If we are going to do our buy to let property hunting effectively, we need to have an efficient process. This will help identify property we want to buy.
Developing a process
Why do we need a process?
It’s an unfortunate consequence of my day job that I am always looking to create do-able processes. Fortunately Matt also has a job where a scalable repeatable process is a successful outcome of any delivered project.
To save us tripping over each other , we need to think about having a process. This process includes identifying and refining opportunities. Then putting those opportunities through the opportunity model. Thereby creating a short list for further discussion.
We also need to identify the criteria that will be used as the basis for that discussion. There is an element of gut feel to these things. But we need to have a checklist of things that we can tick off to make sure that we’re comparing apples with apples and not oranges.
Thanks to our day jobs, we have experience in identifying the key objects in a data set. We can also find a list of the common and more easily identifiable attributes of those objects. Our focus is on building a checklist of attributes and discussion points. At some point there will also be a decision matrix that supports the opportunity model we have already developed.
what do we need to have?
Overall we need to have:
- a clear set of criteria for identifying a property
- a checklist of considerations to narrow down an initial shot list of properties
- an opportunity model to help us further refining that shortlist
- a way of making sure that a potential property meets the needs of any potential tenant
The division of Labour is also included in a process map. Just because Matt is doing the day job doesn’t mean that decisions are devolved completely to him. Financially and legally we are both responsible for whatever we do with our buy to let property limited company.
This means we have to have a place in our model for having a discussion where we must and both agreeing that something is worth buying.
