How to get Started in Rent to Rent?

How to get started in R2R, my mission is to help you create a consistent cashflow, escape your 9-5 and create a life you love! Whether that is through rent to rent or not, I hope I can inspire you to chase your dreams and for you to start living the life you deserve.

The million-dollar question, how? 

Well, there is no right or wrong answer here and everyone’s approach will be different. 

So, how do you get started in rent to rent with no experience?    

1. What strategy are you hoping to invest in?  

There are two main rent to rent strategies, R2RHMO and R2RSA. Rent to Rent HMO is where you rent a property from the Landlord and re-let the property on a per room basis whereas Rent to Rent SA is where you rent a property from the Landlord and re-let the property as a short-term holiday let on sites such as Airbnb. It’s important to take the time to look over both options and see which one will suit you better, of course you can do both. As a company we do both R2RHMO and R2RSA however be prepared for a lot of work. 

• Know your stuff 

So, if looking at R2RHMO the first thing that’s crucial is to find out about HMO licensing in your area.   Do you need to know whether it is Article 4? You need to know what’s allowable, what room sizes, all the nitty-gritty, (There is quite a lot to it).  It’s simple to find out on the relevant Council’s HMO licensing webpage what requirements are in your area. I would suggest giving them a call and having a quick conversation on what is required. After you’ve done your research you will be able to answer the questions that both Landlord and estate agents will be asking you.  

• Talk and work with people who are experienced

I wouldn’t be in the position I am now if I hadn’t had networked my butt off. I have some pretty impressive contacts now and let’s just say that in some way or another they have all helped shape me into the person I am today. 

I see so many people having problems. Spending unnecessary money, buying bad deals and wasting time because they think it’s better to try and figure things out on their own! This is a very expensive mistake. 

If you don’t want to invest in training right now (We have never invested in training, so I completely understand) at the very least talk to someone experienced when you are having problems. What is a big problem for you is an everyday easy fix for someone who is experienced within that field. Don’t be afraid to ask. 

• Create your brand 

Essentially, this is about putting in writing everything that backs up what you tell people when you meet them either in person, email or over the phone. 

Don’t let this put you off from starting. You don’t need any of these things.  

They may just help you feel a little more confident when you’re going out to letting agents and landlords. 

Ideally, you want to have a webpage, a business card and a brochure. However, to be totally honest with you I only have one of these things and we’ve done just fine!  

By brochure, it doesn’t need to be professionally designed and printed brochure as that isn’t necessary and you don’t need this. What I mean is you write down exactly what service you offer on a Word document, because when you speak to anyone on the phone, they’re going to ask you to follow up with an email.  

This process of writing down what you offer also gives you extra clarity in your mind. It makes it easier for you to believe in your service and sell it which essentially helps you get more deals which means more money. 

• The golden nugget, finding an estate agent to work with you 

Let me give you a few tips for working with letting agents. We did this in the beginning to good effect, and we have got a fantastic relationship with one particular agent, in particular, who phone us on a regular basis with suitable properties.

There are different types of rental agreements when going through an estate agent.

There is ‘tenant find only’. What this means is that the landlord has asked the agent to find a tenant only and not to manage the property, the landlord just needs the help to advertise the property. 

Afterwards the landlords would manage the tenant direct without the agent. That’s great for us because it means we get to be direct with the landlord. All of our R2RHMO’s are now direct to Landlord which means you have a lot more freedom throughout your tenancy.

Estate agents also work on a ‘fully managed’ basis. This is when the Landlord has asked the agent to complete a tenant find as well as then managing the property. The estate agent will be charging at least 10% commission for this service. This your way in and how we work with agents. 

As when we take over a new property, we manage the property 24/7. We take on the responsibility that managing a property brings therefore the estate agent is still being paid a 10% commission yet aren’t lifting a finger!

A few more tips for working with estate agents: 

Start believing in you! You have to believe in you and believe in your service and believe that you’re offering something valuable to them. If that doesn’t come over from you, people won’t believe in you. 

You just need to be you. You need to be truthful and no BS.  Trust is built in the first few seconds and first impressions count. Think about how you can put your best foot forward and still be honest.    

Keep being persistent, keep showing up, keep building up that relationship. Keep calling or visiting, show that you are keen and are serious. Just simply ask ‘Have you got anything this week?’ 

Building up that relationship with the agent, popping in to see what’s going on and just keep really building that relationship up so when they do have something, that they’re going to call you first. I now receive calls from estate agents on a regular basis.

• Landlord Letters 

This is a popular one when it comes to HMO marketing.   To build up your HMO management business, you have been gifted with having the HMO landlord list, which can be found on your local councils’ website.  As mentioned above this strategy is VERY popular therefore you need to make your letters stand out from the crowd (Otherwise they are going straight in the bin). Most importantly make your letters solve their problems.

• My all-time favourite, networking!

That means tell everyone about your new business, don’t be shy. 

It’s also not just about going to networking events, although do go of course as you learn so much, and you get so inspired by hearing other people’s stories about what they have achieved in property, hearing other people success also makes it all so much more real, and it brings the dream closer to reality.

Do go to property networking events, but also go to business networking events.  At business networking events, you can practice your pitch where you’re really specific about what service you provide and the specific type of people that you can help, which helps people to refer those people to you.

When you’re at property networking, when you’re at the general business networking, when you’re walking your dog, when you’re out with friends, when you’re taking your children to school…  Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, tell people what you do. We all know people love to ask you what you do. It’s the standard question, isn’t it?  Make sure you’ve got a good answer, good enough so it sticks out enough that they remember.  

So now there is no excuse to not go and make a start, if anyone has any questions or comments please pop them below.

Bye for now….

Xx