The Journey: How to Start Property Investing

​Property investing is a process like anything else and although there isn’t a specific end, if you want to continually grow, progress, and become successful there is a definitive start. A time when you stop dreaming and theorising and start doing, by this we mean taking action.
 
Over the course of this 6-part special blog series “The Journey” we’re going to detail exactly how to get started in property investing so that you can make your first moves.
 
It might seem scary to begin with but, when you learn and listen to feedback from others who have they experience, your fear is reduced.
 
Property investing is much like other businesses and projects and it is vital we treat it like a business from day one. This first blog in the series is all about getting organised and getting started. 

Get Educated

​Look around you, or get Googling, and you’ll quickly see that the most successful people, no matter what the field, are constantly trying to educate and improve themselves. Property investing is no different.
 
Educating yourself on different aspects such as having the right mindset to start off with, then ensuring you have get the right financial advice from specialist property advisors, knowing what’s involved in choosing the right property strategy for you needs, how to handle tenants if you choose Buy to Lets or HMOs, how to research, do your due diligence, spot value, search for new opportunities, and more, amongst many other facets of property investing, will return dividends in the long run.
 
You might know someone who owns one buy to let property and seems to do everything themselves. That’s fine, on a small scale. But if you want to scale up you will then need to start leveraging.
 
This isn’t just specific to getting started, it should become part of your property journey and if you want to progress and grow into a proper, established property investor, education is essential.
 
For information on our Property Success University click here. 

Setting Up Admin

​Starting off with good habits is the road to success. Organising and structuring your property investing actions from the beginning will prove seriously beneficial the further you go into this career and we’d highly recommend it.
 
Keeping records, spreadsheets and having practical systems established from day one is key.
 
What does this mean on a practical level?
 
On a very basic level you should have an accessible phone number and email address (these can be personal or business) connected to your property business meaning everything goes through one official property channel.
 
It is very important that you have a business card and bring some with you everywhere as it is professional and people will take you much more seriously. You should also start to think about simple systems to keep records of transactions (e.g. income and expense) for all future property related documentation. Being this organized will make your life so much easier in the future, especially when preparing for end of year tax returns.
 
At another level you might be faced with the decision between operating as a limited company or as a sole personal investor.
 
This type of decision can require specific consideration relevant to your own personal situation and needs to be weighed up very carefully. Our biggest piece of advice in this situation would be to seek specific advice from an accountant who specializes in property.

Network, Network, Network!

​“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together!”
 
It might sound like a clichéd Internet quote (it is…) but it’s very true in the property investing world and that’s why proper, focused networking should become an important part of your plans from the start.
 
If you want to operate in the buy to let market you’ll need to become acquainted with local estate agents in your target areas and you can use this property strategy very successfully on your own.
 
On the other hand, if you want to focus on refurbishments, flips and developments then you’ll need an established power team of professionals, tradesmen and contractors around you. Planning large developments? You’ll most likely need to talk to an experienced planning consultant who knows the ropes.
 
Whatever way you slice it, property investors need networks around them. Check out our blog on the perfect property “power team” here for more advice on the subject and for those of you interested in networking, you can learn more about our monthly networking event here! 

Setting Budget

​Setting a budget is always an important step as it helps to define what you can or can’t do…to a certain extent.
 
In an ideal world you’ll have a healthy budget waiting to be used. This will most likely be used for the likes of your first deposit, refurbishment costs, professional services fees and so on.
 
However, you might be on the opposite end of the spectrum, without any sort of available budget, thinking that you’ve got no chance and no options. This just isn’t the case.
 
Money is essential in property investment, there’s no denying that but even if you can’t bring finance to the table you might be able to offer other assets, such as your knowledge, skill and experience. Plenty of willing Joint Venture partners are out there, ready to invest but unable to act e.g., someone may have the capital but no deal or time.
 
If you can bring a great deal to the table, hard work, experience or time to get deals over the line, or some combination of the above, Joint Venture partners will listen to you and maybe give you the chance you need. 

Until Next Time...

​In part two of The Journey we’ll focus on the who, what, where, why and how of the property hunt!
 
In the meantime, you can read more about Property Success University by clicking here and Belfast Property Meet by clicking here.
 
If you’d like to chat, or have general questions and queries about property investing, you can contact us here.