The Progressive Property Podcast Dan Hulbert: Interview with property Coach, Consultant and Investor
Fifteen years of practitioner experience in the building trade gives you an insight that many people would pay a lot of money for. Dan Hulbert has moved from working ‘On Tools’ to being a property investor and now property training all over the country specializing in refurbishments. Peter interviews him in this latest episode where their conversation goes from how Dan sources properties, what’s the best way to do a refurb, and he goes through his EMPTY model for getting into property. If you looking to do a refurb at any point in your properties this is the podcast for you.
Key Takeaways
Two or three years into the business of working ‘On Tools’ in carpentry, I realised there is more to life than being on tools and that there was a different way of doing this. Education was the key. I am interested in property, and business and started doing some coaching, and training courses in property. I wanted to be my own client. I’ve always wanted to teach others.
What strategy did you pursue? I teach the EMPTY model at the moment which is my own model for how to get into property. I was fascinated to find some people were doing it without any of their own money. I do a lot of business networking and I just talked to a lot of people about finance. I started by doing flips. I wanted to do things that got the money in straight away.
Networking Is Key. Show up to the event, always show up. Then be present and ask a lot of questions of other people rather than talking about yourself all the time. Finally, follow up over a call after the meeting. Then meet up over coffee later for a more in-depth chat.
What sort of properties are you refurbing? We are doing a lot of HMOs and we are looking at some flats next which we haven’t completely sorted yet. We do them to a very high standard. I have an advantage because I know the costings, and I can manipulate the costs lower. My EMPTY model is a good way of getting started with property:
EMPTY MODEL
E - Experience/Education - Leverage a team member, a partner. It could be education
M - Money - You don’t need your own money, but you need some money from somewhere.
P - Property - You need a property to be in property
T - Time - Time to put into the business, meet lots of people, and put things together.
Y - You - You're the driver. You are the most important part of the deal.
It’s important to focus on actual challenges like the below three ‘M’s rather than perceived challenges which often come from a wrong mindset.
M - Mindset
M - Motivation
M - Momentum
How do you find your properties? I’ve found properties in very different ways. I have really good relationships with the local estate agents. I don’t do a lot of leafleting but I write a handwritten note through the door to inquire about a property. There are specific agents that I wouldn’t work with, I wouldn’t get a deal from them. All the deals I’ve got are from smaller independent estate agents. Why not go and ask the estate agents if they have any properties?
I lost a lot of money in the building industry a few years back. That has made me put a lot of best practice in my business, a lot of systems and structures. I’m always striving to be the best. I’ve put in the right processes and strategies to ensure it works. I keep ensuring that things get tweaked to ensure that they are continuously improving.
How do you get to learn about costings? It’s like building muscle, you need to keep practising. There are systems that you can put in place when you get into a new area to learn about that area. You have to ask a lot of questions. Don’t be lazy: go and learn this stuff. Like anything, you need to do research.
There are three types of roles for property investors. You can be the manager where you subcontract to everyone, and you’re the project manager. If you’re new to property then this would be a tough job. Secondly, you can manage the manager where it might be more expensive but there are ways of bringing down costs. The third role is to employ a project manager, which can work on larger properties, but not so much on small. This way you leverage your time and bring in the relevant expertise.
Always make sure you have the right insurance in place. Public and Employer liability insurance is a must for your main contractor. Make sure you ask for a copy of their policy in full. You need an all-risk policy especially if you are removing the roof, as a normal policy won’t cover it as it’s exposed to the elements. If you are a limited company then you need Directors insurance, because of health and safety liability.
Important Steps to Refurbs. This is after your 80% preparation.
- Strip out demos. Make the property a blank canvas.
- First Fix - This is the most important part. It’s important to be on site. Things can be more expensive if you don’t fix them at this stage.
- Second Fix - Decorating, hanging doors - Getting it to a finished stage.
- Snagging - Silicon missing, screw missing - do the whole list and give the builder a week to complete these.
- Final sign off - everything is complete, instructions for the oven etc are in the property.
- Dress to Impress - Get a furnisher in. Get professional photos, and videography was done. These are all part of the extra investment.
Property Vault. The idea came in 2013 but didn’t really materialise until 2016. We do one event now, and we have a co-host/business partner. Because of this, I’m now being mentored by Rob Moore. We are aiming the event at people who are already in the game rather than complete newbies.
Best Moments
‘The transition was working with a coach to figure where I wanted to be.’
‘I wanted to be my own client.’
‘I initially wasn’t interested in being a landlord.’
‘I love joint ventures.’
‘Networking was key.’
‘If people say networking is not good, then they aren’t doing it right.’
‘We broke a lot of rental barriers.’
‘Property for me is very simple but its not always simple.’
‘It all starts and ends with you.’
‘The best property deals come straight to you.’
‘I write a handwritten note through the door to enquire.’
‘Everywhere has a strategy can work.’
‘Make sure you get back to people on things.’
‘Try and cookie cutter everything in a business.’
‘Estate agents want this to be easy as well.’
‘80% is in the prep when it comes to refurb.’
‘Budgeting is the most vital thing to get right.’
‘It’s all about building relationships with people.’
‘People only know what they know.’
‘Insurance is easy to sort out but it’s essential to get in place.’
'I’ve got 15 years of systems because I’ve made so many mistakes in the past.’
Valuable Resources
https://www.thepropertyvaultuk.com
ABOUT THE HOST Peter Jones is a Chartered Surveyor, an author and a serial buy-to-let property investor. He has been involved in property for over 35 years and now owns 78 letting units. He is still actively involved in buying and renovating the property, and regularly flips properties for profit. Peter has written a number of successful property books. The first, An Insider’s Guide to Successful Property Investing, was first published in 2000 and was one, if not the very first, the book of its kind which was written for what we'd now call buy-to-let investors.
On the back of its success, he was invited to be a guest writer for Property Secrets and wrote Spanish Property Secrets, French Property Secrets, and Portugal Property Secrets. He has since written a number of other successful titles dealing with UK investing including 63 Common Defects in Investment Property and How to Spot Them, the highly acclaimed The Successful Property Investors Strategy Workshop and The Property Renovator’s Workshop, in which Peter describes step-by-step how he built his own property portfolio, starting with virtually none of his own money.
CONTACT METHOD
ABOUT THE GUEST
Dan Hulbert is a property Coach, Consultant and Investor, he works with people seeking professional advice and guidance within property investments. With 15 years' practitioner experience under his belt which started 'ON THE TOOLS' to now being his own client, working on his own projects. Dan's journey has led him to dedicate his life to teaching others by sharing his applied knowledge allowing them to grow through his lessons.
Dan works on three elements
MINDSET | MOTIVATION | MOMENTUM
All three must work together to achieve success.
'In property, the process is where you make your profit"
CONTACT METHOD
Website: https://www.danhulbert.com/about 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielhulbert