Building your property network

Property investment can be a lonely career as so many people – who are not in it and don’t know much about it – consider it to be a mug’s game, risky and not a ‘proper job’.

I think it’s a bit like Twitter (which is also a network), people either ‘get it’ or they don’t.  I know lots of people who think Twitter is an ideal way to make contacts – and I know quite a few who think it’s a massive waste of time!  My social media expert friends tell me it’s an exercise in joining up the dots – it’s not who you know, it’s who they know.

I speak at many property networking events and they are generally well-attended, and I know there are a huge number of property investors who don’t go to networking meets.

Who do you want in your network?

Attending your local BNI or other business network probably isn’t going to be a huge help to you as a property investor.  You’ll meet a few estate agents, some financial advisors, a handful of accountants and a variety of lawyers – and maybe even the odd QS.  But most of them won’t ‘get’ serious property investment.

I do believe that networking of any kind needs to be focused.  I’ve always used networking for a whole host of purposes:

• I’ve built my business connections, not just of clients, but also of suppliers, referrers and advocates.
• I discover learning opportunities through my networking – both for myself and for my own network.
• I’ve made some really good friends I’ve met through networking – I think the right networks attract like-minded people who will willingly support, advise and act as cheer-leaders when needed.

These days I don’t attend random networking events, I choose carefully and pick networks that will tick the boxes for some or all of the above.

So who do you want in your network?

If you’re serious about property investment I’d recommend:

• A good broker who can help you find the right finance for each project and is working daily at the level of complexity of the projects you need funding.
• A solicitor who understands bridging finance, who may be different from the solicitor you use for standard mortgages.
• Reliable tradesmen who know how to carry out refurbs efficiently to the standards you set, on time and within budget.

And a means of knowing about learning opportunities to expand your knowledge to improve your property investing skills.

If you’re on my newsletter list you’ll know that I share lots of opportunities with my immediate network.  All these came about through networking.

I’m known in the property business as an expert in Bridging Finance – and that’s all happened through networking.

So what networks do you attend – and why?  Do they help you to become the property investor you want to be?

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