How do you find opportunities to develop property?

How do you find opportunities to develop property?

Many people who are new into the property development sector, or indeed aspire to change career paths often wonder where to begin to start looking for development sites for new housing. Like most things in life there’s not just one answer to this question and you must remember it’s about spreading out your net as far and wide as possible.

To secure deals, you need to have conversations. To have more conversations you will need to start extending your network. By that I mean, the more people you get to know in the housing industry and related associated sectors, the closer you will get to securing sites. There are key professional sectors you should be networking with to secure good business relationships, which in turn will lead to conversations and conversations lead to securing deals.

Forging strong relationships with Local Estate Agents is a must, as they are often the first to know about potential opportunities way before they hit Rightmove. Prove to them you are a competent developer with the resources to match and you will benefit from early insights and introductions. Don’t expect the deals to always stack up for you, but start getting involved in those opportunities as soon as possible.

Get to know your local independent Planning Consultant for these professionals are absolutely key in gaining insider knowledge on what sites can or can’t be developed. They will advise what restrictions you are likely to come up against, plus more importantly any Levvies or Financial contributions that will be due on any given development. Their knowledge will save you time and money, trust in that. Make sure you do your homework and get to understand the basics regarding Local Planning Policies as then you can start to conduct basic site viability appraisals quickly by yourself.

Architects are another influencer you need to get into your world. They will have clients who are seeking plans to be drawn up for potential sites and will often ask if the Architect knows of any local developers who may be interested in buying the site etc. The leads may be infrequent, but leads turn into conversations and conversations lead to securing deals.

A conveyancing solicitor would be a great addition to your contact list. Their specialism and advice with help cut through all the red tape sometimes associated with the Legal Title documentation relating to a particular site. Sometimes even after gaining Planning Consent there can be even bigger hurdles to overcome dealing with such things as restrictive covenants on the Title Register. Get a trusted relationship built with your local Law firm.

Join your local networking group, it’s bound NOT to have a property developer holding down a seat! Make it clear you are not interested in single-storey kitchen extensions, otherwise you will have all the wrong referrals coming your way! Local networking groups will cast your net so much further than you could do alone and it will pay dividends to get yourself truly well known in these circles, so be patient, but more importantly, start getting out there and having conversations…..

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