Knowing how to source property deals to sell to other investors or to grow your own portfolio is a very important skill. Whether you’re just starting out on your property investment journey, you’re a seasoned investor looking to grow your portfolio, you’re a deal packager looking to offer more deals to more investors, or just setting up your sourcing business you are going to need to how to source property deals to generate leads and convert these into deals. Without leads, you have no deals and without deals, you have no business.
Have a property search checklist
You need to ensure you know the following:
- Investment strategy you have chosen to focus on
- The price range for types of property in your area
- The type of property most suitable for your chosen strategy in your chosen area (bedrooms, reception rooms, outside space etc)
- The area you have chosen to focus on
Having a clearly written process is important to property searching discipline. Without having a clearly defined focus, you will end up spending hours of your time, aimlessly, searching property details with no aim. This clarity means you can use the online portal’s search filters, so you are only looking at properties suitable for what you are looking to achieve. Having clearly defined criteria will allow you to set up “property alerts” so the online portal will let you know when new properties come on that are perfect for your strategy.
Use an online property portal
Start your property lead generation with online property portals such as Zoopla, Rightmove, and OnTheMarket, just to name a few. You can reach out to property agents who list properties that fit your criteria and start arranging property viewings instantly.
Finding property at auctions
Auctions provide you with a wide variety of property deals. That is everything from development properties to repossessed properties to tenanted HMOs. Having a property checklist, as mentioned above, will allow you to save time when looking to purchase auction properties. Open an auction catalogue in advance and shortlist the properties that are going to work for you based on your chosen criteria. That way you can really shorten the length of time it takes to find your deal.
It must be mentioned that auctions don’t necessarily mean bargains. There are properties that sell at auctions that won’t make great investments. There might be a problem with the title, with the property, or the location. As with any investment, you need to apply due diligence when looking at an auction property. Auctions can certainly be a great way of finding excellent property deals.
Use free advertising sites
There are many online ad sites where people advertise stuff for sale, for free. Sites such as Gumtree.com, Classiads.co.uk, Facebook marketplace etc., all have a property section where property owners and agents can advertise their property free of charge. You will have the opportunity to email the advertiser directly, and some platforms provide advertisers with telephone numbers for you to get in contact with them.
Working with a property sourcer
Using a property sourcer is going to save you a lot of time and get your portfolio growing quickly. It might be a one-man band, a small company, or even a large investment company. Either way, they can help you find deals that fit your criteria. By working with a property sourcer, you will cut out a lot of time. This is because, the majority of the time, they’ll have property deals that are ready to go. With the right skills, you will be able to see potential in the property and have an idea as to what you can do with it.
Building relationships with estate agents
Building relationships with estate agents is very important if you want to make money from property. Estate agents play a vital part in your property business. Benefits include being alerted to property deals before they are put onto the open market and providing you with exclusive access to property deals before others know about it.
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Share your plan of action
Estate agents need to fully understand what you are looking for to get the most out of the relationship with them. Spend time explaining what you do and carefully explain how it will benefit both them and the seller.
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You must put in the time and be consistent
All relationships are built on trust and this takes time to build up, but it will be very worthwhile in the long run. The key here is to be consistent with your approach until you are successful with it.
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Buy gifts
This is not a bribe, just a will of good gesture. Whether you take in a box of chocolates, their favourite coffee, or something else that you discover that they like, these small gestures will all pay off.
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Focus on a handful of estate agents
Put your efforts into building relationships with just a few agents as it is practically impossible to build strong relationships with all the agents in your chosen area. Go and meet the agents and see how receptive they are when you discuss your ideas and select the ones that seem most likely to become a beneficial relationship.
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Regular phone calls
Stay in touch with estate agents so they keep you in mind. Once you’ve established a routine and you do this consistently, they’ll automatically be thinking of you when they’re struggling with a property.
These steps will help you to establish excellent relationships with estate agents and in turn, will help you grow your business.
Putting it all together
Hopefully, this guide will help give you a few ideas as to how you can source property faster and more efficiently. We’ve given you four starting points to sourcing on-market properties, which will ensure you find the right opportunities to scale your property business.
As Sourced, our mission is to make property accessible to everyone and this is why provide an extensive training programme, which covers more than property strategies, a dedicated property mentor to help you throughout your journey and access to up to 100% funding for your property projects, among other things. Download our prospectus today, to discover how to build a profitable property business with the help of Sourced.
