Interview with AFL Member Alfred Dzadey
In this blog post, I talk to valued AFL member Alfred Dzadey who explains House Of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) and why is it one of the best property strategies in 2022. If you are a beginner in property or looking to get into HMO then continue reading.
Question: Am I right in saying that you’ve been able to go from 0-5 HMOs using other people’s money?
Response: Yes, literally. In the beginning I was able to raise finance using other people’s money and that’s how I’ve been able to scale in the last few years.
Question: What was you doing before you became a property investor? What did life look like?
Response: My background was engineering. I graduated and landed a contracted job as a project manager. People I knew were earning 60k per month so after researching, I decided that I’m not going to wait.
Question: Would it be fair to say that you came to the realisation that life wasn’t as cracked up as you thought it would be?
Response: I loved my job – great team, great people, don’t get me wrong. The company was amazing, and it was a great place to work. I just wanted more. Everyone around me was happy with what they were earning, and I just wanted more out of life. I’ve always thought of property as an investment vehicle but never really thought of it as a business. So that’s where I got a bit of education into property.
Question: Where did you feel you were lacking and what areas in property did you feel that you needed to work on to get these results?
Response: I’ll tell you the story where I met Liam, it was through one of my friends at a property seminar, I loved the way you spoke, and I went up to you to see how we can work together. At first, I struggled with raising finance, confidence speaking to investors, how to position myself in front of investors and handling rejection.
Question: What was your main strategy in property? Can you explain what strategy you chose and why you chose that strategy?
Response: For me there were two variables I wanted out of property – one being ownership and second being high cash flow. Knowing these two variables limited the other strategies and it came down to HMO. Once I became clear on this, I went away and got the expertise in the area.
Question: Tell us how you stand out in your area?
Response: I provide luxury property. If you see my YouTube videos, you’d know that I put out luxury products and aim for young professionals, sometimes students as well. The rooms come kitted out with products such as a smart TV and people want to sign up to this as it feels homely. It’s important for us to attract the right level of tenant.
Question: I take it your tenants have an experience and it doesn’t just feel like a bed in a room?
Response: I try not to have smaller rooms and I want high ceilings and spacious rooms. The reason I wanted to go high end is because the market is moving into that direction. Nowadays people expect to have en-suites and TVs in their rooms, so sustainability is good for me. It’s all good making money today, but can you make money in 10-15 years’ time. You have to keep up to date with what’s happening in the market, and I think that I represent that.
Question: You are at 5 HMOs now. Typically, what will an HMO net you per month minus your costs?
Response: This might sound a little crazy, I’m achieving £1500-£2200. To put it into context, 6 beds are around £1500 and 7 beds are around £2000.
Question: So, you have your 5 HM0s, are you still employed, or did you sack the boss?
Response: The story is, covid happened. I was working as a project manager, and they told me that they was going to pause their contracts and terminate my contract. So, I said to myself, I can pick up a CV and go to another job but would good would that do. It was all a blessing in disguise, and I made it happen.
Question: How do you feel now being a full-time property investor?
Response: I don’t know what I was waiting for.
To watch the full interview, click here.
Before you go …
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