Valerie Highton
Armed with integrity and belief in herself, Valerie has gone on to build a portfolio of seven HMOs with Platinum
Joined PPP: 2014
Previous Career:Mum
Portfolio Location: Weybridge, Surrey
HMOs: Seven
Biggest Benefit: The Platinum network
‘You have to be super rich to invest in property through a franchise like Platinum’.
It’s a misconception we hear all the time – and one Valerie Highton’s inspirational story proves is simply not true.
“I had very, very little money,” smiles Valerie. “But what I did have was integrity and I believed in myself.”
Valerie joined Platinum in 2014 after going through what she describes as a “very bad” divorce, which led her to re-evaluate every facet of her life.
STARTING AFRESH
“I’d been out of the job market for 25 to 30 years,” recalls Valerie. “I have no computer skills and no tech skills, although I do have a degree.
“I’d brought up my family over that time, although I had refurbished the properties we’d lived in as a family and I had a real affinity with people in their twenties as my kids were that age and all living in rental properties.
“I wanted to do something with the money I did have, and I was keen on franchises because there’s a better chance of succeeding. I knew I had to do something on my own, because nobody was going to employ me!
“So, I went to a franchise fair to look at letting agency franchises, or property inventory businesses because I had that affinity with the kind of demographic that rents property.
“But I walked around the corner and there was the Platinum Property Partners stand…”
SACRIFICES FOR SUCCESS
Valerie purchased her first HMO in January of 2015 and has gone on to build a portfolio of seven properties just outside Weybridge, Surrey, where she still lives.
But her starting position was uncommon among our Franchise Partner network, with her funding tight and her investment area expensive.
“Property is very expensive in Weybridge,” she laughs. “I probably shouldn’t be doing it in that area, but it was important to me to stay close to home as it was just me and the children at that time and I wanted continuity for them.
“When I did my purchase mentoring with Mike Dixon, we looked at Horsham and Crawley, but they were too far away, and I was actually concerned that the clapped-out Volvo I was driving at the time wouldn’t make it to those locations!
“I ended up renting a two-bedroom flat and sleeping on a mattress on the floor in the lounge for two years because I was so desperate to make what I was doing work.”
RETURN TO PROFILE
Dominic Hegan 
After joining Platinum at the start of the pandemic, Dominic is already eyeing his third HMO property
Joined PPP: 2020
Previous Career: Divisional Regional Manager
Portfolio Location: South West
HMOs: Two
Biggest Benefit:Capital working harder
When it comes to new best friends, Dominic Hegan is unable to choose just one.
In fact, he’s got three – and all of them have one thing in common: Platinum Property Partners.
“I joined Platinum in January 2020,” says Dominic, “which was an interesting year to do it!”
But before we get into the logistics of property investment during a pandemic…
A MAN WITH A PLAN
Dominic’s journey with Platinum actually began back in the earlier part of 2019, however, when he decided to take early retirement from his corporate job and started looking at ways to invest his pension pot and savings
“My plan was quite straight-forward,” he recalls. “I was going to take the tax-free cash out of my pension, use some of my savings and buy some single buy-to-let properties.
“I already had two buy-to-lets which I thought were giving me a pretty decent return, but your perspective can really change when you learn about the kind of returns you can make from HMOs.”
A GREAT RECOMMENDATION
Dominic sought advice from a former colleague, Cathy Colston, who he knew had explored a more specialist area of property investment since leaving the corporate rat race behind herself.
“I knew Cathy had done a load of property stuff and I thought, ‘before I go and buy some more myself, I’ll give her a call and pick her brains to find out if there’s a better way I could do it’.”
A lunch date followed, where Cathy gave Dominic the lowdown on everything she’d achieved since joining Platinum back in 2011
“I then had a chat with Mike Hedgecox, Platinum’s Executive Partner, and talked through what the franchise offered so that I wasn’t wasting anyone’s time by attending a Discovery Day,” says Dominic.
“Everything Mike said backed up what Cathy had told me, so I went along to a Discovery Day with my wife Lisa in September 2019 to really delve deeper into the franchise model.”
PUSHING ON AS PLANNED
Four months later, the Hegans were fully-fledged Platinum Franchise Partners – but talk of a new virus sweeping across Europe was already intensifying.
“When we attended the Discovery Day, nobody had heard of the word Covid,” recalls Dominic.
“We joined in January and had mapped out a really clear plan for the next 10 years, but by March everything was up in the air to say the least.
“We’d had our purchase mentoring with Mike Dixon and looked at eight houses on the first day and then another four on day two.
“By the end of day two, we’d decided to buy two houses, went sale agreed and were steaming ahead with our plans.
“But when the lockdown arrived in March, we hadn’t completed on either of them and it was quite a difficult place to be for a while.
“I was thinking, ‘I’ve invested in the franchise, have some really clear plans and know what I’m doing – but can I actually do it now’?
“Moreover, was it the right thing to do, investing more than half a million pounds in property when so many people were saying the bottom was going to fall out of the market?”
Dominic pondered putting his plans on ice for 12 months to watch the pandemic play out, but a further chat with Mike Dixon quickly made him see the bigger picture
“I had a long chat with Mike,” he recalls, “and I then realised that the whole point of developing HMOs in this way is to provide a long-term income stream, rather than purely capital growth.
“The Platinum business model is based on that lifelong income, with capital growth as an added bonus if you get it, so we decided as soon as the lockdown was lifted, we’d crack on.”
THE MAGIC OF MENTORS
Those new best friends quickly became hugely important to Dominic – firstly, Mike Dixon.
“We looked at so many houses during our purchase mentoring with Mike,” says Dominic, “and there were three or four that would have worked really well for us.
“Mike’s advice was key and as one of the properties was a really light refurb, he suggested that we go with an HMO mortgage on that one right away, meaning we could actually buy another for cash at the same time.”
Next up was refurb mentor Kim Thorogood.
“I think Kim probably got to the point where she dreaded seeing my number flash up on her phone,” laughs Dominic.
“I had all sorts of questions about the refurbs that I should probably have known the answer to, but I didn’t. You learn very quickly from people like Kim, though, and I almost feel I could do the next house solo.”
Both of Dominic’s houses were completed and styled using Platinum Power Team member Hedgehog Studios, and ready to launch in September 2020 – quite an achievement in the year of Covid.
“Hedgehog did the design and fit-out and then did a photoshoot for us at the first house – within two weeks of the rooms going on Spareroom, we’d let every one of them,” smiles Dominic.
“Our final tenant at the second house moved in during November, so we had 100% occupancy from November – 12 rooms, across two houses, bringing in a return that’s well in the upper end of double figures.”
That’s where best friend number three came in…
“It doesn’t matter how well you choose a house and how well you refurb it if you can’t tenant it,” says Dominic. “And that’s where having a lettings advisor like Rachel Lewis is worth its weight in gold.
“I had two buy-to-lets already, so I had some experience of renting out property, but Rachel made sure we did everything absolutely perfectly and professionally, mitigating risk and finding the right tenants, to getting all the paperwork right legally – which is far more complicated with HMOs and one of the major reasons why we joined Platinum, because you get that extra attention to detail to ensure you stay legally compliant.
“Rachel became my new best friend after Kim and Mike!
“But in all seriousness, I spent 35 years in the service industry, leading teams to deliver the best service I thought was possible.
“As a result, I’ve got really huge expectations, but I can honestly say everything we’ve received since joining Platinum has exceeded those expectations – even in the middle of the pandemic.”
RETURN TO PROFILE
Laoise Rosswick
Joined PPP: 2016
Previous Career: IT Project Manager
Portfolio Location: Greater Manchester
HMOs: Five
Biggest Benefit: Financial and lifestyle freedom
From teacher to fully fledged HMO property queen
For seven years it was Laoise Rosswick doing the teaching.
For the past six, though, she’s found herself on the other side of the teacher’s desk, learning about HMO property investment as a fully-fledged Platinum Franchise Partner.
“I joined in 2014 having been a teacher for seven years,” reflects Laoise..
“I just felt like I needed something to change and needed something that was going to be a bit more fun and exciting.”
Laoise completed her first HMO in March 2015 at pace and had it fully tenanted within a year of joining Platinum, before house number two followed the following year.
After “bedding in” those properties, Laoise moved on to HMOs three and four and completed both in a whirlwind 15 months at the beginning of 2019.
SUPPORT ALONG EVERY STEP OF THE WAY
Throughout her six years as a Platinum Franchise Partner, Laoise has called upon all of Platinum’s in-house experts and followed the business model intently as she grew her HMO portfolio.
Indeed, joining the franchise has turned her into blossoming networker – something she admits was way out of her comfort zone.
“Every stage of the journey, I’ve had help,” she says.
“I’ve had support and have had amazing chats with people at the regional meetings we have. I always pick up useful tips because I’m always so busy running around talking to people at the events Platinum holds.
“It’s absolutely brilliant. I never saw myself as much of a networker and I used to shy away from that, but there is a natural network at Platinum and you just feel really part of it.
“People are really helpful and often they want your advice too, so being able to help others is fantastic.”
“I reaped all the benefits of the training and processes that come with doing this through Platinum and as well as it paying off financially, it’s also paid off mentally and physically.”
RETURN TO PROFILE
Paul Reynolds
Joined PPP: April 2020
Previous Career: Change Management
Portfolio Location: Hertfordshire
HMOs: One
Biggest Benefit: Financial and family freedom
Having spent almost a quarter of a century making other people rich, it’s now Paul Reynolds’ turn.
After 20 years as a change manager, entering a huge number of high-profile businesses and exiting with them performing and making more money, Paul switched tack late in 2019 and started looking for investment opportunities that had the potential to change his family’s life.
“I went through redundancy a few months ago after working for TUI, so my income coming to an end was an additional incentive to get my property portfolio going,” said Paul, reflecting on his decision to join Platinum in April 2020 – in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic (more on that later).
“I’ve loved all of my jobs, and I did enjoy the corporate life but the last few years I’ve been getting to a point where we are in a financial situation to make some investments.
“I’ve made a lot of people very rich, and I wanted to do that for myself and my family for a change!”
A model that works
After a working life firmly as an employee, Paul has stepped well outside of his comfort zone to join Platinum.
Indeed, he actually considered joining a business coaching franchise prior to taking the plunge on property with Platinum – a well-trodden and familiar path for someone with 20 years in change management.
“Most of my time was spent on developing people and getting businesses to perform through people and performance – getting sales teams, back of house teams and field engineers to be really high performing through great management,” added Paul.
“I looked at a whole range of franchises. One in particular was a business coaching franchise and I already had the skillset that would have enabled me to do that.
“But the marketing side of that was too much of a risk for me and I wasn’t convinced by their model.”
A Platinum Discovery Day at Heathrow followed for Paul and he quickly started to see the value of the franchise fee when reflecting on the meagre 5% margin being made by a buy-to-let flat he purchased following redundancy several years ago.
“When I was sat in the Discovery Day at Heathrow, I was thinking ‘the franchise fee is a lot of money and that’s the deposit on another BTL property. Could I just go it alone’?
“But now I’m going through the journey and I’m meeting the experts that support me at each step, I realise the fee pays for itself.”
Opportunity from uncertainty
Paul’s confidence in the Platinum business model was backed up by his decision to join in April – just as the UK was still getting to grips with the coronavirus lockdown.
After a small delay to his purchase mentoring with Platinum’s Malcolm Crabbe due to the lockdown, Paul went sale agreed on his first HMO at the end of July after several days of viewings.
“We looked at 15 properties with Malcolm and it was a really interesting few days. I learned a lot and really enjoyed it,” reflected Paul.
“We narrowed the 15 properties down to five and, to me, they all looked fine. But drilling into the projected returns on each property showed they ranged from 8% to 15%.
“Without Malcolm alongside me, I could have easily bought one at the lower end and the difference between 8% and 15% over 10 years is the entire franchise fee.”
Paul also absorbed all of the support offered to Franchise Partners throughout the Covid-19 peak, again reinforcing his confidence in Platinum.
“The business has just adapted very well and carried on running seamlessly, which gives us a great deal of confidence that we’re in the right place, and that it can adapt to and survive any future changes to the wider environment,” he added.
“Covid-19 has really stress-tested the model, we’ve seen it in action and it’s given us confidence that it’s really robust for the future.”
A five-year plan
With his first HMO on the horizon, Paul already has plans in place for the next five years, having been given a solid picture of his family’s finances and a cashflow projection by Platinum’s financial team.
Next up is his renovation mentoring with Kim Thorogood, but Paul’s longer-term, five-year plan to have four HMOs up and running and fully tenanted is also firmly in his mind, too.
“I’ve digested all the resources on the Franchise Partner intranet system PlaNet,” added Paul.
“We’ve got all the ideas, but I’m sure Kim will challenge us on most of them – I hope she does, too!
“Looking ahead, I have a long list of things I want to do when I have those four properties up and running.
“I want to make sure I’m still making a difference and I’d love to be more involved in the mentoring side of being a long-standing Franchise Partner.
“Platinum has given me so many possibilities and in five years’ time, I will be able to do whatever I want to do, whether it’s joining another franchise, starting a new business, pursuing my coaching and mentoring or just travelling.
“Even though the future is incredibly uncertain right now, we’re in a position where I can definitely still retire in five years and I can maintain a guaranteed income. We’ve taken control of our own destiny and that is a lovely feeling to have.”
RETURN TO PROFILE
Nick and Gré Duthie
Joined PPP: September 2013
Previous Career: Banking
Portfolio Location: Cambridge
HMOs: Four
Biggest Benefit: Lifelong income
An extended agreement – why experienced Franchise Partners decide to stay with Platinum
For Nick and Gré Duthie, Platinum Property Partners has certainly delivered on its promise to provide an income for life without the lifelong commitment; yet they want to stay part of the franchise. Why?
The Alumni Mastermind Programme offers a flexible and affordable way to remain knowledgeable and competitive in a challenging sector, while enabling them to stay part of an invaluable network of friends and colleagues. So the real question for Nick & Gré was - why wouldn’t they?
More than six years ago, Nick and Gré joined Platinum to securely replace their income from a successful career in banking. Selling some assets to raise the capital needed to get started, they quickly built a portfolio of four Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) across Cambridge within three years, achieving an average of 15% return on investment.
Happy with the level of income they’d achieved and in no rush to re-mortgage and expand their portfolio, they took advantage of passive commercial property investment opportunities that were available to them as PPP Franchise Partners.
Come 2018, their franchise agreement was coming to an end and they had two choices - leave Platinum with their business, profitable assets, 100% of the income, no subscription fee, knowledge, experience and great memories; or stay with PPP while retaining their business, profitable assets, 100% of the income, a small subscription fee and chance gain more knowledge, experience and special memories.
AN EASY DECISION
It wasn’t a hard decision for the couple to make.
Having already seen huge value for money over the years, the opportunity to remain part of the network as Alumni Partners and receive all the benefits for a nominal fee was too good to miss.
“Nobody will completely understand how invaluable being part of the Platinum franchise is until you face the choice to leave,” said Nick. “The training and knowledge gained is top class, but also their proactiveness in ensuring we are on top of legislation and competition in addition to their ability to motivate you.”
RETURN TO PROFILE
Ben Gould
Joined PPP: January 2017
Previous Career: Family business
Portfolio Location: Bridgwater
HMOs: Four
Biggest Benefit: Freedom
From office to profitable HMO
From the outside, it can still be mistaken for a village high street shop front, but inside, this HMO property (House in Multiple Occupation) has been converted into a beautiful five-bedroom shared home with real character, were going to talk about how Ben took this property from Office to HMO!
Platinum Property Partner, Ben Gould, has successfully retained the historical features of the 16th century Grade II Listed building while creating a stylish, modern and contemporary home for up to nine tenants. It has been a long and rocky road to get to this stage, but Ben is thrilled with the result and has been able to add yet another string to his quirky HMO portfolio bow.
TOWN CENTRE LOCATION
The property, located in the centre of Gillingham, Dorset, is Ben’s third HMO since he joined PPP in 2017. True to his vision, it differs from the other two properties in Bridgewater, Somerset, to give his portfolio diversity. Not only is it located in the high street, but it has no parking and because of the inability to move any internal walls, the rooms are large and also licensed for double occupancy.
While his first HMO caters more to contractors and his second HMO attracts longer-term tenants looking for a ‘home’, this one will likely attract local professionals looking to take their first step towards living independently or couples saving for their own home.
Ben added: “The property is situated just five minutes’ walk from the station, from which you can get a direct line to London. There is no allocated parking, but lots of nearby free or low-cost parking for tenants who might have cars. We think one or two of the rooms will be suitable for couples, but we do not want to overcrowd the property and instead ensure everyone is happy living there.”
Transport shouldn’t be an issue, with two pubs neighbouring the property, multiple takeaways available on the high street as well as several supermarkets.
“What struck me about Platinum is the people. It’s a people business. When you’re surrounded by like-minded people who are in the same organisation there’s immediate trust and support. Everyone wants everyone else to succeed, which is so refreshing.”
RETURN TO PROFILE
Agnes and Jonathan Goodall
Joined PPP: March 2017
Previous Career: Corporate Finance
Portfolio Location: Teesside
HMOs: One
Biggest Benefit: Flexibility
A greater return from property than corporate life in Teesside
That was the goal for Agnes and Jonathan Goodall, the first Platinum Property Partners investing in Teesside. Following a ten-year career break to bring up the couple’s two children, Agnes was now eager to get back to work.
But, after 18 months working part time in corporate finance, she realised it wasn’t what she wanted to do. It just wasn’t flexible enough.
Jonathan, who has been working back in the family warehousing and retail business for 11 years, after running a successful photography studio in London, suggested they go to a franchise exhibition.
“It was really to get ideas and inspiration; see what the next big thing was,” added Jonathan. “Whilst there we came across a High Net Worth panel debate, where Paul Watson, franchise partner and Platinum mentor, was taking part.”
It was enough to encourage the couple to talk to the team on the stand, and already having an interest in property and wowed by the HMO (Houses in Multiple Occupation) concept, they booked onto a Discovery Day the same month. However, their main concern was whether the model would work in Teesside.
Working closely with the team at the Platinum Head Office and speaking to nearby franchise partners in Newcastle and Warrington, Agnes and Jonathan were convinced they could build a profitable portfolio in their area. The only other reservation they had was the franchise fee.
Jonathan added: “We had the capital to do it ourselves, even if we ended up paying the price for a few mistakes. But we thought, why go through the pain of trying to learn it yourself when you have people who can teach you not just how to do it, but how to do it right?
We were also conscious of the pressure doing it on our own would put on us as a couple. Joining PPP would mean there’d always be information or someone available to help & support us.
They concluded that the fee was a positive thing and represented a barrier to entry that highlighted how difficult it would be to build a portfolio on your own.
The couple joined in March 2017.
Their first property completed refurbishment at the end of January. What was originally a 4-bedroom semi-detached house is now a 6-bedroom HMO with four ensuites and one shared bathroom. The plan for the next five years is to build a portfolio of five HMOs generating a combined £70,000 annual gross profit.
Jonathan added: “Being part of a franchise, the burden is still yours. But with Platinum, all the benefits are yours too”.
For Agnes, she has finally found the flexibility and enjoyment she was craving.
She concluded: “It’s a business I have been able to build around the needs of the children and I’m setting a good example that there is an alternative to having a job. I’m certainly getting more value for my time and this value could go on for generations to come.”
It’s been fantastic, everything from the mentoring to the bootcamp, Foundation Lettings Course & Workshops have been brilliant. There’s a lot of information to absorb but it’s been a fun rollercoaster ride.
Some of Agnes and Jonathan's properties:
RETURN TO PROFILE
Gertie Owen
Joined PPP: 2010
Portfolio Location: London
Biggest Benefit: Substantial income for life
Using a proven system for investing in property
Gertie Owen joined PPP in August 2010. After 20 years of looking after her children and being, in her own words, being “a lady of leisure”, Gertie wanted a new challenge.
As her children had grown into young adults, Gertie found herself with increasing amounts of free time. Around the same time Gertie’s husband was made redundant, so there was a potential need for an additional income stream.
PPP appealed to Gertie as it offered a proven system to begin investing in property, providing cash flow as well as a growing asset base. Gertie had no previous buy-to-let experience, but with support and guidance on hand whenever she needed it, PPP offered the ability to achieve the income she wanted with the challenge she was looking for.
Since joining PPP Gertie has bought, refurbished and fully tenanted four HMO properties and has just bought her fifth, meeting her personal target. Gertie has gone from having no experience of buy-to-let or HMO property development to the 2013 ‘HMO Landlord of the Year’, awarded by Landlord & Buy-to-Let Magazine. Gertie is in good company – the award’s previous winner held the title for the last three consecutive years and is a Director of the Residential Landlords Association.
Speaking of her triumph at the awards Gertie said: “The awards evening was really special, it was wonderful; I had lots of landlords telling me I inspired them to do more for their tenants, after hearing what I do for mine – and I’ve been a landlord for less than three years. It was a dream come true to win and I was delighted to have my hard work and caring attitude towards my tenants be acknowledged, I feel being part of PPP has made me the landlord I am. It taught me so well to be the best, and I couldn’t have done it without them.”
“When I joined PPP my 5 year goal was to earn £100,000 per annum. After just about 3 years I was already earning £126,000 per annum.”
Gertie believes what sets her apart from other landlords is the way she cares for her tenants; “I show it in all the things I do, from decorating all my houses at Christmas so it feels like home for them, to giving each tenant a Christmas present and also hampers to share. I take note of all their birthdays to make sure I give them cards and give them all eggs and cards for Easter. When doing viewings I always pick them up from the station and I do my best to match the personalities in my houses, so they become good friends.”
The financial benefit has exceeded Gertie’s expectations: “When I joined PPP my five year goal was to be earning £100,000 per annum, but after just about three years I was already earning approximately £126,000 per annum. That’s now nearer £150,000 per year so I feel a great sense of achievement.”
RETURN TO PROFILE
Kelly & Simon Merry
Joined PPP: January 2018
Previous Career: Teachers
Portfolio Location: Rugby
HMOs: Two
Biggest Benefit: Time for family
From science teacher to self-made and sustainable professional property investor
Everything changed for Kelly and Simon Merry when they had children. The couple had met at the school they worked at – Kelly as a science teacher and Simon as a systems manager – and both were highly dedicated to their jobs. When their first daughter, Louise, came along, Kelly found she was burning the candles at both ends; and by the time their second daughter Charlotte had arrived, Kelly knew something had to give.
She loved her job, but she didn’t want to be married to it, and felt bad that she couldn’t give 100% anymore. Job satisfaction was important to Kelly, as was being there for her daughters, but what alternative was there?
Assessing their finances
Both Kelly and Simon were on decent salaries and had made shrewd investments in their own homes when they were younger. Moving in together and subsequently upsizing made them accidental landlords of three buy-to-lets, all with low mortgages and a lot of equity.
Attending a Platinum Discovery Day and a meeting with the Managing Director helped Simon and Kelly to understand their wealth profile and finance options for starting their portfolio, which made their HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) dream accessible. However, it wasn’t until their visit to the head office that Kelly was convinced to join.
Kelly added: “That’s really when we made the final decision that it was the right thing to do. the point where we got completely sucked in. It quantified the size of the business and support available. We were blown away by the warmth, energy and positivity of the people who worked there. You could see they enjoyed it and I thought, ‘if we can’t join as Franchise Partners, I want to work here!’. The Partnership Team were also really helpful and patient, answering all of our questions and putting us in touch with the right people.”
Leap of faith
In January 2018, Kelly and Simon officially joined after re-mortgaging all of their properties, including their own home, to raise enough money to start building their HMO portfolio. And as early as purchase mentoring, they were able to see the value of the franchise fee. Kelly explained: “I was keener on a property closer to home, which without Platinum’s advice, we would have bought only to find out later that we wouldn’t have been able to extend.”
Luckily, they went sale agreed on another property just 10 minutes from where they live in Rugby. Kelly worked part-time until the refurbishment started on their first property. They also made some lifestyle changes and accepted that bigger mortgages meant they might have to give up on things like family holidays for a while, but that it was all for the long-term greater good.
Before the first property was even finished, Kelly and Simon had all six rooms committed to and are now achieving a 15.5% return on investment. Their second property, which will be five bedrooms, was finished in December 2019, after which Simon will give up work completely. He’d already gone part time to help Kelly manage the properties as they do all of the cleaning, maintenance and management themselves.
Giving back to the PPP community
Just 18 months after joining, Kelly was approached by Platinum to take on the role as a Regional Coach. The team felt her enthusiasm and willingness to help others would facilitate regular workshops for Franchise Partners in her area and therefore she now acts as a liaison between them and head office. She’s already working on the agenda for their next Regional Workshop and getting ready to welcome and support new Franchise Partners coming into the franchise.
“The change to our work-life balance has been phenomenal already,” said Kelly. “We can clock on and off when we want to, work around our family and friends and more importantly, provide consistency to the girls. We’re basically living and loving life.”
With their first HMO up and running, Kelly and Simon probably spend about five hours per week on management and while refurbishments can be more intense, they still have the flexibility they always craved. They answer emails and calls when they want to, have free weekends and go to sports days, help on school trips and are hands-on with school projects.
The short-term plan is to get to five properties and then after that, they will have the freedom and flexibility to make even more choices.
RETURN TO PROFILE
