Today I’m delighted to welcome Kim Opszala to the show, a solicitor with years of experience dealing with mergers and acquisitions who realised that success in the corporate world actually isn’t the be all and end all when the cost of that success is long hours, high stress, physical health issues and never seeing your partner. I think we can all relate to at least some of that.
Kim decided to start investing in property to give her more choice in her life and, after a few short years, has built an income from a mix of acquisitions, rent to rent deals and lease options, allowing her to leave the rat race behind but continue to practice law as a choice, as a consultant, picking the jobs and the hours to suit her.
It’s a really inspiring story and I’m sure you’ll take a lot of value from it.
Listen to this episode below:
Here’s a sneak peek at what discussed this time:
04.12 – Kim discusses her law background and how long hours and stress-induced illness made the corporate world ultimately unsustainable.
08.03 – How buying her first house at 18, and selling it a year later at a substantial profit, first opened Kim’s eyes to the power of property.
09.20 – In 2016, Kim and her husband release equity from their own home and buy their first investment property.
“It was always the plan: it was just having the funds to start with.”
9.57 – Kim explains her initial investment strategy, as an angel investor to an existing HMO property developer, to essentially Earn and Learn, with a view to making investments every 2-4 years.
11.23 – Why Kim’s initial slow burn strategy didn’t work for her, and how it developed in 2017 to focus instead on HMO’s and high cash flow strategies.
16.43 – After hitting a roadblock, caused by local planning restrictions, with her ‘Buy, Refurbish, Refinance’ HMO strategy, Kim decided to trial a variety of different investment strategies.
18.08 – How Rent to Rent allowed Kim to build a high cash flow property business and opened up further investment opportunities.
“The cash flow is fantastic from a Rent to Rent.”
19.57 – Kim puts a spotlight on one of her successful Rent to Rent properties – with a low initial outlay, she recouped all costs and headed into consistent profit in less than 6 months.
24.17 – Whilst Kim’s merger and acquisition career obviously helped, she’s sure that the strategies she’s followed are fairly easy for anyone to adopt.
26.00 – How one Rent to Rent negotiation led Kim to exploring a longer-term Lease Option, and so to understanding the benefits of writing flexible and personalised deals that work for you.
33.19 – With a new baby, Kim reflects on how property has given her the flexibility to decide when, or if, she returns to work, and the choices to be able to prioritise her family’s goals.
“Property has given us choices, that we just didn’t have before.”
38.33 – Kim discusses her plans for the future, growing and diversifying her portfolio and exploring new ways to market.
46.08 – Kim gives her top 3 pieces of advice for following in her footsteps: educate yourself, outsource and network!
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Links Mentioned
There are lots of ways you can follow Kim to get inspired and join her on her property journey: head over to her website, find her on Instagram or LinkedIn, or drop her an email on info@komoproperties.com.
If Kim’s story has whet your appetite, and you’d like to learn more about Rent to Rent as a success strategy, check out our recent podcast with Katrina Jones and sign up to her absolutely free 8 week success series, which is filled with industry secrets, tips, tricks, inspiration and education.