From Department Store to £20m Portfolio

Join Mark as he gives an overview of the current news stories around property including the growth of the construction industry and his take on the favourability of first time buyers and what targets we should instead be focusing on. Mark also talks about the current rent crisis and the impact of the cost of living on landlords, investors and tenants.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Historically, first time buyers keep the market moving and triggered economic growth but the favourability towards them with schemes such as help to buy have been detrimental in many ways too. The cost of construction has gone up by around a third, and this has created redundancies and collapses in the industry. Rent rises have surged post-covid and during this current cost of living crisis but Mark is seeing indications of this now slowing as demand is starting to reduce. Airbnb and other serviced accommodation providers have had a direct impact on housing stock. Some controls are beginning to be introduced but it’s important that these also incentivise traditional landlords to create choice and keep prices moderate. Building on brownfield sites is a key factor in meeting any kind of house-building targets but it’s also important that the targets are focused around the right types of properties in the right areas.   BEST MOMENTS  "For decades there's been the assumption that first-time buyers prop the market up” “First time buyers have become older” “Construction industry whilst not mended is probably on the way to being mended after a difficult period” “2020 was probably coming right to end to the previous cycle” “We should be focused on the types of properties being built in the right areas” VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Mark has been investing in property for 15-20 years, approaching the 100 mark in terms of deals made and has a 70 million equity stake in various portfolios. One of the questions he repeatedly gets asked, is whether it is worth using additional cash to pay of your mortgage or if it is better to invest it elsewhere. Listen in to this episode to hear his thoughts and answers to this common question.   KEY TAKEAWAYS If you are even slightly disciplined you should not pay your mortgage off. If you are worried about interest rates then look at fixed rate mortgages. If you can invest your cash somewhere else, you will earn more back on that lump sum than you will be paying in interest on your mortgage. Property is still by far the best investment opportunity particularly in terms of lending from banks; they will always give you a great interest rate on anything you borrow. BEST MOMENTS “Why would you want to pay of your mortgage if you can get consistently good returns by investing in your isa and getting much much higher investment returns”   “You’ve got to make your money work for you, no one else will look after your money like you do”   VALUABLE RESOURCES https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/   ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD   Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Mark gives an overview of the current news stories around property including new legislation and the recent budget. Mark also talks about the many changes around serviced accommodation, current house prices and gives his thoughts and opinions on why other markets aren’t investing in the UK. KEY TAKEAWAYS When governments reduce taxes, they generally find they receive more tax as people spend more in the economy. Other markets aren’t investing in the UK as they don’t see our companies as efficient of innovative. There are big changes happening in serviced accommodation, you will no longer be able to claim capital allowances on SA and much more planning will be needed for new serviced accommodation. There have been more changes in the property market since Christmas with some areas seeing 10-15% drops. It’s a fine balance between legislation to help renters and pushing landlords too far, reducing the rent stock further and making the problem worse.   BEST MOMENTS  "As you reduce tax rates, often the amount of tax you take increases” “The markets see our companies as nowhere near efficient” “You’re not going to be able to claim capital allowances on serviced accommodation”  “Inflation is now at about 4%, we need 2%, we were and 10%” “Renters reform bill is on the brink of collapse” "It pushes rent up" VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Mark Homer reflects on his 20-year journey to becoming a multi-million-pound property CEO. Hear how he started with naive investments abroad, learned difficult lessons, and shifted his strategy to focus on local houses with strong cashflows. Mark explains his role as a "conductor" in assembling teams for each project, shares current real estate trends, and advises aspiring investors. KEY TAKEAWAYS Focus on cash flow over capital growth for stable returns and safety during market downturns Assemble specialists for each project rather than maintaining large in-house teams Leverage permitted development rights to convert low-value buildings into prime real estate Retail properties are undervalued currently due to the rise of e-commerce Large-scale PRS apartment blocks are an emerging institutional investment class Keep debt below 50% of asset values over the long term for sustainable growth BEST MOMENTS   "So lots of investors are having to offload because of section 24." “I watched them make loads of money in a very short space of time. At the time, I had a friend who maybe bought something like 97, and within two or three years he’d made about 60 grand’s worth of equity." "I made a very, very poor investment. So I learned very, very quickly not to trust those who have a vested interest in selling me the property and to go out and do genuinely independent research to find out what something will actually rent for." "When I started in this sector, I was very much focused on capital growth. Capital growth is sexier to a lot of people. That’s probably, in reality, truthfully, where you make most of your money over the long run." "I also noticed on a much bigger scale that the wealthiest people in the country seemed to have made or had seemed to have invested their money into property. If you have a look down the rich list, the Sunday Times rich list that comes out every year, a lot of those were making their money from property." VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Mark hosts an informal session answering attendees' questions on property investing and business. Topics covered include managing tenant arrears, using AI systems, recovering securing finance, choosing property strategies and leveraging technology to remove reliance on people. Mark provides his famous direct, no-nonsense advice, drawing on his extensive experience. The session offers valuable insights for property investors and business owners alike. KEY TAKEAWAYS Pursue former tenants with county court judgments using options like winding-up petitions to pressure payment, despite the costs involved. Expect Bank of England base rates to remain around 4-4.5% through 2025 before dropping, according to trading market predictions. Resolve cladding issues for financiers by providing EWS1 reports showing remediation works address combustible materials. Get multiple assessments when handling property contamination like asbestos to determine actual risks and remediation needs. Institute gradual rent increases for retained tenants to keep pace with market rates and offset rising mortgage costs. Leverage technologies like AI wherever possible to remove reliance on staff and minimise people management headaches. Seek out self-motivated employees requiring minimal oversight to avoid poor performance issues plaguing growth. BEST MOMENTS  "I issued a winding up petition on a care company...it probably cost four or five grand, but it's existential for them." "I check our rents once a month...I look back and a block we finished two years ago...Those rents are now going up 40%."  "When you attack landlords...then rents have to go up to a level where it works again. That's the adjustment that's taking place." "I'm looking forward to that because apparently this can remove quite a bit of admin. I would put as much technology in as possible."   VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

In this episode, Mark gives his thoughts on recent property news. He talks about current planning restrictions, ground rent problems and gives his educated opinion about the new suggested help-to-buy scheme from Jeremy Hunt. KEY TAKEAWAYS Jeremy Hunt is looking at creating a similar scheme to the previous help to buy where the government helps fund houses for buyers, including on existing homes. The previous help-to-buy schemes were often overpriced and put lenders and the government at some risk. Planning is preventing much-needed house building. Until this changes we can’t tackle the housing crisis in the UK. There is a government consultation that has just been completed to cap extortionate ground rents for existing leases. BEST MOMENTS  "Jeremy Hunt is looking at reintroducing a help-to-buy type scheme” “It was a great gravy train for the developers” “They’re not building anywhere enough, due to planning” VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Two of the most talked about issues in the country in regards to housing, are how the next generation will afford it and the impact migration and immigration are having on the housing shortage. Mark joins Nigel Farage on GB news to discuss this and the promises of house building from the current secretary of state for housing Michael Gove. KEY TAKEAWAYS Michael Gove has said the government can and will override local government and council decisions around housing. Nigel Farage believes the single biggest issue facing the housing crisis is immigration. Rental increases are largely in part due to a lack of supply of housing. The government needs to present and show new ideas to help the lack of housing in this country right now. New towns are one of the solutions to the housing crisis. The housing planning system in this country is broken, being done at a local level it’s very political and this is detrimental to housing development. BEST MOMENTS  "For 2023 it’s unlikely they’ll build more than 160 thousand” “He showed himself and the government to be more out of touch with the country and the reality” “Rents have gone up 40% since 2016, since the Brexit vote” “Planning is the major problem” “I haven't seen any new ideas from Starmer” VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

In this episode, Mark outlines his predictions for property for 2024. He discusses the implications of the market in 2023, what he thinks will happen to house prices and rent rises as well as the multiple reasons more and more landlords are choosing to sell up!KEY TAKEAWAYS For the end of 2024, Mark thinks house price falls will moderate and stabilise Mark believes rent prices will continue to rise throughout 2024 There is less supply of rental properties and this is continuing along with population increases. Section 21 is mostly used by landlords when tenants have run up arrears. There is going to be a consultation taking place to split houses into two apartments which could be positive for developers. The government have confirmed that landlords won’t have to meet EPC rating of c in all properties by 2025. Which makes many properties more viable to property investors. BEST MOMENTS  "I think rent rises will continue through 2024”  “From 2016 to now we have seen an almost double of rent [prices] in this area” “Lots of landlords are leaving the sector because they can see the section 21 being repealed” VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Mark Homer reviews the biggest property and business news stories of 2023! VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/

Mark Homer shares the inside story of his largest and most complex commercial conversion project to date - transforming an 80,000 sq ft former Marks & Spencer department store into 99 residential units. He reveals the highs and lows behind acquiring the property, handling the intricate planning permission, dealing with the main contractor going bust halfway through construction, and stepping up to build it himself.KEY TAKEAWAYS Mark acquired the M&S property once he confirmed a national retailer was interested in the ground floor space. This substantially reduced his risk and unlocked the opportunity. After his initial main contractor went bust, Mark set up his own building firm and hired the existing site manager and subcontractors. This saved significant cost and gave him greater control. Strong health and safety processes including regular independent audits were critical for managing risks during construction. This documentation also proved invaluable when scrutiny arose. Gradually gaining experience across different commercial conversion projects enabled Mark to handle a development of this scale. It's not advisable to dive into a huge site as your first project. Doing the project himself rather than using a main contractor saved around 20% of costs (£2 million) and eliminated variations which can be painfully expensive. The building qualified for a government-backed bond which provided exceptionally low long-term finance to hold the flats. This rewarded his ambition and enabled him to retain ownership. Mark always seeks creative angles to de-risk acquisitions and reduce base cost. This might involve creating optionality around alternative uses, or leveraging tenant demand BEST MOMENTS   "Just graduate your way into it. I don't subscribe to this view of oh, it doesn't matter how big it is you can just dive straight in from day one on a massive project because you know you'll make a lot of mistakes and they'll be magnified on a big site" "By doing it myself, I think we saved at least £2 million So, that was worth that. It's about 20%? Yeah, probably. A little bit more? Yeah. That's interesting." "You really need to buy the whole building to make anything work" VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/ ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive  ‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/