When this company was set up we wanted to create a model which works for us, but is also appealing to investors. The easiest way to achieve this is to minimise your risk when investing in a property which we believe we have achieved with our reservation and purchase process.Of course it’s not possible to eliminate all risks but we’ve come as close as we believe it’s possible.

Of course it’s not possible to eliminate all risks but we’ve come as close as we believe it’s possible.

RESERVATION AND PURCHASE PROCESS

These steps work well to enable you to secure your property with least risk:

1. We don’t ask for money up front to start sourcing deals for you. (Our suggestion is that you steer clear of any firms looking for funds up front for ‘portfolio building’ and such like).
2. When we present a deal to you we will have viewed it and come up with estimated figures to complete the project. We will also get rental estimates and resale valuations from local agents. From this you will be able to understand the amount of cash required and likely return.
3. You are welcome to view the property yourself before committing. If it’s not right for you, that’s fine. Tell us why and we will keep sourcing until we find something that’s a good fit.
4. We will negotiate on the price on your behalf. We don’t receive a payment from vendor when we are acting in this capacity. There are no conflicts of interest.
5. You can use your own solicitor, or you can use one recommended by us. If you use your own firm we ask that you introduce us so that we can help progress matters if things log-jam. We do not receive a commission from the solicitors we introduce.
6. When you reserve the first property with us we ask you to sign our Client Engagement Agreement. This document outlines how the relationship between you and OHPI works. It protects our interests and yours. A copy is available on request.
7. For each property you will be asked to sign a reservation form. As part of the reservation process we will ask for £1000 commitment fee. This forms part of the sourcing fee which is due on completion of the purchase of your property. You send this to our Client Account where it remains as your money until this point. The terms of how these funds exist in the client account are in the reservation form. These terms state that if the vendor removes the property from sale, or if there is a problem with the title, or the survey then your money is returned to you. If you withdraw from the purchase because of a change of heart then your £1000 is forfeit. We believe this is fair to you, us and the vendor. Again, a copy of this form is available on request.
8. Your solicitor will ask you to provide them with funds to carry out searches and for their fees. Using the firms we recommend this will be around £850 inclusive of vat for a standard house conversion. The cost of a structural survey is £300 inclusive of vat for this sort of property. Until the point of completion this money is at risk. This is because the vendor could, up until the point of exchange of contracts, withdraw the deal. It’s unusual and not likely, but also not an impossibility. (We experience 2-3 examples of this per year). For larger properties these fees may be higher. For commercial to residential conversions they will be higher still. In our opinion these fees represent the risk element up until the point of completion.
9. It is the responsibility of your solicitor to ensure the title and legal aspects of the property are in order.
10. During the conveyancing period we will visit the property again. From these visits we will provide you with a final quote for the work.
11. We are on hand to help you through the conveyancing period. For each property our project management system generates 26 individual tasks that we track. That’s just before completion! No stone is left unturned.
12. As we approach completion we will be in touch to remind you to take out insurance on your property. In the past clients of ours have used Towergate Insurance. We have not needed to test their cover so cannot vouch for them, but they appear to have a good reputation. Again, we do not get a fee for this introduction.
13. Where a project requires planning permission we will aim for an exchange of contracts subject to consent being granted. This reduces the chance of you buying a property which you cannot develop. There are costs involved with the planning application. These could include employing a planning consultant and other planning fees.
14. All our work comes with the appropriate guarantees. For example, our damp proof courses come with a 30 year guarantee. We also only used certified electricians and plumbers. Once we have finished the work we provide you with gas and electrical safety certificates. We also work with the local council Building Control Officers to ensure compliance.
    Our builders are all insured. We only work with our own staff and bona fide contractors.
15. You pay for the refurbishment in stages. The first 50% is due at the start of the work. This enables us to buy materials, order kitchens and bathrooms, scaffold etc. and get the team started.
16. The next 25% is due after first fix electrics and plumbing. This is when the wires and pipes have been laid but not yet connected.
17. The final 25% is due at the end of the job.
18. During the refurbishment you are welcome to view the progress at any time. As well as this we open up another of internal systems to clients. It’s based on the Slack software which is also used by organisations including NASA! Whilst we are not putting rockets into space it still enables us to give a better service to you. In Slack we post pictures, comments and documents all in one place which is also searchable. It enables you to communicate with all our team more efficiently than email. You can download an app to your smartphone or desktop, or access via the web. For us and our clients it’s been a dramitic improvement to the service we are able to deliver.
19. As we approach the end of the refurbishment works we will encourage you to engage with a local agent. This is whether you plan to let or flip your property. We will make recommendations but you are free to use whoever you like. Once again we will not receive a kick-back from any agents we introduce.
20. On-going, we can provide you with a maintenance agreement to deal with any issues that arise. These are priced on a per job basis.

We hope this overview shows that we have thought through the process in detail. From top to bottom it’s designed to reduce your risks when working with us.

We are open to suggestions on how to improve this. Please just let us know.

Now that you have understood how we work please have a look at our current and previous deals or get in touch.