Today I’m delighted to be joined by Matt Baker, co-founder of Scott-Baker Properties and the creator of the Shared Living Survey: the first study, I’m aware of, of its kind carried out earlier this year with HMO tenants across England, to help us take the guesswork out of what’s important to them and equally, what’s not, as they live in our HMO’s. The full findings of the study are available to download for free below.
Today we’re discussing some of the highlights from the survey, how we see the market continuing to evolve, and how we can adapt to remain competitive by delivering a HMO product that our customers actually want to live in.
Listen to this episode below:
Here’s a sneak peek at what we discussed this time:
3.20 – Matt’s journey in property, and the importance of not forgetting about your customer.
“One thing that we have a heavy focus on is our tenant-first approach.”
6.57 – The disparity in HMO’s and how Matt distinguishes his properties as ‘Next-Level HMO’s’.
“One of our core values is to build community.”
7.48 – The locations of Matt’s investments, and the importance of finding the right team when you’re investing at a distance.
13.57 – How Matt targeted tenants for the Shared Living Survey.
16.21 – Why making the Shared Living Survey an annual event, with as many partnered landlords as possible, we help us to understand the customer and their changing needs, and help to facilitate improvements to both new and existing HMO properties.
18.39 – ‘The Tale of the Beige Box.’
“As the market evolves, what can we do to ensure our properties are the best?”
21.29 – The age range targeted by the survey, and the potential in HMO’s for older markets.
23.45 – The average tenancy identified in the survey, and the growing trend towards longer-term tenancies.
32.39 – The importance of an under 30-minute commute to work in how tenants choose the right HMO, and how that might change in light of COVID-19.
37.42 – The surprising results around modes of transport, and why the survey has the potential to inform real change.
“I would love to be able to form policy through data.”
41.54 – The importance of bedroom size, personal storage and an en suite, and other findings with regard to layout, size and space within a tenant’s ideal HMO.
46.36 – The importance of housemate relationships.
50.58 – How tenants like to communicate with the landlord or manager.
54.24 – The speed with which tenants will choose a property.
“First impressions count.”
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Links mentioned
Find out more about the survey and download your copy at Sharedlivingsurvey.co.uk