Commercial to residential conversions: In a recent video, I visited one of my students' conversion projects. Kamran, who you may remember from Winners On A Wednesday, renovated an enormous commercial unit in a location that no one believed would work. He turned a building in Doncaster into luxury flats. The surveyor said he hadn’t seen anything to this standard in the area before! Kamran refinanced the project, pulling out all of the money invested!
I highly recommend watching the full video above until the end, as it contains important information that every property investor needs to know! Many people are thinking about getting into commercial to residential conversions right now. Retail and office space is becoming less important as people switch to online shopping and working from home. If you would like to get a piece of the action, here are 3 tips for your next commercial to residential conversions!
1. Think Outside The Commercial To Residential Conversions Box
When Kamran took on the project of turning a block of offices in Doncaster into luxury flats, most people thought it couldn’t be done. Doncaster isn’t exactly known for luxury, and many people thought the numbers simply wouldn’t stack. But Kamran saw an opportunity that others didn’t see. He saw outside of the typical commercial to residential conversions box and decided to do something different.
Kamran decided to create luxury flats, but rent them out by the room rather than as entire apartments. While it might have been challenging to rent entire flats at luxury rates in the area, renting rooms in luxury flats is a different story. High-end HMOs are becoming increasingly popular, and this option fits nicely within that trend. When you are considering commercial to residential conversions, think beyond the norm!
2. Build Relationships With Local Authorities
Often it can seem like the local authority is the enemy. It can seem like they just want to block your plans and stop you from getting your project done. In reality, you and the local authority share a goal: improving the area. You need to communicate your vision to them in a way they can understand and accept, and this means building relationships with them.
There were aspects of Kamran’s vision which were initially outright rejected, but ended up being accepted because of his effective and positive communication. Take the time to understand what the council is looking for and align your vision with theirs. The better you understand them, the stronger your project will be.
3. Persistence Is Key When Doing Commercial To Residential Conversions
Kamran battled with difficult contractors, troublesome planning boards and even the Covid-19 lockdowns when doing this project. Many people would have given up, but he persisted. Being persistent is key when doing commercial to residential conversions. If you are the sort of person that gives up at the first hurdle, you will simply not make it.
To do well, you need to be able to solve problems as they come up and push forward when things are going wrong. If you are able to do this however, the rewards are massive. Having people with the correct mindset around you is essential. Find like-minded people to associate with, whether through property networking events or high quality training courses.
Learn Commercial To Residential Conversions And Other Property Strategies
Do you want to learn commercial to residential conversions and other property strategies? Join me at my next training event!
On the course, you will learn how to:
-
Become a property investor using other people’s money so that you can get started straight away
-
Utilise the 5 different types of raised finance so that you know exactly what to offer and when
-
Find the perfect properties for the BRR strategy
-
Recycle your money so that you can ‘rinse and repeat’
-
Build a power team you can trust, so that you can save time and money
-
And much more!
Tickets are only £1, and you can get yours here. If you are ready to take action, I hope to see you very soon!
