Property Tools For Professional Investors

Across 17 years I have bought a number of residential and commercial properties which now make up a relative sizeable portfolio of units across the South East of England. I often get asked for hints and tips for starting in property — especially by those who are thinking of getting into it for the first time — so I recently put together a list of my favourite basic tools for assessing deals for attendees of my Ultimate Property Profits Masterclass and, as they said it was very handy, I thought I'd share the list with you on Linkedin too!

For me, the first thing that I like to make people aware of is that I operate on a business first, property second rule.

I create profits from my multiple businesses and then I invest those profits into property. Property, both commericial and residential, creates a basis of very tax efficient cash-flowing assets but it’s not my priority. However, business and property work so well hand-in-hand. I can invest business assets to build wealth and, likewise, I can use property as security if I need funds to further accelerate business growth.

So here is my list of handy tools.

These are all online tools that are really useful for initially assessing to see whether or not a property deal stacks up on a fundamental level. I have a strict and stringent criteria that all my property deals must meet — such as minimum 20% ROI and at least 10% annual rent based on cash deployed — which obviously require a lot more assessment, but these tools are handy for a quick check to see if the property is feasible (based on your own investment rules) and therefore worth more time and effort in investigating.

BBC MORTGAGE CALCULATOR — ideal for quick calculations where you can create a bespoke repayment period, interest rates and see repayment or interest only monthly rates.

STAMP DUTY CALCULATOR — really simple calculator that shows relevant SDLT rates based on whether the property is a residential purchase or an investment unit. Don’t forget as an investor, residential investment property purchases are now usually subject to a 3% ‘surcharge’. This tool also shows property price tax banding.

MOUSEPRICE — shows property valuations and recently sold prices. This is a great tool as the sold prices are based on data taken from Land Registry. So, actual sales not ‘guesstimates’! Always assess if your deals stack up based on sold prices rather than valuations as they can be inaccurate.

RIGHTMOVE SAVED SEARCH — Rightmove is the UK’s largest online property portal. One of their really useful tools is ‘Draw A Search’ so you can map out a very specific investment area, select price range, choose the number of bedrooms and property type etc. so that only the specific type of property in your predetermined specific area is shown. You can create an email alert too, which means that any property in your price range, in your investment area will be emailed to you as soon as it comes on the market.

OPENRENT — online rental platform where the landlord advertises the property directly to find tenants. This is handy to find existing landlords who might be advertising their property for rent and sale — where a landlord will look at either option there may be a mutually valuable deal to be done.

SPAREROOM — online platform aimed at the room share market. This is a handy tool if you are looking at HMO as an investment option, as this can give you an idea of similar property room rates in your investment area. Using their ‘Rent Checker’ tool you can find out the average rents in your area over the last 6 months as well as the current price range — and number — of rooms available.

It’s worth saying once again that ‘I have a strict and stringent criteria that all my property deals must meet’ this means that I don’t waste time looking at properties that don’t meet my investment requirements. I always say that ‘deals are like buses’ as there is always another one coming along.

Property — like any form of business — should be tactically undertaken based on predetermined goals and targets that get you to a beneficial outcome.

Hope the tools listed above help you on your investment journey.