing
• Buyers pulling out
• Delays dragging things out too long

That’s why some properties sit on the market or go through multiple buyers.

In a more cautious market, which I think we may be heading into, certainty starts to matter more than anything else.

If you hear of any properties where a sale has fallen through, they’re struggling to find a buyer, or just want certainty, I’m actively looking for my next deal.

13/03/2026

HMO UPDATE

A week or so since the last update which is mostly down to being on a stag for 5 days but we’re back and making progress.
As you can see from these pictures taken earlier in the week, the dormer is close to being watertight and the scaff will soon be taken down.

Next up, floor joists, dry lining and extension over the next few weeks.

Other than a few tweaks in colours/design, I’m pretty much hands off for now and very much shifting attention back to finding the next deal.

03/03/2026

A few people have asked me about development bridging and how it actually works in practice.

On this project, the lender funded around 60–70% of the purchase price on day one.

At the same time, the full refurbishment facility was agreed upfront. That doesn’t mean all the refurb money lands immediately, it just means the total amount is approved and allocated for the project.

In some rare cases, if a property is bought BMV, it’s possible to effectively achieve 100% of the purchase price funded on day one, meaning very little capital goes in initially. But that comes down to buying well, strong numbers and good broker.

The refurbishment funds are released in stages.

Work gets completed.
An independent monitoring surveyor visits site.
Progress is verified.
Only then is the next drawdown released.

Each drawdown typically carries a fee (often £250–£1,000 depending on lender and project), which can usually be added to the final redemption statement.

You’re also only charged interest on the money actually drawn, not the full approved facility.

This structure isn’t there to slow things down.

It protects me, the lender, any investors involved, and the project itself. Spending is tied to progress. Budgets are reviewed. Risk is monitored.

When a deal is bought correctly and value is genuinely added, this structure can allow capital to be recycled efficiently at refinance, sometimes leaving very little left in the deal.

There’s much more development bridge but this is just a quick overview based on my experience so far.

28/02/2026

PROGRESS UPDATE

• Dormer shell taking shape
• First monitoring surveyor visit signed off
• First development bridge drawdown processed
• Stairs ordered
• And within a few days we’ll be watertight again

This is the part people don’t always see.

Development finance works in stages,work gets inspected, signed off, and funds are released against progress. It keeps everything structured and accountable. 1st drawdown✅

I also got some clips through from prosperitynetwork_ after filming a deal diary with the team. It was good to document the process properly and step slightly outside the comfort zone to talk through what’s been happening behind the scenes.

Still early in the 21-week plan, but steady progress and the structure is working as it should.

22/02/2026

HOW I DECIDE IF A DEAL STACKS

Before I offer on anything, it goes into a spreadsheet to triple check the numbers and take emotion out of the equation.

The main strategies I look at are:

• BRR for BTL
• BRR for HMOs
• Flips

The spreadsheet allows me to assess a deal throughly and allows me to see all potential exits in one place.

It gives me headline figures for each exit and tells me:

• What offer I need to put in for it to work as an all money out deal
•How much I would be leaving in with various offers
• How long it would realistically take to return any money left in
• What the finance costs actually look like (including investor fund interest where relevant)

If those numbers don’t make sense across scenarios, it’s not the right deal or I just have to offer lower.

The spreadsheet doesn’t make a deal good.
It just keeps the emotion out of it.

21/02/2026

Another round of direct-to-vendor letters sent.

Trying to find the next deal.

If it lands the right project, it saves a few £0000 in sourcing, something I’d happily pay for the right introduction anyway.

On the hunt for the next one.

18/02/2026

WHEN A PROPERTY WON’T GET A MORTGAGE

Not every property fits a lender’s criteria.

Sometimes it’s because of things like:

• Spray foam insulation in the loft (not all foam)
• Subsidence or significant cracks
• Roof issues or major damp
• No kitchen or bathroom fitted
• An extension without building regs
• Been empty for years
• Short lease
• Japanese knotweed

When that happens, sellers often feel stuck.

Deals fall through.
Valuations come back lower.
Buyers pull out once the lender gets involved.

But “unmortgageable” doesn’t mean unsellable.

It usually just means the structure of the deal needs to change, not necessarily the price.

In situations like this, certainty and a clear plan often matter more than anything else.

If you ever come across a property that doesn’t fit the usual lending criteria, I’m always open to a conversation.

15/02/2026

WEEK 3 COMPLETE

Three weeks into this HMO project and the heavy lifting is well underway.

So far we’ve had:
• Rip out
• First steels in
• Second floor joists fitted
• Soil pipe in for the first en-suite
• Scaffold up ready for the dormer starting tomorrow

This stage isn’t necessarily exciting to look at but it’s where the real value starts getting created.

It’s the start of putting it all together.

So far, things have started well and the pace has been good but we’re still early in a 21-ish week journey.

Long way to go.

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