From Hairdresser to HMO Success: How Laura Ackers Built Financial Freedom Through Property

This week, I’m sitting down with Laura Ackers of Haus Property, someone I’ve had the privilege to watch go from zero property background to a Manchester-based HMO portfolio that’s given her and her husband Dan genuine freedom. 

In just a few years, they’ve stepped away from their jobs, systemised the business, and moved their young family to Mallorca on a three-year visa.

Here’s what we cover in the episode:

• 03:46 - The Journey From Hairdressing to Property Investment
• 09:54 - The Challenges of Starting a Property Business
• 14:51 - Achieving Freedom Through Property
• 19:59 - The Role of Mastermind Groups in Success
• 24:47 - Case Study: A Standout 8-Bed Social HMO Project

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Transcript

Andy Graham (00:02.67)

Hey, I'm Andy and you're listening to the HMO Podcast. Over 10 years ago, I set myself the challenge of building my own property portfolio. And what began as a short-term investment plan soon became a long-term commitment to change the way young people live together. I've now built several successful businesses. I've raised millions of pounds of investment and I've managed thousands of tenants. Join me and some very special guests to discover the tips, tricks and hacks, the ups and the downs, the best practice and everything else you need to know to start, scale and systemise your very own HMO portfolio now.

Andy Graham (00:40.694)

One of the best parts about what I get to do is take a front row seat to watch people completely change their lives through property. And today's guest, Laura Ackers, has done exactly that. Laura started out as a hairdresser with no background in property, no big network, just a strong work ethic and a good plan. And a few years later, she and her husband Dan have built a portfolio of HMOs that has given them genuine freedom. They've stepped away from their jobs, they've systemised their business, and they are now taking advantage of one of their huge bucket list items. And I'm so proud of them. Laura was a masterminder and I've been part of that journey alongside her. 

In today's episode, Laura and I are going to talk about how she started, how she's built her business and what life looks like now that she has done exactly that. For anybody who dreams of changing their life, leaving their job, doing something different with their time, having that freedom of time and choice, today's episode is definitely one you want to stick around for. Please sit back, relax and enjoy today's episode of the HMO Podcast.

Hey guys, it's Andy here. We're going to be getting back to the podcast in just a moment, but I wanted to very quickly tell you that we have got a huge sale on at The HMO Roadmap. For a very short space of time, you can take advantage of a massive 20 % discount off our premium package, and that gives you absolutely everything that we have got. And trust me, there is more than you could possibly imagine. We are by far the largest vault of training and education and content and resource for HMO investors anywhere in the world. 

And it's not just built by me, it's built by you guys, our community. It's unbiased, it's transparent, and it covers absolutely everything. And it is so incredibly rich in detail and value. Just head to thehmoroadmap.co.uk right now, grab yourself that 20 % discount and start scaling your HMO property business today. Let's get back to the show.

Andy Graham (02:34.958)

Hi Laura, It's so good to have you here on the show today. 

Laura Ackers: Hi Andy, how are you doing?

Andy Graham: I am so well. What a real privilege it is to have you here. And I can't believe we've not sat down and recorded before. I have had the real pleasure of kind of sitting frontrow watching you build your property business and you're such a great example. 

I'm so excited to talk about this on the show today because I knew that there was something in motion with you in the background. I didn't know we were quite where we are with it. And I just think just so serendipitous that we can sit down and talk about that today. Cause it kind of feels like almost like the journey has been completed. The circle has been closed in a way, but look, I don't want to give too much away just yet. So Laura, you and I, we know each other and have done for long time. You are a masterminder. But for anyone listening to the show today, can you just very quickly give us a quick intro about who you are, not necessarily where you are just yet, but where the business is and what you're doing.

Laura Ackers: Yeah, of course. Okay. So thanks so much for having me on. I'm really, really excited to be here. I am Laura from Haus Property. I have to spell it, why I named my business a word, spelled in a way that nobody expects. I have no idea because I have to say Haus Property, H-A-U-S all the time. But I have a portfolio of mostly HMO stock in the Manchester area. Some of which is supported living, some of which is professional stock.

I come from a hairdressing background, absolutely nothing to do with property or this side of things at all originally. But I've spent the last four or five years educating myself and learning alongside you actually, obviously only for a portion of it. And yeah, that's me.

Andy Graham: Lovely. Well, let's go back to when you were a hairdresser, Laura. Let's start there. I'd love to know a little bit more about what life looks like then, because we're going to find out how life looks like now. But can you take us back? How did property come onto the radar and what did life look like five years ago before you started this venture?

Laura Ackers: Okay. So yeah, so I was hairdressing in Manchester city center for years and loved that. And then had a slight shift in the hair industry over to the sales side of things. I was still doing hair as well, but my main job was selling hair products to hairdressers instead. So there was a bit of a shift there. And I suppose a different skill set as well in that move. And then in 2019, me and my husband, Dan.

Laura Ackers (05:02.286)

went traveling, we took four months off, both of us got a sabbatical, we went away. And whilst I was traveling, I was just like, this has to be more than a one-time thing, basically. I knew we'd always travel, been on big holidays, that kind of thing. But for me, I was just like, yeah, this is what it is all about for me. So came back and just before we locked down in 2020, went back to work and I very much got the vibe off my previous employer that like, I hope you had fun because that's it. You locked in now, this is it. So.

When we did lock down, when COVID hit, I was furloughed and it really gave me the chance to have a think about what else I could do. Property was always something that me and Dan discussed as well. So it was on the periphery of my thoughts anyway. And then when I had the time to actually stop, think about it, do lots of research, et cetera, that's when things really started to kick off for me.

Andy Graham: I think it's interesting this, because I've sat here and spoken to so many people and that point at which something changed so many people, there seems to have been something and for you guys it was obviously that opportunity to go away and do some traveling again. Then I suppose that start for realisation, my God, I have to, we're to have to go home and just go back to our normal lives. And then when we'll be able to do this again, I can completely resonate with that. And Dan wasn't in property either. I just want to point this out to everybody listening today. You guys have achieved so much. We're to find out about that, but you guys really didn't have a platform to spring from in terms of property, did you? Dan was busy and working for a really cool company as well.

Laura Ackers: Yeah, his background was all tech and mine was hair and then sales. So yeah, no, neither of us had anything linking us to property. I do always think though, that there are some transferable skills because you need such a broad spectrum of skills within property for sure. That I think the sales side of things or the people skills and everything that you have along the way from previous roles can definitely help. But in terms of say like construction or anything like that, no, no, we were completely lost.

Andy Graham (06:57.998)

I mean, what do you remember about this stage and the point that, which you guys made this decision? Did you, did you start with a plan or was the plan at that point just to maybe figure out what a plan could be? I mean, how much did you actually know and how much did you need to go and figure out just to get started? Because I know a lot of people who are listening today and probably are in a similar position now themselves and wondering what they need to actually make that leap. And I just want to kind of get into how much confidence you guys have before you actually said, know what, we're going to do it. We're to step away from this and we're going to start doing this.

Laura Ackers: Okay. Yeah. Good question. So I think what was maybe slightly unusual for us is that we'd kind of thought about doing it off and on for a while, but never actually invested any time into figuring out how we would do it. So we'd been conscious to try and create a pot of money that we would potentially in our heads one day use on an investment. But when I was furloughed, Dan was not. And because of his previous role, if anything, he was busier than he's ever been basically. 

So he was full on working and I was furloughed and I was doing all the research. And when Haus was first set up, I did go back to work then once everything reopened, hair salons reopened, et cetera. I did go back to work, but I was by this point completely convinced that I knew that I had to do something else. It really wasn't from a financial point of view. It was from a flexibility point of view. I just wanted more flexibility. I would read everything I could, listen to any podcast that I could.

I would make notes on the podcast on things that I didn't understand and I would go away and research them. I was a hundred percent convinced by this point, this is the way that it was going to be, that I would be able to create that freedom. But in the early stages of Haus, it was only me involved. So Dan's work was really, really demanding. Mine was busy, but not in the same way. He worked across multiple time zones, for example, and I didn't. So I set Haus up. I bought the first buy to let and developed that.

Laura Ackers (09:00.082)

And then went on to buy a three bed house and developed that into a HMO as well. And at that point it was all just me. So every single element, all the moving parts of the business was all just on me. And then it was after that that Dan joined the business. So I really did need support. So then I went and found the support that I needed predominantly from Jade, who we both know, we're both friends with.

But through all any way that I could be educating myself on the property side of things, that was me, I was there. Even in the evenings and stuff. One of our friends says to me, that sounds great for you. Like she couldn't imagine anything more boring. I think it's great.

Andy Graham: I think what really strikes me there is that how you were obviously so committed to getting to a point where you could start buying property and I suppose learning and finding some advice and experience to be guided by was a key part of that decision. But it doesn't sound like you were certainly at this point half in half hour. It was very much we're going to do this, we're going to figure out exactly how to do it and we're going to just sort of make it happen. And also, remind me Laura, but were you a mum by this point in 2019. I know he was a bit younger, but it wasn't like you just had all the time in the world to kind of just build your business as well.

Laura Ackers: No, definitely not. And I went back to work. So for some context, when I was working, I covered everything from Birmingham upwards, the whole of England and the whole of Scotland for work and everything would, well, not everything. Sometimes I would take trains or flights, but predominantly that was all done driving around as well. So it was busy, long weeks, demanding weeks. I was also expecting my first baby, my little boy. And whilst I was on the refurb of the single let this is.

Laura Ackers (10:46.262)

And then we also decided to have a kitchen extension built at home as well, cause we didn't have enough to do. So then there was all the project management of that. So honestly, I could have walked away because of time issues many, many, many times, but no, I was a hundred percent convinced that that was the right thing to do and that it would be worth it. knew it would be worth it. I didn't doubt that for a second. So that's why I could just keep going and keep figuring things out day by day, week by week.

Andy Graham: I think it's always useful to highlight these sorts of stories because I know so many people are afraid of doing this and actually starting to try and build the business that they want because they are busy. We're all very busy and it is difficult. I think it'd be unfair of us to sit here and say that it isn't difficult and it's a huge compromise and a huge sacrifice giving up weekends, giving up your evenings and people, friends and family will probably think you're crazy.

But strangely, if you are committed and you can get through that and then start to engineer that time back, can, and sometimes, often quite slow, but it can turn the dial, can't it? So it's nice to hear you talk quite honestly about that Laura, because obviously you had a huge amount going on in your life. yeah, the backdrop to this is it was COVID and you know, the early years at least, and that was not a particularly positive time for anybody. Lots of uncertainty and off the back of that, loads of stuff like list trust and all the interest rates. And it was a pretty crazy time, wasn't it? So not lazy theory to build a business.

Laura Ackers: 100 % and even do you remember when all like the prices of everything like stuff for developments just skyrocketed or you couldn't get hold of certain things. I was like, why am I in a position where I'm doing one project at home and one for the business and no one can get a hold of materials or if they can't like people would charge it. I was like, why now? But I think it is, it has to be a huge level of commitment. But I also think I saw something a while ago saying that people

Laura Ackers (12:43.49)

that set up their own businesses that do this kind of thing are often like a bit delusional. And I feel like that really resonates. I was like, I can do that. I can do all of those things. That's completely fine. There was no doubt in my mind. And then occasionally I'd catch myself and it'd be like, wow, this is all too much. Maybe I can't do it all, but I've got to now. Like I've been at the deep end. So I think it is right to highlight it is so, so hard. But I think if you're a bit delusional maybe like me, then it definitely goes a way. It helps.

Andy Graham: I think like me as well, like you've just said something that no one has ever really said to me on the show before, but I totally get it. And I completely agree. I remember, and Gemma has brought this up more than once, but when I first met Gemma, I told Gemma probably off the cuff that my plan was to be able to retire at 35. And I didn't realize that actually for a long time, Gemma thought I was a bit of a weirdo and maybe completely delusional.

And then eventually she got to know me and realized that, okay, maybe he could do that, maybe he's onto something. But on reflection, that sort of stuff and the way that we often do think as investors and with the sorts of ambitions that we do, it is a bit crazy. And I do understand why other people that are not interested in this do think we're a bit crazy and sometimes almost want to distance themselves from us a little bit. Cause it doesn't always make sense what we want to do and what we're prepared to go through to make it happen.

Laura Ackers (14:11.384)

I think it doesn't make sense more than it does make sense sometimes. So yeah, I think you have to find your people, right? And you have to get a little group or some support of some sort that is full of other like-minded people that are maybe similar characters to carry you through that because other people won't understand it. And that's like, that's completely fine with me. Like I say, some of my friends like, I mean, that sounds fad for you, but it just would not be for me. But then everyone's different, aren't they?

Andy Graham: Absolutely. Well, I want to talk about that group of people, that support group around you in today's episode with you. But before we get there, let's cross the bridge from delusion to actually changing your life. Because I remember when we first met and you and Dan were really clear on what you guys wanted to do. Obviously you've shared that with us today. You obviously wanted to go away traveling and actually what you wanted to do was spend some time, quite a lot of time potentially living in a different country in a different part of the world. So tell us where we are at now, Laura, in terms of the portfolio and then what that has enabled you to do more recently.

Laura Ackers: Okay, cool. So yeah, so when I first met you then I was at the early stages of developing HMOs, always with the vision to be able to have flexibility and freedom to live somewhere else, whether that was for a few years or long-term, I didn't really know. I just knew that I wanted to go and have that experience and try it out. So, and since then we've developed out multiple HMOs. We've got some, like say that are supported living.

I know it has been a real buzzword the last couple of years, but something that works really well for me and my portfolio. And also some professional HMOs too. I've actually just, well today, had the valuation on a single let as well. So kind of come back to the single let's too. But this portfolio now has allowed me to basically have the flexibility and the freedom. And actually it's worth mentioning, whenever I was setting anything up or adding new parts to the business,

Laura Ackers (16:11.768)

I was always mindful. I always knew that I wanted to be able to step away from them. Not in terms of work. I don't want to not work. I enjoy working, but I wanted to be able to be not in the same location as them necessarily. So that was considered throughout the whole process. But a week ago today, me and Dan, and we now have two babies, all flew to Mallorca and then now this is our home for the next three years. Got a three year visa and we're all set up in the sunshine.

Laura Ackers: Wow. I mean, that is just so wonderful to hear because we would talk about this every single month and the plan and the objective. And it was very well considered the portfolio and the types of tenants and the systems and the processes and the people and what it was able to generate. Everything had to work to make this happen and to now be sat here opposite you while you are in Spain is so great to see. And actually I'm so pleased for you guys. And also I just think it's such an inspirational story to share because

Laura Ackers: Oh Thank you.

Andy Graham: Five, six years ago, was all just hope, of a dream really, wasn't it? And actually, I think when you put it all into context, it'll be a blink of the eye that the time that it's actually taking you to get from there to where you are now.

Laura Ackers: Definitely. It's interesting though, I was speaking to somebody a couple of weeks ago, just as I was approaching leaving Manchester and he was saying, does it feel surreal? And I said, it does. It's funny. It's like what's happened in the last five years has been like a series of steps. And the first one is thinking, I would love to have more freedom. And then maybe being able to kind of see a way that that could be possible. And then it was stepping into, okay,

Laura Ackers (17:53.366)

I can see other people that are in this position that are doing it or even that could do it. And I'm fully aware by the way, that not everybody wants to go and live in Spain or travel or go to other countries. Like for me, that's my goal. But other people that had built their businesses that would give them the option to be location free if they wanted to, even if they didn't personally want to, I could see that they'd achieved that. So then I was like, okay, so it is doable and these people are doing it. This is realistic. I can see that now. And then I was taking the steps to actually make it all happen.

And then I got to the point where it was, okay, here's the line in the sand. We can go, we can do that. But then you have to actually go, you know, like you get to the point and it's like, right, I have to pack my whole family up. Most of my belongings, leave everything behind that I know, my whole family and friendship group and everything are all there and I'm going to go somewhere new. So it was always well considered. It was always well thought through, but it doesn't make it not scary, you know, like when it actually comes to the moment where you're taking that leap and going super exciting, but also obviously very nerve wracking and everything all at the same time. It's a mix of emotions.

Andy Graham: I'm sure, but you're going to have the best time and you've earned it. And I think also just to add a bit more context here, you haven't said yet, but actually Dan's now full-time in the business as well. So Dan's been able to step away from his professional career, join you in the business. And actually before we hit record, I sort of said, what's the plan for the next couple of years then when you're in Spain? And actually I think the answer was really quite refreshing to hear. So just tell us about that or tell us like what you're to do in Spain for the next couple of years and what the plan is with the business. Because I think it would be easy to think that it's kind of keep your foot on the floor and more, more, more, more, more. But actually what you said was a little bit different.

Laura Ackers (19:44.876)

Yeah, definitely. I think I just want to kind of, well, we want to kind of sit in this moment and be really present and enjoy it for what it is. You don't work so hard to get to something, to want to be rushed off your feet constantly or, you know, chasing your tail. We just want to be here. We want the kids to have a great time. We want to slow down a little bit. We both still want to work and we will do, but we've just renovated one buy to let that was really nice extremely easy project compared to the HMO stuff. It's nice to do one after back to back HMOs for years. And I think for Rose now that is, will be the plan for going forward. So we've got three years here and we maybe do a couple of buy to lets a year, two, three but to lets a year potentially at the most. Really slow down, I'm conscious that we are doing things from a distance now and as much as we've got a great team at home and...

We could figure it out if we wanted to do more difficult strategies like HMO, et cetera. It feels quite nice to be able to take our foot off the gas and just enjoy things at a slower pace and just things tick along a little bit more nicely. I know that doesn't sound like very sexy, people want to be like, I want this many HMOs and this many thousands of pounds extra income a month and stuff. But like realistically, that's where we are. We've got to the goal or the first one anyway. We're quite happy and this is slow and steady now for us.

Andy Graham: What you guys set out to do and what you've just achieved is a very tangible goal that you set yourselves. And yet, of course, part of that is achieving some sort of number that comes into the bank account every single month. But actually it was very much a lifestyle thing for you guys. It always was. You both had good jobs. It wasn't necessarily that you wanted to be more material or do other things. It was just that you wanted to live in a slightly different way. And the big part that for you.

Andy Graham (21:41.25)

was just having the freedom and the choice to say, actually, I don't want to spend my day driving up and down the M62 or whatever it is. I just want to pick the kids up or drop them off at nursery or pick them up. Maybe do whatever you want in the day, which is really, I think really, really refreshing to hear. And actually I think most people listening today will completely get it and actually think, yeah, you know, I would love a bit of that. Let's talk about mastermind then, Laura. 

You talked about having your people around you. You were a really key member of the mastermind group. Yeah. They're such close environments, very intimate. You share lots of very personal stuff. Absolutely. Lots of very sensitive material and you seem to thrive in that environment. But I'm interested to know from your perspective, first of all, why you made that decision to join something like that. And then what sort of an impact you think it had and how it shaped the trajectory of your business, how it influenced what you actually did with your business.

Laura Ackers: Okay. So I come off the back of working one-to-one with someone that was helping support me, obviously for maybe a year or so. And that had been fantastic for me. It was definitely completely suitable to me at the very beginning. But as I felt like I was gaining confidence, I felt like I just needed to be surrounded by other people doing the same things as me. And whilst I'm a big advocate of networking, I always go to events and I'm always banging on about it to people. I think it just gave me.

I was looking for something that put me in a room with, I suppose, people that were taking action consistently, but that were also doing bigger and better things than me. And that felt quite important to me to be surrounded by people in those positions because I just felt like that was going to be the best learning environment. And I most definitely did meet some of my people in that room. I still see them regularly, message, voice, note, we have...

Laura Ackers (23:36.366)

a group chat and that kind of thing with people that I met in that room with you in Sheffield that have been invaluable to me and Dan and the business ever since then. And I think if someone's not done it, you can't really explain it to them, I suppose. That's the only way I would say it, but it's so powerful to have a group of people working towards similar things to yourself and showing up with them every single month. For me, it was a brilliant experience. I absolutely loved it. And it's not like it stopped the day that finished I suppose that's what's been lovely it's been a real, 

Andy Graham: Those relationships have continued in that support vehicle. And I think as you develop, so do other people, I always with the mastermind see it as an environment where the amount of value you can take from it is almost exponential because you've always got the spider web of networks and really sort of close associates all doing lots of really great stuff, very active and they've all got their sort of important contacts that you can tap into via them. 

And it gives you this order of magnitude, more opportunities in all sorts of ways. And then sometimes just sitting across the table from people who are experiencing similar problems, but perhaps in a different location, people who have got different goals, people who've got different perspectives. I think it pushes you and I think it challenges you. And I think it makes you see things in a different way sometimes, which can be a very useful exercise.

Laura Ackers: Oh definitely. Yeah. Yeah. And I think it's nice, you know, because everyone's like, I always use the phrase about people being a cheerleader. I think everyone in there is always cheering each other on in a really positive way and that's continued too. So I see somebody else do something great or finish a project that I know has been difficult or get around a planning issue or whatever it may be. And I'm so happy for them. And I'm always the first person to say that I am, but that's reciprocated too. And I think it is just.

Laura Ackers (25:28.8)

support as well as knowledge, information, education, training. There's just that feeling of, but you've got someone that's on your side as well. You've got cheerleaders.

Andy Graham: Definitely. And I think because there's a huge amount of mutual respect in a room like that, people also aren't afraid to share their opinion. If they think it's in your best interest, perhaps actually don't do that deal. Or perhaps maybe don't structure it like that way. Or perhaps you've got that one wrong. And I think that that's so important to have because with friends and family, as much as we love them, if they're not property people. Yeah. They do just want to please us and they want to say the nice thing. And sometimes that's actually not what we want to hear, right? But it's not necessarily what we need to hear.

Laura Ackers: best thing for you. Yeah, a hundred percent. Yeah. think I've asked questions before and been told multiple times, why would you go about it that way? Why would you try this? Why wouldn't you just do this? It's so much simpler. I'm like, yeah, why didn't I think, you know, even just small things like that saves you time and effort if nothing else.

Andy Graham: I think that's also a really good point. Sometimes the solution is so much quicker to get to if you've just got some key people like that around you and you can all kind of brainstorm a problem, put it on the table, dig into it, pull it apart. And I think in a game like this where 95% of things move at a snail's pace, the other 5% of things that we do have more control on, if we can act quickly, we can get such

Andy Graham (26:53.102)

better results for them, or we could potentially kind of stem a bleeding neck problem very quick, which in property, for example, like a really bad tenant and the sort of tenants that just, you know, I remember you had one as well, like just causing such a nuisance and you just don't know the quite the best way to go about dealing with them. And someone says, like, I've dealt with this before or I run a big agency. Here's exactly what we would do. And all of a sudden, you know what, that probably save you months and thousands of pounds. Thanks very much.

Laura Ackers: Yeah, because as well, I came from a team. I think there was about 16, 17 people on the team that I worked with in previously. So when you go from that to either working on your own or with your other half, that's a real shift in itself. So to feel like you've got some sort of a team as well for me is very reassuring. I do really like it.

Andy Graham: You very kindly shared a case study with us recently, which will be live in the HMO roadmap soon. It's incredible. It's an eight bed. I'd love to just pick at this a little bit Laura, just to find out a little bit more about the deal, how you put it all together. So can you tell us about this? This is one of your more recent projects, but I think I'd say a real standout projects as well. It really is pretty incredible. Can you tell us about how you found this deal Laura? Was it built on market? Was it something that now someone introduced you to on the market. How did you get your hands on it in the first place?

Laura Ackers: So this was bought in auction and it was advertised on Rightmove. It wasn't a secret or anything. It wasn't off market, but it was in an auction where there was an awful lot of properties uploaded into the same online auction all on the same day because one portfolio land board was offloading his whole portfolio in one go. This is what it transpired to be once we did a bit of digging. So the property was purchased in that way. We did have some issues prior to.

Laura Ackers (28:41.534)

actual auction date because we're struggling to gain access. This was the tenant and I don't know if this was the one that you're referring to that we had trouble with from before we even purchased it. So that was how it was sourced. It was an auction property. There was nothing magical to the actual source inside of it, but it was a five bedroom property, which in our area we knew was quite unusual. The square meterage of it in itself, the location, et cetera, was perfect and a really, really exciting prospect for us.

Andy Graham: So if I remember rightly, paid about 195,000, so just under 200 grand. Yeah. Plus your cost. And then you did a whopping refurb of it, like a really big refurb. Like the refurb was more than you bought the property for, I think.

Laura Ackers: Yeah. Yeah. So we had a few structural issues to deal with. First of all, the cellar was there, so then all needed tanking, converting, et cetera. The ground floor and the first floor needed reconfiguring. We dormered the loft and created like a huge amount of space up there. Huge, huge dormer. Two large bedrooms, two bathrooms, et cetera. So yeah, the refurb costs, well, renovation costs were much higher than anything I'd done before.

There were moments during that build and I was like, oh gosh, oh gosh. I still have to remind myself that it's all going to be fine. We know what we're doing here. Give myself a little pep talk, but yeah, it was definitely a big level up that project.

Andy Graham (30:04.78)

Well, I'm sure you don't need a reminder of the numbers, but I'm going to remind you anyway, because I've got them in front of me now. So you were all in for somewhere over 400,000. Yeah. Low 400s. And when it came to revaluing this, you got it revalued at 545,000, which is just superb. Like, I mean, that is really, really incredible. And I think actually, this is one thing that I say to my clients a lot.

Property is a really tough kick because it's very, very capital intensive. You do have to speculate an awful lot if you want to make some money. So in your case, you speculated over 400,000 and then you made a big chunk off the back of that. Obviously you took advantage of the commercial valuation there, a huge upside, a huge equity gain on a project like that and a real cash cow. Now, Laura, was this a project that you designed for your sort of social housing strategy?

Laura Ackers: So this one, previously I'd known exactly this property I'm sourcing. I'm looking at this, this would be perfect for professionals or this would be perfect for supported living. And it was a real conscious decision with this project, Haus Stanford, as I refer to it. It was a funny one because we could have gone either way with it. We had both options available to us. And so it was a decision based on who, if the right supported living provider came along and we got the right people essentially, then we were happy to do it. If not, we would have kept it ourselves, but it has been given to a care provider. So this isn't one that we'd have professionals in, but it suits the end user perfectly. 

And I know this is something that we've talked about in the mastermind as well about the property has to suit the end user. It has to suit the tenant. You can't just build it and then hope to find the right person. So because we were in the build stage, we could involve them in that process. The care provider makes sure that it suited all their purposes and it was just felt like the right choice for us.

Andy Graham (31:59.022)

I think that's a really useful piece of advice to share Laura, because we would love to think wouldn't we, that everything, all those drugs have to be in a row before we start. And actually in this example, some of those conversations started to happen during the build phase and then you were able to adapt and manage. And I guess there was always the possibility of risk that that provider wouldn't have been there or maybe they would have wanted something slightly different. But I think having the faith that, you know, you're just in the market, you're active, it will start conversations by virtue of just being in it, things will happen. 

I think it's really important as an investor. And I think often we're quite mechanical and we would love to think that the outcome should be quite predictable every time. And sometimes I think we've just got to be able to accept that hopefully some other things will just happen through the course of the project or through the course of building the business this year. And this is a really great example. And obviously it's worked incredibly well for you guys, especially alongside your plans to leave the country.

Laura Ackers: Yeah, definitely. It has done. I think we always need a plan B and a plan C, right? So there was always going to be other things that we could have done and actually it would have suited the professional market, excuse me, equally as well. But with the view of not being in the country, wanting to have the flexibility and freedom, although they aren't hands off as people like to say them, but we're supposed to live in stuff is completely hands off. It's not completely, but it's definitely more than eight tenants in a professional HMO would have been, you know, when I compare the two. yeah.

Andy Graham: Yeah. I think just having that open-mindedness and I think if you can find deals or structure deals where you have got these multiple options, they are by far the best deals. That's the sort of stuff I like to buy myself. like to buy things that have got a garden, even though they're a pain to maintain. I like to buy things that have got parking. I prefer to buy things that are semi-detached if I can, just because they're bit more desirable on the market. And I like things that if it wasn't a HMO, a family could just move in and I could sell it or whatever.

Laura Ackers (33:53.26)

Yeah, exact same conversations that I've been having over the past couple of years as well. I think it's so important not to just pigeonhole one property. I want the garden, the view for it to be a family house, et cetera, just in case it does feel a little bit more secure to me, a bit safer.

Andy Graham: I don't want give too much more about your case study away. It's inside the HMO roadmap. So all of our listeners can go and check it out. Head to theHMO roadmap.co.uk. But I mean, if you want to see what a 220,000 pound refurb looks like, go and look. If you want to see how to optimize floor plans on a HMO of this sort of size, go and look at it. And if you want to see something that honestly just looks incredible, and I don't want anybody to think for a second because it's social housing, that this looks anything but top quality.

You've got to go and check it out. It's a really, really incredible project. Laura, before we wrap up, I want to take you back again and just close this circle. Now, obviously we went back and you talked about before you got into property, you talked about the journey to where we are now. Looking back and considering everything that you've had to deal with, the ups and downs and the challenges, what would you say has been the bit that has tested you the most, that has perhaps surprised you the most about all of this?

Laura Ackers: I think what's really surprised me was it felt very slow at the beginning, till it was one bite a layer, waited till that was finished, refinanced it then, sourced something that could be a HMO, then developed that, that felt like it took ages because I had no idea how long these things actually take. And people had said to me, you know, you'll find that the momentum picks up and that all of a sudden things are going much more quickly than you'd anticipated. For me, that was definitely a surprising element of this journey, you know, at the beginning, okay, property day-to-day feels slow. There's no doubt about that. But we're coming from that first property to where we are now. It did just seem to, it went so quickly after a while to the point where I remember we had two completions on the same day at one point for properties and things like that. I would never have felt at the very beginning would be possible for me to handle. Yeah, there I was handling it. So I think.

Laura Ackers (36:03.114)

The education piece definitely helped me, but I think just throwing myself in it, being a bit delulu and just getting on with it meant that the speed was there and that's what's taken me by surprise.

Well, I'm so glad that you took it all in its stride and you just kept putting one foot in front of the other. And I've watched you do better and better projects, raise more and more money and build a really, really fantastic business that is ultimately let you move to Spain. So well done to you guys. I know how hard you worked and you did all of this with two babies in tow in the end. I remember how very pregnant and mastermind and

Laura Ackers: Very pregnant

Andy Graham: And so you've really kind of done exactly what you set out to do. And the really cool thing about this now is that that platform is for you to do with whatever you like. It is a springboard to do absolutely anything, whether that's just continue enjoying this new pace of life, whether it's to at some point pick that up and do more projects or do different types of projects, whatever it is. But I'm certainly really excited to see what that does look like for you guys. 

Laura, for anyone who is listening today, and I'm sure it is many people that is inspired, encouraged, and wants to follow your journey, maybe even wants to reach out and look at whether or not there might be a way to work with you. Where is the best place for them to find you?

Laura Ackers (37:21.742)

Typically Instagram is where I spend most time. So my profile on there is house, spelled @haus_property_ And I also have a website, hausproperty.co.uk. People want to go and maybe have look a bit more in a bit more detail of the portfolio and that kind of thing. Questions, anybody wanting to send any messages or anything, Instagram is definitely the best place for that.

Andy Graham: And last question, promise, but when is the moving in party?

Laura Ackers: Yeah, well, I would absolutely love to see you over here. If you think you're the first person that's asked me that Andy, you are very wrong because you would be in good company with Brian and Lauren and Hamza and loads of other people that we've met. Absolutely. Everyone's keen to get over. yeah, it would be lovely to see you over here in the sunshine at some point.

Andy Graham: Well, I think a mastermind reunion over there sounds just perfect to me. Perfect. Laura, thank you so much for joining me on show. It's been an absolute pleasure. So pleased for you and Dan and really, really, really excited to watch you enjoy your kind of new life out there in the sun.

Laura Ackers: Perfect, thanks Andy, thanks so much.

Andy Graham (38:35.086)

That is it for today's episode guys. Thank you so much for tuning in. I hope you enjoyed that conversation with Laura and I. I know I certainly did. What an incredible and wonderful and inspiring story that was. And I think it just goes to show again, if you work hard, if you are prepared to commit and persist and you're dedicated and you're willing to compromise and sacrifice, then you really can achieve some incredible things in relatively short space of time. I think Laura's story is really honest, very grounded.

And Laura is so genuine and I'm so proud to see what she's achieved over the short space of time that she has been doing this. Now, if you have been inspired by Laura's journey and you want to do the same, if you want to replicate Laura's success, leave your job, change your life, then there are a few ways that I can help you. The first thing to do is head over to thehmoroadmap.co.uk right now.

Get inside the membership and learn everything you possibly can about HMOs. It's all waiting for you inside the HMO roadmap, including case studies like Laura's that we've discussed today and over 80 more. Lift your base level of knowledge, develop your confidence and get moving. 

The second thing you can do is join the HMO community. Now this is free, over 10,000 of us now, that's lots of people on hand every single day to offer guidance, advice, support, and lots of inspiration and lots of ideas.

And if you're an experienced investor, come and share your ideas too. Now, if you really want to step things up and if you're ready to take this serious and you're looking for some accountability, somebody to hold your hand, a way to accelerate the process, then you might be ready to join my mentorship program. Now, I can only work with a very small number of people at any one time. So my program is application only. But if you head to thehmoroadmap.co.uk, you will see a navigation bar for mentorship and you can drop an enquiry on there.

Or you can just drop me a DM directly on Instagram and I will come straight back to you and we can get a call arranged. That is it guys. Thank you again for tuning in today. If you've enjoyed the show, please, please, please leave a quick review. Let us know what you think. But if you value it, if you're learning, if you're enjoying it, we would love to know. And your positive reviews help us continue to spread the message about all the great stuff you guys out there in our community are doing. And of course, it makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside when we see those five stars.

Andy Graham (40:52.62)

That is it guys. Don't forget, I'll be right back here in the very same place next week. So please join me then for another installment of the HMO podcast.