Tool 01 · 7-Day Action Plan
From zero to viewing your first deal in a week
Most people spend months "getting ready" and never offer on anything. This is the opposite: a focused seven-day sprint that takes you from a standing start to booked viewings — strategy set, finance ready, area chosen, team lined up. Tick each task off as you go.
"A week of the right actions beats a year of research."
Your progress and your decisions save automatically — and the choices you make here carry through to the rest of the toolkit.
Your sprint progress
0 of 0 done
Tick tasks off as you complete them — there's no rule that says one day each; do it at your pace. Everything saves on this device.
1Set your strategy & target0/0
Decide what you're actually building before you look at a single property. Get this right and every later decision gets easier.
Decide your strategy?BRRR (buy, refurbish, refinance) recycles your cash so you can go again; buy & hold is simpler and lower-risk; rent-to-rent needs little capital but you don't own the asset.
How you'll make money shapes everything else — your area, your spec and your finance.
Set your target room count
Most first HMOs are 4–6 rooms — worthwhile, and below the 7+ threshold that always needs full planning.
Decide who you're renting to
Your tenant type drives your area, your spec and your achievable rent.
Write down your goal
A target — monthly cashflow or capital recycled — and a realistic timeline. Put a number on paper; it keeps you honest when a mediocre deal tempts you.
2Get your finances ready0/0
Know exactly what you can spend, and prove it, before you fall for a property. Cash-ready buyers win deals.
Add up your usable capital
Be honest about what you can deploy: deposit (typically ~25%), refurb, stamp duty, legals — and a contingency.
Choose your funding route
None
Book a call with an HMO-savvy mortgage broker?Ask specifically whether they place HMO and limited-company cases, and what their lenders require from first-time landlords.
HMO mortgages aren't standard buy-to-let — lender criteria, minimum income and Article 4 awareness all matter. Aim for a Decision in Principle.
Gather your proof of funds
Bank statements or a mortgage DIP. Agents take you seriously the moment you can show you can actually buy.
3Choose your area0/0
The area makes or breaks an HMO. Pick where rooms genuinely let — this is where Tool 02 earns its keep.
Shortlist 1–3 target areas
Places you can get to easily that suit your tenant type.
Score each area for demand
Run every shortlisted area through the Market Viability Scorecard and compare the scores side by side.
Check Article 4 & licensing for your front-runner
Article 4 means a house→HMO conversion needs full planning permission. Check the council's licensing scheme too — it's a cost and a legal must.
4Learn the rules0/0
An hour learning the planning and HMO rules saves you a five-figure mistake. You don't need to be an expert — just dangerous enough to spot a trap.
Understand the use classes
C3 (a house) → C4 (small HMO, 3–6 sharers) is permitted development unless Article 4 applies; 7+ sharers is Sui Generis and always needs full planning.
Note your council's room-size & amenity standards
Minimum room sizes, communal space and bin/cycle rules vary by council and decide how many rooms you can actually fit.
Check the concentration rules for your streets
Many councils refuse a new HMO if too many neighbours are already HMOs — find the threshold before you waste a viewing.
5Build your power team0/0
You can't do this alone. Line the people up before you need them, so a live deal doesn't stall waiting on a phone call.
Line up an HMO-experienced solicitor
Conveyancing on an HMO or a conversion has wrinkles a general high-street firm can miss.
Find a builder who does HMO conversions
You'll want them for quotes the moment a deal looks real — good ones get booked up.
Identify a letting / managing agent
They'll confirm room demand and rents for you now, and can manage the house later.
Speak to an accountant about structure
Personal name vs limited company changes your tax materially. Get advice before you offer, not after.
6Set up your deal flow0/0
Make the deals come to you. The aim is a steady stream of listings that already fit your plan, so you're only spending time on real candidates.
Define your buy-box
Property type, price ceiling, minimum rooms/area, the target areas — the filter that lets you ignore 95% of listings instantly.
Set Rightmove & Zoopla alerts
Instant alerts for your criteria so you see suitable deals the day they land.
Call 3–5 local agents and introduce yourself
Tell them your buy-box and that you're proceedable — agents ring their proceedable buyers first, often before it hits the portals.
Pull live room rents from SpareRoom
This is your comparable evidence for the rent you'll achieve — you'll feed it into the Scorecard and the Deal Analyser.
7Start viewing & analysing0/0
Time to get out there. From here the rest of the toolkit takes over — view, assess, prove the numbers.
Book 2–3 viewings this week
Momentum matters. Real houses teach you more than any amount of scrolling.
Take the Viewing Checklist to each
Catch the expensive surprises and capture the measurements on-site.
Run promising ones through the Potential Checker
Confirm it can legally and physically become your target HMO.
Prove the numbers in the Deal Analyser
The viewing and checker qualify the property; the Deal Analyser tells you if the investment actually works.
Your plan to a first deal
Work through the seven days above. As you go, your strategy, target and budget are captured here and carried into the rest of the toolkit.
One deal is the goal. This sprint isn't about doing everything at once — it's about building the momentum and the foundations to confidently offer on your first HMO. Get that one done and the second is far easier.