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How to find UK property development deals by sending letters direct to owner?

Hi there,

I'm Samuel Leeds and today I wanted to talk about LETTERS!

Houses prices are going so crazy this year (2021) that it can be hard to get deals direct through estate agents. This is why we send out letters direct to vendor.

Who to send letters to?

People who have negative equity in their houses.
Properties you have seen are derelict.

To find who owns pieces of land you just have to pay £3 on The Land Registry.

The purpose of the letters I send are not to get a deal but to start a conversation. I would say you have to send out on average 10 letters to start 1 conversation.

We send our well written letters in bright coloured envolopes to grab their attention and we get a 20% return. I would say half of those who do respond are politely telling you they are not interested and the other half are happy to talk.

How this works is being consistent, you need to keep sending letters and keep finding the land. We send 25 letters a week which isn't a lot but we are consistent and do it every week.

Am I looking for land with planning?

Generally I am looking for land without planning, this is due to the planning is where the profit is so if a piece of land already has planning then it is going to be sold at a premium. So we are looking to buy land without planning.

My advice for newbies in property development.

Always start with small deals and build your way up to the big deals. You are always going to mess up on your first deal so keep it small.

What do y0u do if planning is declined?

When you first put an offer in on the property it will generally be one of these three types of offers

a. Straight Forward Purchase (with no planning) As an experienced property developer you will have a rough idea if you would get planning on the land.

b. Option Agreement . You offer to buy it for the price the vendor wants after 12 months and give them a deposit to hold the land. You will then put in for planning.

c. Joint Venture. You build on the vendors land and then you split the profits. (You never actually own the land)

We have a lot of exciting property developments going on at the moment which I can't wait to share so watch this space!

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