How to Find Investment Properties (Quick and Easy)

Property Auctions

If you’re looking for an investment property for a bargain, property auctions are fantastic. However, getting a property from auction isn’t for the faint hearted. It is a more complex process and novice investors can get burnt hard if they don’t know what they’re doing.

Property auctions attract a lot of refurbishment projects. The properties that get put in an auction often need a lot of work doing to them. So be prepared to do a lot of research to make sure they’re profitable.

However, if you end up finding a diamond in the rough you can make a ton of money. Especially if you’re using the BRRR strategy.

There are also finance options to help to score a deal. We have a guide on how to get a mortgage for an auction property in our knowledge centre. Check it out if this is an approach you’re looking to pursue.

Rightmove and Zoopla

One of the simplest ways to find an investment property is through using filters on Zoopla and Rightmove and scrolling through the options.

Both platforms usually indicate in property descriptions whether a property needs refurbishing or is a good investment opportunity. The trick is in the filters.

You can also find good auction properties via this route. However, if you’re looking to avoid auction properties, platforms like Rightmove make it tricky as they’re difficult to remove from search results.

You do need to know what you’re looking for if you’re going to manually scroll through these platforms. There are a lot of filters and you need to have a set of criteria in place to filter through the rubbish.

You can also check comparables and try and work out the average price for the area to check if you’re getting something below market value. However, there are better ways to do this as you’ll see below.

If you want to learn more about how you can use Rightmove and Zoopla to find hidden property gems, see our knowledge centre for more.

Off-Market Letter Campaigns

This is an advanced tactic but one that can score properties that haven’t even reached the open markets yet. Better yet, hardly anyone is using this tactic.

To find these off-market properties, you’re better off using letter campaigns. This is essentially a numbers game. You write letters to 100s of houses in an area of interest explaining that you’re interested in buying their property. You then go around posting them.

If you’ve crafted a good letter and have had a bit of luck, you might get a few replies from people who are willing to sell. Then it is just a case of closing the deal.

As stated previously, this is advanced and takes a lot of time. Of course, you can speed it up with something like our off-market sourcing platform. This does the heavy lifting for you.

We also have a number of letter templates available to make your life easier. Check them out in our knowledge centre.

Estate Agents

Estate agents are an excellent source of investment properties. Their knowledge of the local area and their connections make them superb at getting discounted deals. They’re also a go-to for novice investors.

The process of finding investment properties through estate agents is fairly simple. By getting in touch about a specific property you can start to wiggle your way into their books. It’s all about building rapport in the early stages.

Once you’ve seen a few properties and even closed a few deals, they might start pushing investment deals straight to you once they have them on their books. This is if you’ve let them know your specific strategy.

Be warned that estate agents usually only work with professionals who have proof of funds. So, before they start providing you with investment opportunities, you may need to demonstrate you’re serious with a few purchases beforehand.

Online Platforms and Software

There are even easier ways to find investment properties. If you’re willing to put some money aside each month there are platforms and software available to do it for you.

Although we’re biased, platforms like Property Market Intel help to skim through both Zoopla, Rightmove, and On the Market to find the best deals in line with your criteria and strategy.

Our platform scrapes all possible sources of property data and can tell you whether a property is worth pursuing. We also have features that allow you to discover unique opportunities, such as HMOs, refurbishment projects, and tenanted properties.

I won’t go on too much about our platform, but it truly is the best way to source investment properties in half the time. We’re also the cheapest in the market, so we’re perfect for the both the beginner and the expert.

Check out our free trial now and just see how quickly you can find a property.

Networking

If you have the social skills necessary, networking is a great way to find hidden investment properties other might miss. With events such as PIN meetings, you can meet fellow investors who might have some properties they want to sell.

Better yet, property sourcers often go to PIN events and they’re experts at finding great property deals. They do come at a cost though, so be prepared to take about a £3000 hit if you want to use one.

If you have the money, you may find an investor who wants to get rid of a section of their portfolio. This could be a superb way to get a ton of already profiting investment properties with little to no research.

Summing it up

Finding investment properties doesn’t have to be a struggle. There are a ton of methods you can use to find the perfect property that suits your needs. The above methods will help you find an investment property quickly. However, if you do want to drastically speed up the process, try Property Market Intel’s platform today. It’s free for 7 days.

Related Reading

• How to build a property portfolio with 50K

• How to get into property with no money