How Fast Will I Start Making Money In Property?

Let’s be honest. Most of us go into property investing to make money and preserve wealth. We are not getting into it ‘just to learn something’ to prove we are smart enough.

So one question I get asked all the time is ‘How Fast Will I Start Making Money?’

If you have spoken to me or read my articles, you will know that I’m honest and hate to beat around the bush.

But in this case I really can’t give you a straight forward answer because what results people get really do depend on who they are, what effort and money they put in.

Let me give you a few examples.

My best Rent to Rent student got her first deal in 2 weeks! But digging deeper, she has a sales background so naturally she secured more viewings over the phone and was able to build good rapport with the owner and negotiate the right terms.

And some people never got any results! Because they never even took the action to set up a Rent to Rent company! Or they never bothered visiting their potential investing areas for research!

So now you see what I mean – the timeline of someone else seeing the money isn’t going to be YOUR TIMELINE.

But let me give you an idea of what COULD BE a reasonable time frame to see results – if you follow the action points I give you to the letter.

Getting your first Rent to rent deal is completely doable in 3 months, as long as you put in consistent effort.

Finding your first high yielding Buy To Let property is achievable in 6 months.

Please don’t let this time frame frustrate you if you are slower than this. Remember – everyone’s circumstance is different. The key is that YOU ARE MAKING PROGRESS.

But if you feel that you are not making any progress after a while with consistent effort – it always means you have a BARRIER you need to break. Maybe your direction is wrong. Maybe there is a specific skill you need to improve on.

Find out what it is and crack it head on!

If you need any help, give me a shout at any time :)

Emma xx

* Want the step-by-step action points, tools and scripts, to build an extra £2000/month income through property within 6-12 months? – CLICK HERE to book a free strategy session with me.

The Most Important Skill in Property Investing

I talked about the controversy of using sourcing agents in my last email (when you should use one and when you shouldn’t use one). This leads well into today’s topic on the most important skill in property investing.

Sourcing the deal!

Many new investors for one reason and another, are trying everything they can to avoid learning how to source deals themselves.

I understand it’s scary – all those speaking to private vendors/landlords, testing marketing methods, etc. And we are all lazy – and sourcing the deals ourselves is not the easiest route.

I wish I could have people sending me great deals for free all day long. But it doesn’t work that way in reality.

The more experienced I got, the more I realise the importance of being able to source good deals.

When the deal is good, you will not be short of lending (mortgages and private investors), exit strategies, and profits.

If you know how to source good deals, you can not only build a portfolio of your own, but also pass the leads on to earn extra income.

So the best way to learn to source deals?

It’s hard to generalise so pick your strategy first. Then find a reliable, detailed course that has a heavy focus on finding the deals. The course should give you sufficient detailed instructions so that you can take actions immediately.

Then the rest is practice and feedback.

Test the different ways of marketing and negotiation, and find the most suitable ones specific to your investing area and demographic.


To your success!

Emma xx

* Want the step-by-step action points, tools and scripts, to build an extra £2000/month income through property within 6-12 months? – CLICK HERE to book a free strategy session.

Should I use sourcing agents to find property deals?

Many of my new students have asked me this question when they were frustrated by temporary lack of results.

‘Could I just use sourcing agents who will get me the deals and I just pay them a fee?’

My answer to them is always ‘NO’.

Why?

I’m not saying sourcing agents are no good. In fact, it can be a very efficient way of getting new deals. However, my point is that not every investor should be going down this route.

New and inexperienced property investors should learn to analyse deals first or even better they should learn to source deals first before considering using sourcing agents.

There are many sourcing agents out there. Every one of them will claim that they can get you great deals (high return, low risk, heavy discount etc.) Unfortunately some of these deals aren’t what they are claimed to be. Having the ability to tell if the deal is a genuine good deal or just dressed up to be one is crucial.

So when should you use a sourcing agent?

-     You are very clear about your selection criteria and you are only going to pick those that meet your criteria. (For example, you want 3 bedroom terraced houses in xx postcode. You know what the market price is at a standard condition.)

-     You are able to source your own properties (or you have successfully done it yourself before) but you are currently too busy to be doing it yourself.
 

-     The process of taking on the deal is fairly standard and due diligence easily done. For example, a below market value property for sale through a sourcing agent in an area that you know very well could be a valid deal (your solicitor will do the conveyancing for you).
 

And when you shouldn’t use a sourcing agent?

-     You just want certain ‘end goals’ such as return over 8%, 20% market value discount, £2000/month cash flow etc. But you don’t have a clear idea of the type of property you want. In this case, you are more likely to be ‘Sold’ a deal that seem good but with many hidden caveats and small prints.
 

-     Where the terms negotiated form a large part of the deal – such as Rent to rent deals in general. Strategies like Rent to Rent can be highly dependent on the agreement and structure of the deal - unlike Buy to let where the purchasing process and conditions are a bit more standard. The difference between a good and a bad Rent to rent deal is sometimes purely the negotiated terms (and not just the numbers). So a sourced deal with pre-negotiated terms can quite often not meet all your criteria.

I hope that clarifies whether you should use a sourcing agent.

Till next time.
Emma xx

* Want the step-by-step action points, tools and scripts, to build an extra £2000/month income through property within 6-12 months? – CLICK HERE to book a free strategy session with me.

BTL, R2R, HMO, SA - Which property strategy should you choose?

 

Time flies – the first month of 2021 has passed by very quickly.

If you haven’t given up your new year’s resolution of starting property investing this year – I want to congratulate you!

So which strategy have you decided to focus on?

In my last week’s Live Q&A session – I got asked one question, which was very close to my heart 7 years ago, when I first started the property journey.

 

-               -      ‘Which strategy is best for me? BTL, R2R, HMO, SA…?’

 

So maybe you have just figured out what these acronyms mean, and you are starting to wonder which one you should actually pick. Because we all have a busy life and we can’t do everything.

I’m lucky enough to have done all these strategies myself and here’s my honest opinion.

BTL

Buy to let is the most fundamental (and effective) property investing strategy out there. It’s great for people who are new to property and haven’t had much experience. It’s best for those with some money and wanting a good return from their money. Easiest to start with.

R2R

Rent to rent is a strategy that requires a little bit more effort than BTL in terms of managing the property (but with under 5 properties this is negligible). This strategy doesn’t require much money invested. 3-5k is all you need to get started. If you have the skill to negotiate free rent period, you potentially don’t even need that 3-5k. So R2R is great for those who are committed to using property to generate an extra income stream, but don’t have much funds or don’t want to use own funds.

HMO

HMO can generate very good returns and cash flow. But it requires a bit more skills and experience, on managing properties, complying with regulations, and even potentially doing small development work to add value. More risk and capital involved. May not be the easiest strategy for someone completely new to property.

SA

Serviced accommodation is a great strategy for short stay travellers for fun or business. It’s not the best timing for this strategy before the world travelling gets back to pre-COVID level.

 

In summary, these strategies are all great cash flow strategies except that SA is difficult to implement due to COVID. If you are less experienced but have savings, BTL is easy to start with. If you are less experienced but no savings, R2R is the best strategy for you. If you are a bit more skilled, HMO can get you higher returns.

Ultimately it’s up to yourself which strategy you choose. Pick one close to your heart and gut. Also remember that investing in property does require some resources from you – whether it’s your time, money, effort, or skills. Decide on which resource you have and are willing to put in.

 

Keep up with your new year’s resolution!

Emma xx

* Want the step-by-step action points, tools and scripts, to build an extra £2000/month income through property within 6-12 months? – CLICK HERE to book a free strategy session with me.