One of the biggest problems that I hear from people when they start investing in HMOs is that they don’t have any money. They think that they can’t invest or do rent to rent or do anything. They feel completely stuck. 

The biggest problem that they have is NOT that they don’t have any money but that they don’t know how to find money. In fact many people who say they want to start investing DO have money! They’re nervous and fearful about using it to invest with. It’s their pension, or savings, or back-stop. So they start by thinking that the only way they can invest is by using other people’s money. 

I love using other people’s money. In fact it was only by using other people’s money that I grew my business from two to over twenty HMOs. But I realised that in order to put my money where my mouth is I had to start by using my own money; my own resources; my own confidence.

If you have resources that you’re not willing to use, because you’re fearful and don’t really believe that what you’re doing is going to work, do you think an investor will be willing to work with you?  What money do you already have that you’re not prepared to use yet? If you’re not prepared to use your own resources, that demonstrates a lack of belief in what you’re doing. If you don’t believe that you can make money should you really be using other people’s money with which to invest? 

Until you funnel ALL your resources into getting your property business off the ground you probably won’t ever become investible. This is a huge mindset shift for most people, but it’s so important. You need to be totally committed if you’re going to make investing work. You have to take risks (which yes, you must identify and mitigate) and you must be prepared to give it 110%. If not 200%! Obviously doing the deal analysis, sourcing the right properties and doing the necessary foot work is also part of what you give. But you MUST use some of your own financial resources too.  

If you do believe that you can make money in property and you’re prepared to take the risk first step is to find and use your own money. Where do you find the money then? 

1. Old savings or bank accounts that are sitting lying dormant 
2. ISAs and other investment accounts that are giving a lower rate of return than you could make with an HMO
3. Using your pension. Not all pensions can be used to invest in property but some can, and this is worth investigating
4. Saving with your hard-earned cash. If you can’t make cutbacks and budget and save each month, you cannot look after money. If you cannot look after your own money you will never be able to look after someone else’s.
5. Remortgaging your house
6. Selling stuff you no longer need on ebay to make some cash. Selling other people’s stuff when yours is all sold
7. Set up a car wash business, dog walk business or cardboard box collection business (yes I do mean used cardboard boxes. Think of all those deliveries that fill up people’s re-cycling bins so there’s no room for anything else). Charge a reasonable amount, do it regularly and leverage your time using other people’s skills. Save the money, use it to invest in property.

What else could you do to find the money yourself? How do you feel reading this? Do you think I am off my rocker?!