Soundbite: 10 Of The More Unexpected Places To Find Property Deals and Investment Partners

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By: vulcanpost

Today, I wanted to share a short list of just 10 slightly unusual places to find your next property deal or even an investment partner. My mantra when I meet someone at a network event these days is that I only need two things; property projects and investment for property projects. That’s usually a decent conversation starter that most people can follow up from and happens to be one of the list.

So, networking meetings are one place, but what are the other 9 more unusual places to find property deals or projects and investors to fund those deals then?

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Property Deal Tips & How to Reach me By Telephone

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Transcription of the show

Hello, and welcome to another episode of The Property Voice podcast. My name is Richard Brown and as always, it’s a pleasure to have you join me on the show again today.

I was planning a different theme for today’s episode to be fair. However, I decided that I needed to give a little more thought and research to that idea before I share it. Needless to say, if you ever feel all alone in that property bubble of yours…it will make you feel OK, so watch this space 😊

Instead, I thought I would share a list of 10 slightly unusual places to find your next property deal or even an investment partner. My mantra when I meet someone at a networking event these days when asked what I need is that I only need two things; projects and investment. That’s usually a decent conversation starter and happens to be one of the list I am about to share with you right now…

So, networking meetings are one place, but what are the other 9 more unusual places to find property deals and the investment to fund those property deals then?

Property Chatter

Here we go then, here are just some 10 of the not-so-obvious places that I and others have found either property deals and projects and/or investment partners.

1. Networking meetings – OK, as I mentioned this already in the introduction, there are no surprises there then. But its true, I have found both projects and investors hiding in plain sight at a networking event. I already mentioned my two-part intro and in fact, the last even that I went to, I was offered a project as soon as I finished my sentence. Now, that was a Fazenda in Brazil, which is not exactly my sweet spot, but it was a great conversation starter that’s for sure. You might also note that by mixing a softer need (projects) with a somewhat harder need (investors) that it allows the other party to head in a direction most comfortable to them, whilst also placing a clear subliminal message that Richard only needs two things of course. One spin here is to think a little laterally…what does the other party get out of introducing me to either a project or an investor? Well, that’s part of a conversational skill, which you can often establish by asking about them, their challenges and the types of challenges faced within their own circle of influence. I will leave that there for now, as this will take us way too far off topic otherwise.
2. Your professional advisors – forget butcher, baker and candlestick maker and instead think broker, solicitor and planning consultant as a source of opportunity. This is not an exhaustive list, for example, think of your accountant, bank manager (remember those?), surveyor, insurance broker and so on. What do most professionals want? Referrals that’s what. So, offer to refer business to them and if they do not automatically ask how they could ever repay you…mention that you are on the lookout for your next great project or private financing partner to help them realise that reciprocity is a social law.
3. Commercial property listings – hands up all of you that look on Rightmove and Zoopla for your searches…not whilst you are walking the dog or lifting weights at the gym of course. Now, how many of you look at searches in your area on Rightmove Commercial for example? Not as many of you is it? There are lots of deals on Rightmove Commercial that are ripe for a residential property investor. For example, a shop or office to convert into residential, a mixed-use property that offers some advantages over many standard residential property or land plots to develop into a flip or ‘build-to-rent’ property. Just this morning, I stumbled across three such opportunities whilst sniffing around Rightmove Commercial, one was for me and two were for two of my Apprentices to have a look at.
4. Business for sale listings – did you know that there is a significant business for sale marketplace out there? No doubt, you might not fancy the latest no-money-down franchise or network marketing scheme, but how about businesses that have properties as a part of their balance sheet? Shops, pubs, care homes, hotels & B&Bs and even struggling professional practices with an office could mean you get a sniff at a property deal. Think laterally again here…could you hive off the ‘business’ from the ‘property’? Or, could you put in a manager or staff member to manage the business for you? Even if you don’t fancy any of these ideas, sometimes the property is worth more than the business to you, so keep an open mind. Equally, if someone is selling their business, what will they have more of than they did before? Could be time, could be money…
5. Planning applications – I have not specifically found a deal this way myself, but I have spotted this one a few times. I guess it works best when you have a patch to focus on. You can go to your local authority planning portal and enter a postcode to find all planning applications…then look for the ones that were approved between 1 and 2 years ago and also a second list of more than 3 years ago. Then, check to see if these properties were built out according to the planning application or not. If not, you might be able to approach the applicant to either buy their property and build out according to the approved planning, reinstate the planning or even pitch a JV or assisted sale with them as your partner…sweet eh?
6. Landlord meetings – I am listing this separately to the general networking meeting as it could be a very useful place to go looking. If you have ever been to a landlord association meeting of any flavour, you will notice that there is a clear difference between the culture and mindset when compared to business or property investor network meetings more generally. A lot of landlords are tired and cynical, so why not see if you can help them be less so? Rent-to-rent and guaranteed rent, lease options and straight purchase of tired or unprofitable property projects are there right in front of you but off-market. Again, the landlord could become your investment partner or vendor finance partner at the same time.
7. Rental property listings – this sounds counter-intuitive I know, but have you ever seen what I like to call a ‘sticky property’ on Rightmove or Zoopla? You know the ones, they have a listing since date that spans more than 3 months. Guess what, the landlord will start to become more motivated the longer the time passes. You could pitch a purchase or even a more creative solution, in this case, couldn’t you?
8. CCJs and Enforcement Orders – a CCJ is usually not attached to a property specifically, but an enforcement order can be. This is a matter of public record, so the info is freely available, so if searched for wisely, it can lead to a motivated seller potentially.
9. DIY property listings – around 90% of all properties listed for sale, perhaps, even more, are available to see on Rightmove and Zoopla. However, there are some DIY property listing sites, which do not automatically show up on the big two portals. Hint: Gumtree is one, but there are others that offer low-cost self-listing services. This means there is less competition looking at such properties.
10. Clubs and associations – sports, social, political and other ‘like-minded’ meeting places provide a place where you can look for opportunities. I have been presented with investment and investor opportunities when attending sport club reunions and visiting other member clubs. Remember, this is usually a social setting, so the approach needs to be a more casual one too.

Bonus – I am somewhat reluctant to mention this, as we are a small and cosy community and in truth, quite like to keep it that way. My very own Property Deal Tips service is a great way to find decent return property deals for less around 50 pence per day, but don’t tell everyone will you!?

There you go then, 10 of the slightly more unusual places where you can find both property projects and potential investment partners. The trick is to not come across not as a sleazy salesman, it is to connect with people on a personal level, understand their needs and then sensibly align what you can offer as a solution in a credible and trustworthy manner.

Before I leave you this week, just a short word not of promotion, but of thanks, regarding my latest book #PropTech. I am delighted to share with you that it reached number 1 in the charts and so officially became an Amazon Best Seller in its category last week. Thank you to all of you that bought a copy of the book, as you helped to make that happen, especially to you Nick who somehow managed to buy two copies instead of one! You are also helping to fund our work here at The Property Voice. If you have not bought a copy…well, you know what you can do I expect 😉

As it happens, I have just started work on no less than 3 new book projects. One is on property financing, another is on a kind of best of the soundbites episodes from this podcast and the third is to profile some of the real heavyweights of the property industry. This latter book has really got my juices flowing, so if you have any suggestions, I am all ears. I am putting it out there that I will publish at least two books again this year, so you can hold me to account on that now can’t you?

One last thing…I have now filled 2 seats on my next TPV Apprenticeship and have a couple of other candidates that I am talking to this week as well, all without any real advertising or promotion. We will have an update from the current Apprentices again soon. If you want to discuss this programme for a future intake, then just drop me an email or give me a call.

OK, so that’s me done for another week. Don’t forget the show notes are available on our website www.thepropertyvoice.net, including how you can reach me by telephone. Or, if you want to talk about anything from today’s show, or just talk property investing more generally, email me at podcast@thepropertyvoice.net, I would be happy to hear from you!

All that is left to say, is thank you very much for listening once again this week and until next time on The Property Voice Podcast…it’s ciao-ciao.