How to Become a Property Sourcer

Sorting Out the Legalities to Become a Property Sourcer

Before you become a property deal sourcer, you need to have the right documents in place. There are quite a few regulations in place to keep investors safe, so they don’t get ripped off by scammers pretending to sell good deals.

Property sourcing is governed under the Estate Agents Act 1979, which means you’ll need to be compliant before sourcing any deals.

Here’s what you’ll need to get started.

Registry with a Property Ombudsman

Before sourcing and selling deals, you’ll need to register with a property ombudsman. Schemes such as The Property Ombudsman are there if there is a complaint to discuss and it can protect you or the client if anything goes wrong.

Get Indemnity Insurance

In order to get approved by the ombudsman you need to have indemnity insurance in case you need to cover any claims.

Register with the FCA

As part of the ombudsman scheme, you’ll also need to register with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which is there to prevent money laundering.

Set Up a Limited Company and Business Bank Account

You’ll need a limited company as well as a business bank account to actually receive funds. Setting up a limited company is easy and you can get a business bank account with companies like Starling easily

Learn to Find Amazing Deals

The main job of a property sourcer is to find investors deals they would otherwise struggle to find themselves. This normally includes rare finds like already tenanted properties or below market deals.

Most sourcers will spend their time researching properties through Rightmove, but there are tools out there that can speed up the process. These, of course, include Property Market Intel.

With our platform, you can crawl through properties on Rightmove, Zoopla, and On the Market all from one interface. Better yet, you can set your criteria to whatever you please, allowing you to find unique opportunities other investors might miss.

We won’t sell you too hard here but just know you can try out the platform completely for free for 7 days. Give it a go if you’re struggling to find profitable deals for investors.

Start Developing a List of Investors

One of the last steps is finding investors to actually sell the deals too. This is normally where most novice sourcers struggle. After all, you’ll need someone to buy the properties you find.

A good place to find investors is through networking. There are events around the country called PIM meetings where investors come together to network. These events can be a great opportunity to find investors who are cash rich but have little time on their hands to find properties.

You can also get crafty and start social media accounts advertising that you’re a deal sourcing. Using something like Instagram can enable you to showcase properties you’ve found to people who follow your account.

You can even start sending out leaflets and fliers to try and attract property investors. It’s essentially about being a savvy marketer, getting your name out and building a solid investor list.

If you’re after truly unique deals, use our off-market deal sourcing platform to find deals others will miss.

What if You Can’t Find any Investors?

Sometimes finding the investors is the hardest part. After all, you need to be marketing yourself constantly and you’ll need to have a good reputation.

If you’re finding good deals but have no one to sell to, partnering with someone with an investor list can be a good way to go. This is sometimes known as 'slipping'.

However, although this is a good method to begin with, you should really focus on building your own list. It gives you more control over your deals and provides you with more profit in the long run.

Summing it all up

Becoming a property sourcer is actually an easy process – there isn’t many steps preventing you from start tomorrow. However, there are a number of skills you’ll need to attain if you are to have success.

You’ll need to learn to market yourself effectively and find fantastic deals to sell to investors. However, the only way you’ll get better is by throwing yourself into it.