HMO Investor Full of Energy and Hopeful of an Olympics Run

Contrary to popular belief, athletics isn’t a well paid sport so every last penny counts for most athletes. I’m very fortunate to have found the perfect work life balance to subsidise my passion for athletics. I’m both a property investor and an Energy Consultant. Because of my background in property I recently spotted a niche that could be of particular benefit to HMO landlords.

Hi, I’m Karen Harewood, 800 metre English champion and hopeful of qualifying for a place in the London 2012 Olympics.

This weekend I got chatting to Mark Alexander, founder of Property118.com, after reading a Tweet he had sent about a specialist Sport Law Firm. Landlords and sports are not an obvious mix so I followed Mark on Twitter and learned more about him via LinkedIn. After our company announced some changes that I believed would be of fantastic benefit to HMO landlords in particular, I was interested in whether he could introduce me to more landlords as I know I can save them money through my business. I also thought that my fellow landlords might want to follow and support my dreams of being an Olympic athlete, not by giving me money but supporting my business and allowing me to save them some money!

I will not know whether I’m in the Olympics until June but if you would like to follow my progress then you can find me on Twitter @KarenHarewood.

Mark has very kindly given me permission to mention how I can save other HMO landlords money on their energy bills on the strict understanding that I do not mention the name of the company I work for. Here goes:-

If a landlord moves their gas, electricity, broadband and home phone to the company I work for, you as the landlord get the following benefits across your portfolio:

• 10% rebate on the total energy spend
• Up to 10% discount on all telephony services
• Free calls to mobiles from landlines
• New Line installations for £24
• Plus, if you are currently in contract with existing suppliers we will pay up to £200 towards any early termination fees

I was really excited when these changes were announced as I could see how this could really increase the profitability of a landlord who was paying for these services at their properties.

I fit my work as a consultant around my training, and other commitments. If you’ve ever wondered what a typical day is for a non-funded aspiring Olympian, here’s mine:-

I start every morning with yoga to aid mobility and get me into a positive frame of mind for the day. I then spend 15 minutes or so planning my day out which is essential when trying to juggle the various roles I have.

The typical day of training for me will include a run session – my favourite is probably 300 reps on the track – and a conditioning session such as circuits or weights. Just as important as the training is physical maintenance so I will normally have either a physio or massage session once a week, as well as carrying out self maintenance to address any issues that might be going on such as icing, foam rollering and carrying out a series of specific ‘pre-hab’ exercises.

Nutrition is obviously a massive part of a good training program and getting the right food in actually requires quite a lot of time in the kitchen! I have a relatively high protein diet (lots of chicken, fish and turkey) balanced with complex carbohydrates such as brown rice and loads of green vegetables.

I manage the 3 properties in Corby where we live, myself and try and block out just a couple of hours a week to keep on top of things like rent statements, maintenance issues, communicating with tenants etc., but for the most part I have tried to automate as much of the property side of things as possible. I am a member of the NLA, the EMLA and use these resources to keep me up to date with what I need to know about any legislative changes etc. Most recently of course having discovered Property 118.com I have found another great resource I can use!

My consultancy is entirely referral based, so part of my time is spent in making new connections with people which is great as I actually really enjoy networking, especially with other business owners as I love hearing the personal stories of other people’s entrepreneurial journeys. As a business owning athlete the parallels between growing a successful business and creating success in sport have always fascinated me. I think they require a similar mindset.

If you would like to get in touch regarding any of the topics covered in this blog my contact details are:-

Twitter: @KarenHarewood
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karenharewood
Email: kharewood@uwclub.net
Mobile: 07550 096565

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