Platinum Property Partners franchisee tells her HMO story

Platinum Property Partners’ Head of Partnerships Natalie Windsor was excited to get started when she had the chance to become a franchisee.

It all began when Natalie’s auntie Sue relocated to the UK from California; she had some spare cash and didn’t know where to invest it. Natalie suggested they buy an HMO with Platinum Property Partners (PPP).

I could actually see myself doing what I’ve been telling people to do as Head of Partnerships at Platinum for the past five years.

They signed the franchise agreement at the start of October last year and started the mentoring programme in late November. It wasn’t long before they’d found a suitable house in Poole, and everything progressed nicely until the vendor pulled out of the deal. But PPP makes sure to support their franchisees; the next day they were on the phone asking about the next steps. Natalie said:

That accountability is crucial and for me, as a new franchise partner, it’s really nice to see first-hand how well our Partners are looked after.

The buying process of house number two was much smoother. The vendor accepted the pair’s offer 48 hours after it was submitted, and they completed just over a month later, on 12th March.

Our solicitors are Abenson’s from the Platinum power team and they’re so used to working with our Franchise Partners and undertaking HMO conveyancing, it really does make a massive difference to the timescales.

Next, Natalie and her aunt hired architects and builders to take a closer look at the house and potential changes.

Then came the second major setback - the start of lockdown, just 11 days after the pair had completed on the property. But they continued working on the house whenever they could, and adapting it for life after lockdown:

We’ve been looking at how we can make our HMO as comfortable and functional as possible for the people who will be living in it, from WiFi options to desks and chairs suitable for long-term use. Those things will also be unique selling points for us as a property business, as other similar properties in the area won’t be up to the same post-COVID standards.

PPP is helping to source furniture, and things are going so well Natalie has secured her first tenant - before the work has even been completed! Despite a few bumps in the road, Natalie is feeling positive about her journey so far and thinking about her next property:

There’s a checklist for everything, so I really feel in control of what I’m doing. We’ve been hand-held and spoon fed every bit of information we need from the mentors and the experts at Platinum’s head office.