These days it seems that everybody wants to get into the property market. With the current high property prices however it’s hard for first time property entrepreneurs to enter the market as few can afford the deposit required.
The answer then is to become a property finder. A property finder looks for properties that would be ideal purchases for either developers or investors, negotiates a price for them and them passes the deal onto the developer/investor in return for a finders fee or between 1 and 2%.
It’s a great way to get into the property business as:
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Low cost - your only cost is your time spent looking for deals.
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Experience - while hunting for deals and selling them on the other investors/developers you’ll refine your understanding of what is a good deal and what isn’t.
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Build up a cash pile - several successful deals would then enable you to build up funds for a deposit to explore your own deal.
So how do you find the deals?
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Register with estate agents and explain what you’re looking for. You’ll need to really work on developing your relationships with them in order for them to refer deals to you.
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Network with people in the industry, solicitors, mortgage brokers, estate agents, conveyancers, property investors and developers and make them aware of what you do. Sometimes they’ll have a sale fall through and be grateful for someone who can quickly step in.
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Visit property auctions. Don’t bid at auctions but look for lots that don’t sell.
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Leaflet drops to your target market letting people know you can arrange a private sale.
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Create a website targeting those looking to sell a property - a quick bit of keyword research will reveal a number of suitable searches.
You can continue acting as a property finder even after you are able to pursue your own deals, by selling on deals that you come across that are outside your area of interest.
This post is part of my property business opportunities series.
This blog is about business opportunities and ideas that I spot, think of or hear about and think are useful and interesting. It is intended to provide ideas and inspriation for you to help you find the right business idea for you to then grow it into a successful business.
The article paints a much simplified version of the finding/sourcing business, but highlights a business one get enter with relatively low start up and running costs. I’m saying this as one in his 4th year of trading finding UK residential development opportunities for property developers in the S.E. of England.
As with any business, this is a lot more complicated than it initially appears with the planning system and its process needing to be understood. All development opportunites require planning permission so you’d better get up to speed on this asap if you plan on getting involved.
Another tip would be to network as much as possible with people already in the industry. Forget estate agents. I’ve NEVER seen a good deal come from a high street estate agent. Buyers want ‘off-market’ deals, not sites that have been exposed to the world. When they’re small conversion/renovation type deals they come with a whole army of competitive amatuer buyers after them. Join a local business group like BNI to really tap into the local community and deal with the people who own the land direct to retain control.