The secret to building a long-term, stable, buy-to-let property portfolio revolves around being able to actually source great property deals. Sure, there are plenty of other elements that will nudge you towards success but the ability to find the right houses to buy is by far the most important factor in this game.
So how do you find the deals?
Well, because of this many new investors feel overwhelmed when trying to start their property business and portfolio and feel like their trying to find a needle in a haystack when they look for that ‘perfect’ property deal.
Some are unsure on which properties offer the best rental yields. Others get frustrated on knowing where to even start with building a property portfolio.
But it doesn’t have to be like that…
The key is to keep it simple and take it one step at a time.
Now, if you already know the type of properties to look for and you know your investment strategy, then your one step ahead of your competition already.
Next, you need to know the area you’re going to invest in.
…I’ll cover this a bit further for you below,
But first up, let’s consider
how do you actually find the properties?
Since I started in property back in 2005, I’ve tried many different methods and used many different tools. I have refined the process (through much trial and error) of finding good rental properties and creating a property portfolio.
As a result, I’ve developed some key strategies that help me find the very best property deals – and I’m going to share these with you, so you will have the foundations of knowing how to build a property portfolio.
Property Sourcing
Lets split up the sourcing into two camps.
First of all…
✓ On Market – Via An Estate Agent
✓ Off Market – Direct To Vendor
It’s important to consider both avenues otherwise you will be missing out on a lot of property deals.
‘On Market’ Properties
One of the benefits of sourcing from Estate Agents is that, once they realise you’re someone they can work with (and more importantly you can deliver when you say you will), they will offer you deals regularly.
Unfortunately, it takes time to get to this stage.
If they don’t know you, it’s unlikely they’ll pass you their very best deals in the beginning. So you have to be proactive, find the gems they have on their books and bring the conversation to them….
Fortunately, most of your property research can be done online.
Every estate agent uses the internet to list their properties, but they don’t all use the same sites. So, for a full list of all the properties on the market, you want to make sure your using all the main portals:
www.rightmove.co.uk
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/
http://www.mouseprice.com
http://www.home.co.uk/
These portals will give you access to all of the properties ‘On The Market’.
But how do you know which sellers are actually ‘Motivated’, and NEED to sell?
There’s a host of ways to find this out, and I actually cover 10 seperate methods/signs for spotting motivated sellers in our online property training course.
Off–Market Properties
A lot of the very best deals are to be found before they even come to market.
With the right marketing and strategy, you will get in ahead of other buyers and, by negotiating directly with the vendor, you can achieve a much better win-win situation for both you and the seller.
Because this is a proactive form of deal finding… you need to be very clear what you’re looking for.
To help with this I would recommend using something like the Royal Mail Door to Door service.
This can really help you map out your area. It provides you with detailed demographics, breakdowns on household numbers, and even property types within a given postcode.
Combine this with the heat-mapping strategy as I’ve laid out in this quick video and you’ll have a great starting point for mapping out your local area
Once you know your area, you will need to consider how you to market the properties you’ve found.
I use a range of methods depending on which property style, price range and condition I am looking for. These include:
✓ Door to Door Leafleting
✓ Newspaper adverts
✓ Cards in Newsagents
✓ Customer Referrals
The success of this marketing depends on a number of factors. But they’re ALL proven methods that do work (when you implement them correctly).
I also have a couple of other methods and resources which work a treat. I’ll be keeping these up my sleeve I’m afraid. These methods are what gives my mentorship and training clients the cutting edge over their competition.