Join us in tracking Michal Kuziorowicz's ongoing journey into property investment. With 13 deals secured in 12 months Michal certainly is keeping busy. Here Michal talks to us about managing the complexities of one of his HMO development: evolving a 3-bedroom house into an 11-bed, high-spec HMO, aiming far above standard norms. His collaboration with The HMO Platform mastermind group is a critical factor in his journey, demonstrating the impact of mentorship and forward-thinking in property investment. Discover how Michal's innovative strategies are setting new benchmarks in the HMO landscape.

Read the interview below

Tell us about yourself and business. 

"Hi all, my name is Michal Kuziorowicz and I'm the co-owner and director of Headway Property Investments. We've been up and running for about three years now and we've got a small portfolio of buy-to-lets and HMOs spread across Yorkshire to London."  

Tell us about the deal. 

How did you find it? 

"I came across this deal on Rightmove actually, and it was a very very good house from the very first glance. So, I rang the agent, but I couldn't get a viewing. So, I offered the asking price. The agent was very surprised. A day later they managed to sort out the viewing for me. And I learnt there were about 30 offers by the time I did that viewing. I knew at that stage I had to do something extra to get that deal.  

I really wanted that deal and the agent said you've got two days for the offer to be in. And I panicked a little bit. So, I contacted Niall and Matt because at the time I was part of The HMO Platform mastermind group.  Within an hour I was on the phone with Matt and we were going through the deal and all the numbers, all potential problems. And Matt said like ‘yeah, go for it’. And the thing with this deal, it's big.  

This property is currently a 3-bed house and it will be converted into an 11 bed HMO. Nothing like what we've done so far. It is massive and it was massively out of our comfort zone. But Matt said like, ‘go for it. We'll do it’. So, he gave me a lot of confidence actually, to go and do it. Yeah, we offered. I created a very nice-looking offer pack and a few days later, we had an offer accepted on it."

How are you financing it? 

"To finance this deal, we approached a senior lender, they gave us a bridge at 75% loan to value. The deposit comes from refinancing our other HMO. The refurb will be covered by an angel investor. The house is currently a 3-bed semi-detached house and we have a plan to convert that into an 11 bed, high-end Next Level HMO."  

Purchase Price?  

"Purchase price on this property is £185k; the refurb on it will be in the region of £210k and GDV will be between £450k to £480k."

What’s your exit strategy? 

"In regards to exit strategy, after the conversion to 11-bed, we are going to approach a commercial lender and refinance on to a commercial valuation and this will allow us to pull most of the money out from the deal, so we can go and do it again."

What is the strategy? 

"So, this house will be converted into an 11-bed Next Level HMO and this will include 11 ensuites in every single room. The design will be really high. The communal area will be in the in the region of 45 square meters, so way above any HMO standards in the local council.

To achieve this, we're going to wrap this house with extensions and this will include a 2-storey extension to the side and double storey extension to the back of the property. The communal area in this house will be in excess of 45 square meters which will be way above any HMO standards in the local council. This is important for us because an area like that will allow tenants to cook comfortably but at the same time, relax and socialise together. And that's what we really want to build into our HMOs; the feel of community."

Tell us about your experience with The HMO Platform

How has being a part of the mastermind group helped you with this deal? 

"So, on the mastermind, Matt & Niall teach us to go beyond with room sizes, and anything really. So, for example, in this property the smallest room will be 11 square meters and the largest room will be 14 square meters plus ensuites, of course, and again, this is way above any HMOs standards in this local council. By creating generous spaces, tenants tend to take the rooms after first viewing and stay for much, much longer.  

If I found this deal outside The HMO Platform, I wouldn't be confident enough to tag on it. Luckily, Matt and Niall were by my side so we could assess the deal and they gave me the confidence to actually go ahead." 

What would you tell someone who’s thinking about joining? 

"Although I've been involved with HMOs for the last 3 years, and I've been on the mastermind for about six months now, I feel like we've made more progress in the last six months than the previous two and a half years."