Ready for 4 tips for first-time property developers?
The property development industry is a commanding sector of business, with an impressive net worth of an estimated £670bn in 2021 that continues to grow; it’s no wonder that more and more individuals want to become a part of this lucrative industry.
However, it is not an industry that rewards all its participators; instead, only a select few individuals with the necessary skills and experience reap the rewards this business has to offer.
Acquiring the knowledge to profit within the property development industry can be daunting, especially if you’re a novice to the developing world, and starting can be equally so. So, regardless of whether you intend to create a career out of property development like someone such as Lincoln Frost has, or simply enjoy it as a hobby, here is a list of our top tips for first-time property developers to help you branch out into the development world.
Here is a list of our top tips for first-time property developers to help you branch out into the development world.
Talk To And Befriend Knowledgeable Professionals
Much like any sector or business, making connections is one of the best ways to succeed within the property development industry. By reaching out to and befriending like-minded individuals, you will gain the necessary knowledge to improve your chances of success within the development world.
Indeed, you can learn from reading about or studying property development; however, one of the best ways to learn is by doing. Nothing will speed up your learning process more than interacting with knowledgeable professionals.
Doing so will provide you with valuable life lessons and tailored tips or tricks that you may not be able to find in the pages of a book.
You may find it difficult to introduce yourself to knowledgeable professionals and seasoned developers at the beginning of your journey. So, you may want to explore other methods of communication until you build up a rapport with some of them.
You could do this by connecting with people via social media, emailing or networking events where you will get the chance to connect with like-minded people.
Don’t forget that the term knowledgeable professionals don’t just apply to developers; you can also gain valuable experiences and knowledge from other professionals within the property industry. From real estate agents to architects, there are many professionals to converse with that are involved in the property development process.
Find Quality Professionals To Work Alongside
In business, success doesn’t just stem from your actions; it also depends on the individuals you surround yourself with while completing work. To boost your chances of profiting within the property development industry, you should constantly search for new quality professionals to work alongside and add to your connections.
From builders, architects, and environmental specialists, there are multiple professionals involved in the property development process that budding and seasoned developers work alongside to produce the desired product. When you first emerge into the property development world, you may have a limited list of quality professionals to partner with.
Consider chatting to other like-minded individuals and asking them for suggestions of which professionals they’ve used before. You could even ask your contacts or other knowledgeable professionals for examples of their work and contact details for a person they’ve worked alongside before.
Providing you like their work, you could then add the company to your shortlist of prospective professionals to partner with and create a rapport with them. Suppose you’re looking for a future environmental consultancy to carry out ecological surveys on your behalf; you could look at contacting companies such as treesurvey.co.uk.
With services ranging from bat surveys to tree surveys, consider adding them to your shortlist of quality professionals for assistance with the environmental impacts of your proposed developments. Contact a team member today for more insight into their services or visit their website for more information.
Understand The Market
One of the most important skills that successful property developers have is a sound understanding of the property market, recognising the changes and varying conditions. Due to the sheer size of the real estate market, several factors can affect pricing, availability, investment sizes and much more.
Hence, it’s valuable knowing how to navigate this market to influence your decisions about what property to develop and what not to develop.
You can use the property market to find out other valuable statistics, such as the age or income of prospective buyers and which locations are prime for real estate opportunities. Identifying these trends can help you as a property developer single out prospectively lucrative properties to develop that’ll give you a good return on your investment if your purpose is to resell.
Various resources are available to budding property developers that want to expand their knowledge of the property market. From internet beginners guides to books, there are multiple ways to broaden your market knowledge before starting your first project.
Alternatively, you could seek out a mentor who will be able to give you one-to-one tuition regarding the property market to heighten your skills.
Learn How To Be Patient
Whether a seasoned developer or a novice, developing a property takes time. To make your property development fantasies a reality, you need to be patient and trust the process.
Granted, when we’re excited about a project, we can all get a little carried away, especially if it’s one of your very first development projects.
But we fail to realise that results take time, and if we try to rush the process, it could diminish the quality of the overall development, which is a waste of time and resources. Therefore, to avoid rushing, ensure that you create a roadmap that outlines your process and the timeframe you are looking to complete it.
Once you’ve done this, we recommend adding an additional couple of months to your timescale so that you can prepare for any hiccups along the way. However, if you find that the build is going well, you can always remove these additional months if you see fit.
Having the extra couple of months helps prepare in advance, and should any unforeseen circumstances arise, it’ll give you the time needed to complete pretty on time. Hopefully these tips for first-time property developers will help you.