UK Enterprise Awards 2021

125 | UK Enterprise Awards 2021 KAF Properties With over six years of experience in the property industry, KAF Properties are well equipped to offer its clients long-term, sustainable capital growth. Sarah tells us about the firm she has founded and managed, offering more insight into its clientele. “Originally starting out in doing flips in our local area in 2015 to raise some capital, we have heavily evolved over the last six years to become a fully-fledged investment business. The business is born out of a dream that my brother had, who at the age of 19 was diagnosed with blood cancer. After a horrific seven month long battle, unfortunately my brother lost his life, and this horrendous event ripped our family apart. Having always talked about getting into property himself, his death understandably had a profound impact on me and my family, and in his honour and legacy, we founded KAF Properties. “Typically, we provide a service to private individuals who are looking to get a great return on their money through UK property, but don’t necessarily have the time or the knowledge to do so,” she explains. “Naturally then, we believe that everyone deserves a great place to live, and our overall company vision is to raise awareness of poor property rental standards that currently exist while inspiring investors and landlords alike to create better living standards for the private rental sector. Moreover, we further aim to provide high quality accommodation to help bridge the gap in the UK’s housing shortfall supply”. Across West Yorkshire, the firm is in direct competition with several key players in the property arena, however as Sarah goes on to explain, its attention to detail has proved to be a significant factor behind the firm’s attempts to offer clients a unique selling point.“From an analytical perspective, we conduct extensive and continual market research on a property to ensure our client’s investment is working for them and consistently providing the desired returns. All our numbers are based on the worst case scenario, meaning that if something went wrong in the market then clients would get their original capital returned as an absolute minimum. To ensure transparency for our investors, all hidden costs that a lot of property investment companies miss off are added into our calculations. Everything from broker fees, house insurance, fence paints to door handles, no stone is left unturned. When investors choose a project to put their money into, it’s vital there are no surprises later down the line. “On the physical side, our properties are designed in such a way to attract top paying renters, to help achieve the best possible returns, and to create homes that are much more desirable. Additionally, further key attributes of the business include our adaptability and approachability. We truly understand what it’s like to feel overwhelmed by investing so we make the process incredibly easy to understand. By taking clients through our five simple steps, we completely simplify everything to give investors a completely hands-off approach”. The outbreak of COVID-19 has naturally affected the business both in a positive and negative way as Sarah explains. “Statistically, the UK was anticipating a recession in 2019 during the final stages of Brexit. However, the pandemic has only prolonged the recession, meaning that the beginning of this year has only just seen the start of the downturn. The Government has injected over £280bn into the economy to try and temper the slump with £73bn of this paying the wages of people who are currently unable to work as their sector is temporarily closed. “A pent up demand from numerous lockdowns saw a ‘mini-boom’ in the market last year, seeing property prices inflate by up to 15% in some areas of England. The start of 2021 had seen the start of some of these incentives retracted from the market, with unemployment rates dramatically on the rise, 65% of all agreed sales in 2020 have fallen through. As a result house prices in the UK had started to decrease, however, with the now extension of the SDLT holiday etc, prices have begun to soar once again. There is a school of thought amongst experts that as the incentives finally draw to a close, prices will significantly draw back. This presents a great opportunity to enter the marketplace and pick properties up for below market value.” Finally, Sarah discusses the main benefits of the firm’s location before outlining some of its plans for 2021 and beyond. “From a property perspective, the main benefit of the UK housing market is that it has always remained strong and steady since the beginning of recording house prices in 1926. Ultimately, it’s one of the safest investments you can make and in comparison to other markets such as New York or Hong Kong, it’s a lot cheaper and there is more room for manoeuvre. Moving forward, we plan to bring property and investors together through harmony and help with the UK housing crisis by creating great homes for Great British people”. Company: KAF Properties Contact: Sarah Flynn Website : www.kafproperties.co.uk Apr21219 Situated in Leeds, KAF Properties are a property investment and development company predominantly serving the West Yorkshire area. Founder Sarah Flynn tells us more. Best Property Investment & Development Firm 2021 - West Yorkshire & Excellence Award for Crisis-Time Business Resilience