FM Properties

09/10/2026

Our strategy might be changing....the way we find properties isnt 👀

Let’s talk Direct to Vendor (D2V).

You’ll hear this mentioned A LOT in the property world as a strategy for finding deals.

Until this year, we’d dipped our toe in.

Then, after a call earlier this year with a property sourcer, who told me our goal of buying a certain number of Article 4 HMOs was “impossible”… 😂 I decided to go ALL IN.

WOW! What a strategy this is when you do it consistently and in volume.

Yes, a couple of the purchases currently going through legals have come from good old Rightmove, but the opportunities we’re getting from landlords contacting us directly with multiple off-market properties have been a complete game changer.

And it opens up so many more possibilities to have conversations, understand what the vendor actually wants and put forward creative offers that might not work through a traditional agent-led sale.

Our strategy is changing.

We’re no longer actively looking to acquire more HMOs outside of our new focus.

BUT…

We’re absolutely continuing with D2V.

We’ll keep sending letters consistently and in volume, creating a pipeline of opportunities and letting the deals come to us.

Because we’ve learnt something this year…

You don’t necessarily need to find more deals.
You need to create more opportunities for the right deals to find you. 📬🏡

07/10/2026

05/10/2026

🏢🏠 THE FLAT & COMMERCIAL SHOP WE NEVER INTENDED TO OWN… NOT AS IS ANYWAY!

I mentioned recently that we were purchasing a building made up of a commercial shop and a 1-bed flat.

This has been an ongoing project and negotiation for quite some time, and it’s a perfect example of why you always need a Plan B… and sometimes a Plan C!

Originally, the property was brought to us as a lease option.

The property next door had received planning permission for an HMO, so we did our research, took a calculated risk and applied for planning to convert this one to a C4 HMO within Article 4, notoriously difficult!

After plenty of back and forth with the council, we got planning. WIN! 🎉

BUT… fewer bedrooms than we wanted and a specific roof requirement meant the conversion costs increased significantly.

The deal no longer worked for us.

So we decided to sell it at auction.

It didn’t sell.

By this point, the property had become a huge liability and was costing us money every month.

So… Plan C.

We went back to the table, renegotiated the original purchase price and worked out how to make the property profitable as it was, rather than forcing the original strategy.

The result?

🏠 The flat is in a prime location and confident should let quickly once ready!

🏪 The commercial shop already has a tenant agreed and when we advertised it, the demand was so high I could probably have let it 10 times over!

It also gives us something we didn’t originally set out to achieve with this property, more diversification within our portfolio.

Sometimes things simply don’t work out.

Sometimes you need to change direction.

And sometimes the best deal is the one you create from a problem.

There always needs to be multiple exits to every deal.

The original plan didn’t work.

Plan B didn’t work.

But Plan C might just turn out to be the best outcome of all 👀

02/10/2026

🔑 WHY WE’RE BRINGING OUR HMO MANAGEMENT IN-HOUSE

Our HMOs have always been managed by an agent. I’ve self-managed our single lets for a while, but HMOs have a LOT more moving parts, multiple tenants, payments, viewings, maintenance and issues.

Until now, having an agent manage them has allowed us to focus 100% on building the business, buying more properties and getting ourselves into a healthy position.

But our numbers have now told us it’s time for a change.

I’ve spoken before about how important we think monthly P&Ls are and looking at our properties as a business, not a side hustle.

When we looked at our projected numbers, we realised that once we factored in management fees, move-in fees etc., by the end of this year we would actually be financially better off bringing management in-house and taking someone on to work alongside me.

So that’s what we’re doing. 🙌

The last few weeks have involved A LOT of work putting the systems and processes in place to make the transition as smooth as possible. We’ll stagger the takeover to minimise disruption for our tenants.

And there’s another BIG benefit…

When we set our goals for this year, we started with the annual cashflow we wanted, then worked backwards to calculate roughly how many properties we’d need.

By bringing management in-house and reducing our costs, we can now hit that same target sooner than originally planned.

Which means:

Less properties.
Less tenants.
Less management.
Same income target.

WIN WIN WIN. 🙌

It’s a great reminder that having a plan is important, but reviewing the plan, knowing your numbers and being willing to pivot is just as important.

The business has changed, so the plan has changed with it. 🚀

01/10/2026

🏡 100% COMPLETE! 🎉

HMO licence inspection completed today and officially, we are DONE! 🙌

(And by the way… the BEST and EASIEST council we’ve worked with! 👏)

This property feels particularly significant for us because it marks both the beginning and the end of a chapter in our property journey.

🔑 The FIRST HMO I will self-manage!
We’re moving the management of our portfolio in-house, with others following gradually as we build the team and bring someone on to work alongside me.

And…

🚫 The LAST HMO we will develop outside of Article 4!

From the beginning of the year our focus has been purely on Article 4 HMOs

Everything we have purchased this year has been prime article 4 properties, taking current HMOs, adding value through additional rooms and renovations.

So this property really is a big pivot point for the business.

We’ve spent the last few years building, learning, testing, refining and figuring out exactly where we want to take the business.

Now it’s about doubling down on what works, becoming more efficient, bringing management in-house and being much more strategic about the properties we buy.

A huge milestone for us and an even bigger step forward for the business. 🚀

One chapter closed. The next one starts now. 🏡🔑

18/09/2026

19 years together this month!! ❤️

19 years… honestly, where has the time gone?! 🥹

I’m so proud of the life we’ve built together and, even more so, excited for everything that’s still to come.

We’ve been through so much, grown together, built a family, built businesses, chased some pretty big dreams and somehow we’re still dreaming bigger! 🏡✨

It hasn’t always been easy, but I wouldn’t change the journey we’ve had for anything.

19 years down… and so many more adventures, dreams and memories to come. ❤️

14/09/2026

BUSY...BUSY WEEK AHEAD!!!💨

Lots of things happening this week, wrapping up on our latest project,

Internet being installed today 🌐
Furniture being delivered and installed 🛌
Cleaning stuff to get... (not that ANY tenant in the history of HMOs has ever used them 😂)
Dress rooms ready for Valuation and Viewings 👀

TVs and all the extras, notice board, TVs etc have been installed over the weekend 📺

Fire Risk Assessment Tuesday 🔥

Valuation booked for Wednesday 🤞

31/08/2026

Why we’re bringing our property management in-house 👇

We’ve made the decision to employ a Portfolio Manager and bring the management of our properties in-house, and for us, the timing makes perfect sense.

As we look at our current portfolio and, more importantly, the pipeline of properties we’re building, the numbers simply don’t stack up for us to continue outsourcing everything to a letting agent.

Financially, it makes more sense to have someone working solely on our portfolio, giving us:
✔️ Better control
✔️ More reliable management
✔️ A more personal service for our tenants
✔️ Faster decision-making
✔️ Greater oversight of the day-to-day running of the portfolio

But decisions like this shouldn’t be made on gut feeling.

One of the most important things we do in our business is regularly monitor our Profit & Loss.

We know what’s coming in, what’s going out, what each property is costing us and where our money is being spent.

Because you can’t change what you don’t measure 😉

Looking at the numbers allows us to make informed decisions, spot opportunities to improve profitability and put the right systems and people in place as the business grows.

For us, bringing management in-house is another step towards building a more efficient, scalable and profitable property business LONGTERM!🙌

17/08/2026

The importance of ridge height when doing a loft conversion 👇

One thing we always look at when assessing a loft conversion is the ridge height.

This property had a huge ridge height, which has made a massive difference. Combined with lowering the floors throughout, we’ve been able to create 2 really good-sized rooms on the second floor.

We’ve got a studio-style room within the L-shaped dormer, and a small tea station in the en-suite, and both rooms are genuinely comfortable spaces.

From experience, the front room in a loft conversion can often be the pokiest room in the house and, despite what the numbers might suggest, can be much harder to let for the expected rent.

Put yourself in the tenant’s shoes.

Yes, you want to maximise the number of bedrooms, but there’s no point creating an extra room if it’s uncomfortable, awkward or difficult to rent.

It’s very easy to fall into the trap of thinking “how many rooms can we squeeze out of this property?”

But the better question is:

“Would I actually want to live in this room?”

Creating good-quality, comfortable rooms might mean slightly fewer bedrooms in some projects, but in the long term, they’re much easier to let, can command better rents and will hopefully keep your tenants happier.

Maximising bedrooms isn’t always the same as maximising your return. 🏡

10/08/2026

10 days of…sunshine, sand, pure family time, adventures, exploring, monkeys and sharks, relaxing, recharging, planning, a small amount of work and a broken toe 🤣 👌 perfect 😍