If you are new to property then hiring a property investment mentor can seem like a big step. But, it’s a step that is going to save you a lot of time and money. Today we look at how a property mentor and the right property coaching could help you save (at least) £10,000 on the next house you buy.
What Is A Property Investment Mentor?
A property investment mentor is someone who both coaches property investment and works closely with their clients on their property deals.
Introduction
When it comes to investing in property there are always a lot of things to consider.
A lot of these things are subjective. Investors aren’t looking for some objectively correct property deal, they are looking for a deal that best suits their purposes; one that is right for them.
A property mentor is really going to help you in that regard. A good one will get to know your circumstances, your personality, the way you look at risk… They will work with you and steer you towards investing in what is right for you.
In this respect, a property investment mentor can really help you on your way. But, of course, there is a lot more that one-on-one property coaching can offer.
A Property Mentor Means Expertise
We are all learning, all the time.
If you are looking at an area that you haven’t looked at before or exploring a new property strategy, then there are going to be elements you miss, get wrong or fail to consider.
Any mistake or oversight with this kind of investment can end up being very expensive. Anything you miss when you buy a house might really impact whether or not the property deal in question is going to be a good income generator or have good enough cash-flow.
And, then there’s the area you are looking at. Although I’ve written before about how you shouldn’t be afraid to change your strategy you still want to as certain as possible that your plan A is going to work in your chosen location.
In other words, you want to be absolutely certain that your chosen property investment strategy is going to work in the geographical area in which you are looking.
This, and in many other areas, the expertise of a property coach is really going to help.
Property Coaching | The 3 Key Elements
There are three key elements where property coaching can really help you. Combined, I believe, these elements will save you 10,000 pound on your next investment.
1. Choosing The Best Place To Invest
The first one is choosing the best place to invest.
There are many reasons why you might pick an area in which to purchase a house to rent out.
Maybe you want somewhere close your work or close to your home address and there is nothing at all wrong in doing this. It works well for a lot of people.
It can be more a lot more comfortable to invest closer to home. You know the area well and know what the houses are like. You probably have a good idea about – even without doing the research – how the local rental market works. You know what the people in the area are generally like and as such know a bit about what tenant profile to expect.
And there’s a much simpler reason why you might prefer to invest close to home and that is so you can drive past the property once in a while just to check it’s still there. If this is a reason you identify with, don’t worry; it’s a perfectly natural instinct and feeling comfortable is an important part of success in property.
But, If you want to invest locally, you still need to think very carefully before you buy.
For example: Let’s say your strategy is buy to let. Well, your local area simply might not work for buy to let housing.
It might be that the rental yield for buy to let is locally too low. It might be that property prices in the area are too high.
Combine these two elements together and a property might not have the cash flow you need to run it as a business.
Then there are other things to consider.
You’ve got the mortgage cost, maintenance costs, management costs. You have to look at how any additional income from purchasing the property could affect your tax position.
The truth is that when you are buying an investment property there is a lot you need to think about particularly when you are trying to find the best place to invest with a particular strategy in mind.
Where A Property Investment Mentor Can Help
When you are looking at specific property strategy and at a specific area you need to be sure the they work together and that they meet your needs.
This is one area where a property mentor is really going to help.
Property coaching will provide you with some quick tips, ideas and informative experiences which are really going to help you make the right choices.
A mentor is going to help you balance your personal situation, your chosen strategy and your preferred location and ultimately help you navigate those complex choices you must make when choosing the best place to invest.
See Also:
For detailed instructions on how to research a location’s suitability for investment and work out the best place to invest in property you should have a look at our video – How To Find The Best Place To Invest In An HMO.
This is the most detailed research case study we’ve published outside of our VIP property course and, although this content focusses on HMOs (houses in multiple occupation) I assure you that the same research methods can be applied to all property investment strategies alike.
2. Choosing The Right House
Building a successful property business relies on finding the right houses to buy. You need to find a property that is going to work for you, that gels with the bigger plans you might have for your portfolio.
Among many other things you need to think about the size of the property is very important.
If you have a particular tenant profile in mind (and you should) you need to ask yourself, “Is this house big enough? Is it too big? Too small? Just right (the Goldilocks zone)?
So, if your ideal tenant profile is a single professional who’s age is between 20 and 30, then a three bedroom house probably isn’t going to be right.
If this is your target market then you might be better off looking at one-bedroom apartments.
Similarly, if you’re tenant profile is a family and the area you are looking at is quite rural, then despite how nice you might think the area is, are you sure it’s the right location for a family?
Is the house near to a school? Is it near to the right amenities a family would want?
So, you need to make sure to select the right property. You need to choose a property of the right size; it needs to be in the right location…
But, the property also needs to be in the right style.
And, this depends again on what you want to do it.
Are you considering a conversion, a refurbishment, renovations?
Certain styles of property come with their own challenges. Age is one factor, layout another. These two things are really what constitutes a property’s style.
A Property Mentor Can Help
If you work with somebody that has experience in the types of properties you are looking at – who understands their style – who also understands the strategy you want to work with, then the success you’ll get from any given property deal is much more assured.
Property coaching will help you form your plans more fully. You’ll be sure of the best places to invest, of your tenant profile, the property itself. You’ll know how to plan your exit strategy and your endgame.
Cover all bases and you’ll have the best chance possible of not buying into the wrong property deals again.
3. Valuing a Property
The third, more significant way a property investment mentor can help save a lot of money is by helping you value a given property correctly from day one.
As a property investor, you’re going to be investing a lot of money. If you don’t value the property correctly then a lot of money will be lost.
Valuing property is something we get asked to do all the time. Whether it’s a 100k terraced house, a 200k flat or a 300k development, it’s always going to be a lot of money. If you get the valuation wrong then it’s always going to cost.
If you take everything into consideration with your valuation – the area, comparison property, the condition, the size – then this alone could save you 10k on your next property deal.
Because, for a 300k property, getting 10k off, while objectively a lot of money, is not an overly large discount.
For every property you buy, you should be getting a good discount. This will happen if you do your property due diligence when you are researching your location.
You don’t want to be paying full market value for a property and you certainly don’t to pay over the market value.
And this is where a property investment mentor can help. Valuation of property can be tricky and one of the services that property mentors provide is assistance in valuations on any given property deal.
Putting It All Together
So, we’ve looked at 3 things that a property investment mentor can help you with.
These are finding the best place to invest, finding the right property type and valuing the property correctly.
You can see from this how property coaching programmes could help you save a lot of time and money and really help you add value to your next deal.
It goes without saying that when you choose your property mentor you need to make sure it’s someone you like and can trust and is someone that has the experience and the skill set to help you achieve your specific goals.