The Serviced Accommodation Property Podcast

Register your interest in Serviced Accommodation Discovery Day here, and a member of our team will get back to you to confirm your place at your preferred date.

In this episode of the Serviced Accommodation Property Podcast, Kevin guides you on how to set yourself up as a SA company. You have to be competent enough to you earn more money with serviced accommodation properties. Kevin discusses the step-by-step process that you need to do if you want to do the shift. He also touches on how much should you charge with management fees and how you should ready yourself with Section 24. Be in the know, ready yourself, and create win-win situations if you want to be a SA Management.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• What is Serviced Accommodation Management? It’s similar to buy-to-let property management; the SA company gets the property from the landlord and then uses it as serviced accommodations. The landlord and the agent sign an agreement for legal and management purposes.
• SA Management charges a percentage of turnover, and typically, 15-20% is allotted for full management. That fee is what serves as their profit.
  • The SA management is also in charge of the payment for the cleaning, meet-and-greet, and any maintenance.
  • They are also in charge of the fees that posting in booking websites will incur.
• SA properties earn more during the summer months.

How do you get yourself competent enough to set up a SA Management?

• Do your due diligence on what works and what doesn’t for your SA.
• Rent-to-SA – Setup a limited company to operate it.
  • Negotiate the rent and deposits.
  • Prepare property insurance.
  • Get your photos done by a professional o you get more money.
  • Don’t go across all the OTA sites before you get a high average score on one know OTA website (i.e. Airbnb).
  • Get your own website so you can list all the properties you manage. If you can make direct bookings, then you’ll gain more profit.
  • Ready your own payment merchant account.
  • Consult and compare channel managers available so you could choose the best one for you.
• Rent-to-SA by landlords
  • All management agreements should have a break clause in place.
  • Explain to the landlord that you are going to be the tenant.
• Buy-to-let conversions
  • The property might need refurnishing or upgrading.

BEST MOMENTS

• “Target your guest avatar accordingly. No matter where you are in the summer, there’s more demand for serviced accommodation because you have holidaymakers and families and friends visiting your town and city.”
• “It all went wrong because the SA management company should have a good look at whether the property would work as a serviced accommodation in the first place.”
• “You get more from letting agents if you’ll be there best tenant.”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

• The Serviced Accommodation Property Podcast: Section 24, The Anti-Landlord Tax Explained | Omny | iTunes

ABOUT THE HOST

Kevin Poneskis, also known as the Property Soldier, has been a full-time property investor and mentor since 2011. This happened after he served the army for 24 years. He spent majority of this years in the 29 Commando Regiment RA and finished his time in the army as a Regimental Sergeant Major. Even during his time in the army, Kevin was already building his property portfolio and educating himself everything about real estate investments.

Right now, he is writing his book Property Soldier, in which 100% of the profit from the book will go to homeless veterans, and hosting The Serviced Accommodation Property Podcast which educates people who want to explore and earn from serviced accommodation property investing.

CONTACT METHOD

• Kevin’s Facebook

Register your interest in Serviced Accommodation Discovery Day here, and a member of our team will get back to you to confirm your place at your preferred date.

In this very special episode, become a voyeur as Kevin delivers a live mentoring call to Gurang, a standard landlord who owns buy-to-let properties.

Gurang’s long-term plan is to move into the world of Serviced Accommodation, and is satisfied with the advice he’s received so far. But he wants to understand certain SA management aspects and strategies better.

Listen in as Kevin shares with Gurang the secrets that have made him so successful.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• SA Management

Kevin advises that it’s way more beneficial to learn how to run serviced accommodation yourself on a few properties, before taking the leap into SA management on a grander scale.

• What’s the best strategy for finding Rent-To-SA properties?

Gurang favours the idea of enquiring through letting agents to find properties that might be suitable, but Kevin explains how this can sometimes lead to unnecessary barriers to entry.

Cultivating relationships with letting agents is valuable, but can take time. It’s sometimes best to go directly to landlords. Initially, it’s wise to build a stable of properties before speaking to letting agents, so that a leap of faith on their part is not such a requirement. They can see that you’re already up and running. Letting agents are far more attracted to established credibility.

Gurang favours this approach because of the ready-made pool of properties, as well as the fact that letting agents will have already determined the reliability of a landlord. But sometimes the perception of these things is not in keeping with reality. Landlords, who are often trying to avoid using letting agents, are the most likely people to have tenant issues due to not carrying out the necessary checks, and having no middleman to resolve disputes. If these landlords can be approached privately by those seeking Rent-To-SA properties, and providing guarantees, it can lead to a much better deal on both sides.

• Capital Investment to start?

This can range from zero to anything. Sometimes it’s possible to earn even before you’ve started, as per an example from Kevin’s own history. If the property needs very little in terms of investment, then it can be practically zero.

The flip side can be that the property may need rental payments, a deposit, tenant referencing, furnishing or refurbishment. The takeaway here is that every deal is different.

• Are there any clear advantages to accumulating a few Serviced Accommodation properties before you turn to managing others?

The benefits of this approach are incalculable,. By setting up and running a few, you’ll have the necessary infrastructure ready to take on others if you’re approached to manage SA properties. The profits might not be as much in management only, but you’ll simply be plugging these properties into your own systems.

You should, by the time you begin to manage others, have cleaners ready to work, laundry services in place, and accounting systems that facilitate your business.

• Juggling full-time employment?

Gurang has a young family, and is very interested in the kind of time commitment required to kick off his venture.

In Kevin’s opinion, people can become “busy fools” if they don’t prepare properly, or learn how to leverage. Having the right support network is essential. One strategy is to acquire the property and pass it on to a management company straight away. The profits are smaller, but the workload is far less.

It’s always about successfully outsourcing, growing and scaling in a way you can manage, and this is only possible by leveraging other people.

Another strategy would be source the entire deal on to someone else who wants to run serviced accommodations. This can be attractive as you don’t have to be operating in that area of the country yourself. These deals can be done nationwide. This is why Kevin also suggests making sure that you are fully trained in due diligence. You’ll find deal packaging a whole lot easier in terms of selling, but also in buying. You’ll be able to read the contents of a packaged deal yourself.

• What are the ideal qualities required in order to become successful?

Kevin identifies tenacity, enthusiasm, persistence, drive and determination as the key qualities required, no matter what the strategy. Leaving your comfort zone is not an option. It’s a necessity.

BEST MOMENTS

‘People can become “busy fools” if they don’t prepare properly’

‘Quitters never win and winners never quit’

‘If you want a different life badly enough, then you’ll do everything necessary’

‘Focus on what you want out of life. Use a vision board. Make sure you are focussing on it always’

‘You can make money or you can make excuses. But you can’t make both’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-serviced-accommodation-property-podcast/id1436005279?mt=2

ABOUT THE HOST

Your host Kevin Poneskis enjoys public speaking, travelling, exercising and keeping fit. He also enjoys working with a charity called STOLL which provides accommodation and training for homeless veterans.

Kevin was in the British Army serving 24 years, mostly in a Commando unit and retired at the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major. He left the Army in 2011 and became a full-time property investor. During most of his Army career, Kevin was investing in property and has been a property investor now for over 27 years.

CONTACT METHOD

https://en-gb.facebook.com/propertysoldier/

[email protected]

Register your interest in Serviced Accommodation Discovery Day here, and a member of our team will get back to you to confirm your place at your preferred date.

‘This quite wonderful thing called capital allowances’

In this episode Arthur Kemp, Specialist Capital Allowance Surveyor presents a detailed explanation of capital allowances, how they work for investors and the qualifying activities.

It is estimated that 96% of all property transactions haven’t maximised their capital allowances so if you are investing in Serviced Accommodation, Holiday Lets or other qualifying activities it's vital that you listen to this podcast it will change everything!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• What are capital allowances?

When you invest in your properties, in your business you can claim capital allowances on the assets you buy. Typically, these things are called plant and machinery and it is all of the second fix items in property, all of the things that make it work and are not part of the structure.

If you are making profits, rather than paying tax on those profits you can use the allowances to reduce your taxable profits to not pay any tax. Capital allowances also have an intrinsic cash value which helps you to increase the return on your investment.

You can claim the value of this plant and machinery as a tax deduction before you pay any tax. Often people buy a property and claim the capital allowances resulting in a tax loss that can be rolled forward against future years profit.

Capital allowances can be used against any other taxable income you have. If you are still in employment then the capital allowances you get from your property investments because they are owned by you can be used to offset the income you get from your job. You could potentially get back all of the PAYE tax that you pay throughout the year. This is utilising sideways loss relief against other forms of income.

• When can you claim capital allowances?

When you buy a property, you buy all the plant and machinery ‘the second fix items’ as part of the purchase. It’s the valuation of those second fix items that you can claim as part of the purchase price.

If you already own property capital allowances can be claimed retrospectively. Under our current tax system, you can go back and make adjustments in previous years. This means if you are entitled to capital allowances you can make the adjustment and resubmit.

If you are developing a property for SA you may not spend a huge amount on the purchase of the building e.g. an office block but will spend more on developing the property into SA. You will be putting more plant and machinery into the property and this is what you can claim on.

• Which properties qualify?

If you buy a commercial property it qualifies., but you cannot claim capital allowances on dwelling houses. A mixed-use property qualifies but if the flat unit is someone’s private dwelling that part does not qualify. Holiday lets and serviced accommodation qualify for capital allowances.

You can only claim capital allowances once in a properties lifetime. If you buy a house and convert it into flats it will not have qualified as a dwelling but will qualify as flats.

• If you buy properties from groups that are exempt from tax such as local authorities and charities then you will be able to claim all of the capital allowances yourself.
•  

You can claim capital allowances on any property that you buy around the world but

you must declare tax in the UK to be able to make a claim.

• 150% of what you invest can be claimed against

Land remediation

The bulk of capital allowances are plant and machinery but there is also land remediation relief – the single biggest tax relief the government offer. It's designed to encourage people to clear up contaminated land or buildings.

Any money spent cleaning up problems such as Japanese knotweed and asbestos qualify for 150% tax deduction.

Enhanced capital allowances

These are in place to incentivise people to help reduce the worlds carbon footprint.

Investing in energy efficient plant and machinery will qualify for enhanced capital allowances in large scale projects.

• If you’re purchasing a residential property do you have to put in planning before claiming capital allowances?

It’s irrelevant from a capital allowances point of view. It’s the way it’s been traded in a qualified activity.

• How can we make the most of tax relief on SA?

The property company will invoice the operating company a cost for rental, if this is equal to the profits of the operating company then the profits are effectively shifted into the holding company where you can utilise capital allowances to offset the profits.

• What are the rules if you change back from a SA to residential?

This would cause a disposal event and you will not be able to claim any further capital allowances.

• If I am developing holiday lets and residential on the same title do I need to segregate them to be able to make a claim?

The title status has no bearing on capital allowances it's about whether it is a qualifying activity if it is the owner can claim capital allowances.

• What is the situation if part of a property is SA and the rest is Buy to Let residential activity, but some plant and machinery are shared?

If this is the case the use of shared plant and machinery it is calculated on apportion by square feet and then a claim can be made against the qualifying activity.

• What’s the situation with a leasehold property?

As long as you have paid a leasehold premium its treated for the purposes of capital allowances in the same way as a freehold property.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It helps you to keep hold of more of your hard-earned money’

‘You will be able to look at a deal that may be unattractive to others and know that because factoring in capital allowances value it is a positive opportunity’

‘It will help you to look at deals in a new way’

‘Capital allowances has been around for 141 years in one form or another’

‘That’s perfectly legitimate and called sideways loss relief’

‘When you’re planning your property consider which is the best pathway for you’

‘Knowing about capital allowances is important even if you can’t benefit from it directly’

‘As a rule of thumb, 20% of the purchase price will be the capital allowances you can get’

‘Factoring in the capital allowances into a property can make a huge difference’

 ‘150% of  what you invest, that must be some capital allowances magic!’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-serviced-accommodation-property-podcast/id1436005279?mt=2

ABOUT THE HOST

Your host Kevin Poneskis enjoys public speaking, travelling, exercising and keeping fit. He also enjoys working with a charity called STOLL which provides accommodation and training for homeless veterans.

Kevin was in the British Army serving 24 years, mostly in a Commando unit and retired at the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major. He left the Army in 2011 and became a full-time property investor. During most of his Army career, Kevin was investing in property and has been a property investor now for over 27 years.

CONTACT METHOD

https://en-gb.facebook.com/propertysoldier/

[email protected]

 ABOUT THE GUEST

 Arthur Kemp is a Capital Allowances specialist who, for the last 10 years, has been servicing commercial property owners in this niche area of tax saving. Working with Mark Homer in this time on the larger development projects, saving tax by maximising opportunities for

Plant & Machinery, Land Remediation Relief and Enhanced Capital Allowances.

CONTACT METHOD

www.exactbusiness.co.uk

www.exactblog.co.uk

01954 253574

0845 467 2765

Register your interest in Serviced Accommodation Discovery Day here, and a member of our team will get back to you to confirm your place at your preferred date.

Before you start developing any serviced accommodations, it’s best that you have a projection of costs you’ll be spending on. You don’t want to be taken aback with what will hit you in the face if you see the sums of what you need to pay.

So, in this episode of the Serviced Accommodation Podcast, Kevin helps you build your checklist of things you should be putting on the planning table especially when you’re doing your budgets. He also gives tips on how to approach your accountant, your insurance broker, and your assigned ‘meet and greet’ person. Everything you need to be buying and acquiring for your serviced accommodation property should be on his list too so make sure to tune in to not miss anything!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Ask your accountant how much it will cost you to run your serviced accommodation property. You don’t need to have an accountant based on your town. You can just outsource your accountant and let him do his work remotely.
• Get a quote on insurance – e.g. professional indemnity insurance, public liability insurance, etc.
• Furniture and soft-furnishing:
  • You could be buying the furniture yourself.
  • Or, if you’re doing a buy-to-let conversion and were provided with furniture, check if they’re of a good standard and then consider if you’re going to keep them.
  • Go to property forums and ask around who’s the most trusted supplier of furniture for serviced accommodation properties.
• Cleaning and laundry:
  • Start with maintaining the cleanliness of the SA twice a week depending on the bookings.
• Decide if you want someone to hire someone for the ‘meet and greet’ with your tenants or guests. Your meet and greet person can also show how the appliances and other things work in the SA.
• Research on what broadband and other subscription plans are you going to get.
• Factor in the taxes and business rates that you’ll be paying when you start and develop your SA.

BEST MOMENTS

• “Explain to your broker exactly what your business is going to look like and they will help you and advise you accordingly.”
• “The really really important thing about meet and greet is that your meet and greet person can show the guest how to do stuff.”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

• Serviced Accommodation Property Podcast #016: Sourcing Cleaners For Your Serviced Accommodations | iTunes | Omny | Stitcher

ABOUT THE HOST

Kevin Poneskis, also known as the Property Soldier, has been a full-time property investor and mentor since 2011. This happened after he served the army for 24 years. He spent majority of these years in the 29 Commando Regiment RA and finished his time in the army as a Regimental Sergeant Major. Even during his time in the army, Kevin was already building his property portfolio and educating himself everything about real estate investments.

Right now, he is writing his book Property Soldier, in which 100% of the profit from the book will go to homeless veterans, and hosting The Serviced Accommodation Podcast which educates people who want to explore and earn from serviced accommodation property investing.

CONTACT METHOD

• Kevin’s Facebook

Register your interest in Serviced Accommodation Discovery Day here, and a member of our team will get back to you to confirm your place at your preferred date.

House-keeping or cleaning is one of the most valued perks of why people choose serviced accommodations. So, if you’re aiming to be highly-rated on this aspect, then this episode is for you.

Today on the Serviced Accommodation Podcast, Kevin, your host, reads an excerpt on sourcing cleaner for your SA units from his soon-to-be-released book. Your cleaners are your allies, your business comrades, and the people who hold the fort whenever, so it’s okay to be nitty-gritty when you’re choosing one. Kevin shares great talking points you can adopt when interviewing prospects.

Aside from sourcing cleaners, we also talk about how to choose your linens, furniture, cushions and how to manage the laundry. Make sure to watch out for the book to learn more.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Cleaning your serviced accommodation units should be one of the top priorities. Source your cleaners that you’re willing to work with and can stay for months or a few years.
• Get to know the cleaners you’ll be hiring and choose someone who can grow with you. Trust your instincts when you’re deciding. If you’re having doubts before they even get started, then don’t push through so you won’t have any regrets in the future.
• When you’re interviewing your future cleaners, make sure to get their quotes and make sure you lay out what you expect from them. This is a business relationship also that you’re getting into, so it’s vital also that both sides are acquainted of their expectations.
  • Ask if they’re VAT-registered.
  • Ask if how many hours will they charge you for the cleaning.
• Establish what you want them to do when they clean your units. You can ask your cleaners to:
  • Check the guest key if it’s where it should be.
  • Check the heating, primarily if they are controlled from the inside of the unit.
  • Check for the inventory and damaged or missing items.
  • Take and send pictures of the unit before the cleaning is done.
  • Make sure everything is working (e.g. lights, appliances, telephone, etc.)
  • Replenish spare stocks.
• Linens and Laundry for your serviced accommodation units.
  • Use white hotel-standard linens. Add colour by cushions and throws.
  • Secure 3 sets of beddings per bed.
  •  

BEST MOMENTS

• “There’s plenty of money to be made with serviced accommodations and the cleaning of them should definitely be paid for out of the turnover. You shouldn’t be doing it yourself.”
• “There will undoubtedly be some initial problems that you need to work through with your cleaners, but as soon as you have entered in a business relationship with good people from the outset, they should not require too much effort.”

ABOUT THE HOST

Kevin Poneskis, also known as the Property Soldier, has been a full-time property investor and mentor since 2011. This happened after he served the army for 24 years. He spent majority of this year in the 29 Commando Regiment RA and finished his time in the army as a Regimental Sergeant Major. Even during his time in the army, Kevin was already building his property portfolio and educating himself everything about real estate investments.

Right now, he is writing his book Property Soldier, in which 100% of the profit from the book will go to homeless veterans, and hosting The Serviced Accommodation Podcast which educates people who want to explore and earn from serviced accommodation property investing.

CONTACT METHOD

• Kevin’s Facebook

Register your interest in Serviced Accommodation Discovery Day here, and a member of our team will get back to you to confirm your place at your preferred date.

In this episode, Kevin answers a range of questions from a Mentee who is moving from Buy to Let into Serviced Accommodation.

Kevin shares his extensive expertise and knowledge, so listen in and find the answers anyone moving into Serviced Accommodation needs.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Do you need to inform the lender if you want to change how a property is used?

When there is a mortgage on a property you have to seek the permission of the lender if you are going to change how it is used.

Most agents currently don’t understand what S.A. is, so how you ask for permission is key; making the request in a different way (e.g. can I change the usage of the property to furnished holiday lets?) can help agents understand and achieve a positive response.

A lenders primary concern is that the mortgage payments are being made.

If you change a property usage from HMO or Buy to Let to SA the insurance product will need to be changed to ensure appropriate cover is in place.

• What Capital allowances can be claimed?

Relief is awarded when your property has qualified as a furnished holiday let this involves the property being available for 210 days.  A good capital allowance surveyor would typically be able to get between 30% and 35% of total expenditure as a capital allowance.

• Will the property change usage category?

Most people operating SA are doing it with properties in the C3 residential category  

The class will be C1 if the property usage is closer to a guest house with varied people arriving at different times and significantly more parking and rubbish.

BEST MOMENTS

‘There are always grey areas’

‘The appeal for people to use SA is because it’s a self-contained property’

‘Where there are a number of SA units in a town there still won’t be enough’

‘SA operators are going to become very attractive’

‘if you are assessed for business rates you may qualify for business rates relief’

‘In any town or city, there is always a demand for good quality accommodation.’

‘If there are hotels in the city centre then it is an indicator that there is a demand for accommodation’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-serviced-accommodation-property-podcast/id1436005279?mt=2

ABOUT THE HOST

Your host Kevin Poneskis enjoys public speaking, travelling, exercising and keeping fit. He also enjoys working with a charity called STOLL which provides accommodation and training for homeless veterans.

Kevin was in the British Army serving 24 years, mostly in a Commando unit and retired at the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major. He left the Army in 2011 and became a full-time property investor. During most of his Army career, Kevin was investing in property and has been a property investor now for over 27 years.

CONTACT METHOD

https://en-gb.facebook.com/propertysoldier/

[email protected]

Register your interest in Serviced Accommodation Discovery Day here, and a member of our team will get back to you to confirm your place at your preferred date.

TRADING OR INVESTMENT BUSINESS?

In this live episode Shaz Nawaz, a prolific property investor and accountant explores the much-asked question

‘What are the benefits of having a trading business over an investment business in property?’

 This is a fantastic opportunity to gain a clear understanding of the differences and how they are viewed by HMRC. If you have SA or are considering it listening to this episode is a must!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

HMRC use Badges of Trade to decide which type of business you are. Badges of Trade include;

The number of transactions made. You may qualify as a trading business if you have lots of transactions.

How the asset is acquired. This can determine whether you are a trading or investment business.

The nature of the asset. Whether it is a fast or slow-moving asset is used to help decide the type of business.

The existence of similar transactions. If you are buying, refurnishing and selling then similar transactions are taking place all the time and it’s likely to be a trading company.

If buying, refurbishing and only selling every 3 to 5 years then there will not be that many transactions taking place and it is likely to be classified as an investment business.

If SA is a long-term strategy, you could consider the LLP route. As long as you keep acquiring assets and accumulating capital allowances you are going to be able to write off the profit especially over the next 2 years. It is possible for you to write off a million a year and accelerate the capital allowances.

Anything that is part of and fixed in a building is a capital allowance this applies to commercial property and SA but not investment properties.

VALUABLE RESOURCES

The Serviced Accommodation Property Podcast

BEST MOMENTS

‘HMRC like trading businesses but don’t like investment businesses’

‘Entrepreneurs relief – you can have a trading business and sell for 10 million and only pay 10%’

‘HMRC interpret the rules in their favour’

‘Section24 – if you’re a trading business you can claim all your VAT, but you cannot claim if you are an investment business’

‘Sources of finance -Short term loan – working capital, Property – long term finance’

ABOUT THE HOST

Your host Kevin Poneskis enjoys public speaking, travelling, exercising and keeping fit. He also enjoys working with a charity called STOLL which provides accommodation and training for homeless veterans.

Kevin was in the British Army serving 24 years, mostly in a Commando unit and retired at the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major. He left the Army in 2011 and became a full-time property investor. During most of his Army career, Kevin was investing in property and has been a property investor now for over 27 years.

CONTACT METHOD

Facebook – Property soldier

Email – [email protected]

Register your interest in Serviced Accommodation Discovery Day here, and a member of our team will get back to you to confirm your place at your preferred date.

In this episode we have an amazing opportunity to gain an insight of the mentoring process in action. Kevin takes us through a mentoring session addressing how to start in SA as someone completely new. He uses his own knowledge and experience to provide a clear pathway into SA when renting from letting agents. An unmissable episode which demonstrates clearly the value of a skilled mentor.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Renting from letting agents

             Acquiring properties from letting agents is about properties that are good to go, 

             you can be in a position to move clients in very quickly.

• Traditional investment model

Buy a property involving deposit conveyancing, completing the refurbishment process then re financing to buy to let or an HMO. Lots of time and money involved in the traditional model.

• Renting from a letting agent bypasses all that so you could be showing in new guests the same day you get the keys.
• New to SA?

As someone new to SA it’s important to undertake steps to establish credibility and social proof.

Research – talk to hospitals, universities large companies in your area, speak to the person who deals with booking accommodation for visiting guests, employees, clients.

If you can get someone definitely interested you’ve got social proof that there is demand.

Make a website in advance of getting first units showing the type of rooms you are providing.

Try to hook up with other SA providers in the area

Air bnb easiest way to connect – if you’ve got client interest, they could take business until you have units.

• How to open the door with letting agents?

Will the landlord do a company let?

Initial question should always be will the landlord do a company let? – the letting agent will understand this and ask what are you going to use the property for.

Use your social proof when talking to the letting agent to help establish credibility and local knowledge

• Who will be at the property?

Letting agents will often think that they need this information as part of the right to rent checks. SA sits outside of the Housing Act and is a company let so there is no requirement a short-term tenancy agreement (which is for a minimum of 6 months)

• The company let agreement?

It is best to use the letting agents, company let agreement, but it will require some amendments, the most common being it’s not for your employees but your clients.

• Sourcing clients?

Always be honest about sourcing corporate clients through booking.com and Airbnb name drop clients who have already used these sites – its social proof most companies are interested in cutting costs through the use of SA and use booking.com and Air bnb to facilitate this. 

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-serviced-accommodation-property-podcast/id1436005279?mt=2

BEST MOMENTS

‘Get trained in SA and then you’ve got knowledge to use advice effectively’

‘Discovery days could be free – message Kevin’

‘Say to them before they raise it with you’

‘When speaking to letting agents name drop companies who you’ve spoken to’

‘If it was that easy everyone would be doing it’

‘Use your instinct depending on who you are speaking to’

ABOUT THE HOST

Your host Kevin Poneskis enjoys public speaking, travelling, exercising and keeping fit. He also enjoys working with a charity called STOLL which provides accommodation and training for homeless veterans.

Kevin was in the British Army serving 24 years, mostly in a Commando unit and retired at the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major. He left the Army in 2011 and became a full-time property investor. During most of his Army career, Kevin was investing in property and has been a property investor now for over 27 years.

CONTACT METHOD

Facebook – Property soldier

Email – [email protected]

Register your interest in Serviced Accommodation Discovery Day here, and a member of our team will get back to you to confirm your place at your preferred date.

This episode is a fantastic presentation by Ray McLennan about how to raise finance. He provides an invaluable insight into the way lending is organised and most importantly how you can find the funding for your project. This podcast is a must for anyone in who is a serviced accommodation entrepreneur.

KEY TAKE AWAYS

• The most common complaints from developers:

1 Getting funding

2 Finding a surveyor who understands

3 Refinancing

If you can’t get it funded and its under-valued, then it’s a vicious circle

and a lenders default position will be no if they don’t understand it.

• Key to obtaining finance is:

Find valuers that understand 

Knowing what’s important to a lender or a JD partner is crucial

Knowing what you want to do

• The element of work required in serviced accommodation is repelling people

But anything worth having is hard work. Like anything there’s an easier way and a hard way.

• The hard way

Banks, brokers who don’t know serviced accommodation

valuers who don’t understand serviced accommodation

• The easy way

Get a valuation

Talk to a broker who knows serviced accommodation

Have an exit

• Raising money for finance ebbs and flows, Lenders go to wholesale market looking for a particular percentage you can put an application in, but they might not have cash at that point.

There are individuals and organisations who want to lend you the money and Angel Finance will facilitate that for you in the best way possible

• There are people out there who want to lend you money you just have to be able to find them

Funding stack – when you haven’t got any money, different interest rates for different parts of the funding will be applicable as you will be dealing with different lenders.

• You can get out there and look for your own JD partners

People with pensions could seek its transfer value and its possible to get together with others to raise finance in this way.

BEST MOMENTS

“They want to lend you the money and for you to do the work and they’ll charge you for the privilege”

“The life of a serviced accommodation person is like that of an entrepreneur “

“Exit – may have to finance to get up and running, then re-finance if you have that in advance, it is so much easier to get first part”

“We (Angel Finance) think we can help to raise alternative funding”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

How to raise Money Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/how-to-raise-money-podcast/id1370319813?mt=2

ABOUT THE HOST

Kevin Poneskis, also known as the Property Soldier, has been a full-time property investor and mentor since 2011. This happened after he served the army for 24 years. He spent a majority of these years in the 29 Commando Regiment RA and finished his time in the army as a Regimental Sergeant Major. Even during his time in the army, Kevin was already building his property portfolio and educating himself everything about real estate investments.

Right now, he is writing his book Property Soldier, in which 100% of the profit from the book will go to homeless veterans, and hosting The Serviced Accommodation Podcast which educates people who want to explore and earn from serviced accommodation property investing.

CONTACT METHOD

• Kevin’s Facebook

Register your interest in Serviced Accommodation Discovery Day here, and a member of our team will get back to you to confirm your place at your preferred date.

Welcome back to another episode of Serviced Accommodation with your host Kevin Poneskis. In this week’s episode, Kevin talks through the different options for guest access and guest reviews. Kevin talks through everything from why meet and greet can be a really effective way for guest access to how to respond effectively to bad reviews?

Key Takeaways

Logistics: How do your guests gain access to the property? With all these options below make sure you are giving your guests clear directions, and instructions for each option.

• Leave the keys with Key Nest a company which can facilitate the key collection process with partner garages or corner shops.
• More prestigious apartment blocks might have a concierge who you can come to an agreement with around giving the guests your keys, or introducing them to your property.
• Key lock or key safe which is a box outside of the property with a combination lock. You can issue the guests the appropriate code for the lock and they are able to let themselves into the property
• An electronic coded locking system is a more expensive option but can be more secure. You're able to issue the guests a code to gain access to the property. The code is then changed automatically when the guests check out of the property. This can be a more secure option rather than having to change the code manually with a key lock.  

Why meet and greet could be really effective for you? Meet and greet is where someone physically meets your guests at the property. There is no right or wrong way for guest access but this can be a really effective way of gaining access for your guests. Kevin outlined that for his properties he pays a meet and greet person £15 so there is that cost to this but many advantages as well. One of the key elements for creating an effective meet and greet process is creating clear instructions and checklists for the person to go through. It is also essential at this point to have a clear check-in time, usually before 9am, and then charging for a late check-in. Make sure you source the meet and greet staff from the local area so they live close to the property.

Advantages of the Meet and Greet method.

• The person can check if everything is ok with the property. Cleaners can sometimes make a mistake and this can be an extra backstop.
• Make sure the property is clean.
• It’s a process for discovering any problems before your guests arrive.
• Checking simple things like where the remote control is.
• That the heating is on the right setting.
• Is there any maintenance that needs to be done?
• To ensure that the guests have left the keys where you wanted them to be.
• They can show your guests how to use things like the central heating, the cooker, anything that could be potentially difficult to use.
• An important aspect is to ask your guests why they are in town? This then offers a chance to understand your guests visit and book any future business. You can offer a discount voucher for there next visit, booking directly through your website to avoid the OTA charge.

How To Deal With Bad Reviews. Guests are a lot less likely to leave bad reviews when they meet someone in person. Make sure you respond to all of your reviews both good and bad. Make sure you don’t sound aggressive and defensive in your response as this can put off future potential customers. A response to a bad review should repeat any positives the customer mentions, acknowledge any concerns and thank the guest for the feedback. Kevin reads through some good and bad example responses.

Best Moments

‘Good reviews make you money, bad reviews lose you money.’

‘Meet and greet gives you a more personal service.’

‘Make sure you ask your guests to leave a review.’

‘Make sure you respond to all your reviews good or bad.’

‘Your meet and greet person can check any cleaning or maintenance before the guests arrive.’

‘You’re not going to be able to please everyone, all of the time.’

Valuable Resources

Key Nest: https://keynest.com

ABOUT THE HOST

Your host Kevin Poneskis enjoys public speaking, travelling, exercising and keeping fit. He also enjoys working with a charity called STOLL which provides accommodation and training for homeless veterans.

Kevin was in the British Army serving 24 years, mostly in a Commando unit and retired at the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major. He left the Army in 2011 and became a full-time property investor. During most of my Army career, Kevin was investing in property and has been a property investor now for over 27 years.

CONTACT METHOD

Facebook – Property soldier

Email – [email protected]