5 Things Everyone Who Wishes to Start a Real Estate Company Must Know

The real estate industry is a thriving and lucrative one. Humans will always live in houses or use buildings for retail or corporate work. Going into the real estate industry requires a ton of effort and planning. You are going to be helping clients make the biggest transactions of their lives, therefore you need to be prepared.

Real estate business is a major part of the UK economy. It involves the buying and selling of real estate owned by you, renting out real estate properties, and performing real estate activities for a fee. Here, you will learn five important things you should know before getting into the real estate business in order to stand a chance of being successful at it.

1.      Lending and Conveyancing

Whether you are working with buyers or sellers, building a relationship with lenders in your area is important. These relationships will help you be more acquainted with changes in financing rules as they are often subject to changes. You will also have the required depth on the proper loan types to recommend to your sellers. You wouldn’t have to read credit companies reviews every time you have a client, as experienced hands can help you navigate those murky waters. 

On conveyance, you would need to establish trust with a firm and make them a regular. As a newbie in the business, you should find proven establishments like Homeward Legal by reading reviews on places like ReviewsBird. Look out for how previous customers describe their experiences with these firms’ customer support systems. Also, ensure whatever firm you end up going with doesn’t have complaints of hidden charges levied against it.

2.      Write a Business Plan

Some people might argue this should come first and they would be right. However, writing a business plan requires having the key components to that business’s success locked down. You can’t write a business plan for a real estate company without a relationship with lenders.

Every new business should have a business plan. This document establishes what your company’s system of operation would look like when it finally comes to life. Writing a business plan helps you weed out the unrealistic ideas and it also helps you figure out who your competitors are and what niche you would be filling. Finally, business plans force you to think about important things like your company’s legal structure.

3.      Find Your Business a Home

Your business has to operate out of somewhere. This is a place where clients would likely pay visits to when they have properties to sell or buy. Start small and scale up as your business’s profits scale in a similar direction. Scope out an area you think would be conducive and work out the average rents for different places in that area.

A new business doesn’t have to start in a rented property. You could even start your real estate agency at home. All you’ll need is a laptop, phone, and internet access in good condition. Starting from home will help you keep your running costs low.

4.      Marketing

Tell everyone you know that you are in the real estate business. You are a start-up and might not have the funds to pull off a huge marketing campaign, so for a start, take on the job of marketing yourself. Tell your mates, workmates and anyone who cares to listen, about your new agency. Go to events and strike up conversations that can help you describe what you do. If you create enough awareness, people would turn to you first when they need to sell or buy a property. Don’t just put up posts on social media, speak to people physically.

Join the Association of Residential Letting Agents in the UK and the National Association of Estate Agents. Being a part of these associations helps paint a professional picture of you. When you sell yourself to potential clients with these membership badges, you would come off as time-worth and trust-worthy.  Advertise yourself in the local media – newspapers, and local TV, and radio if you can. This is a great way of getting noticed. They are better than handing out fliers because most of the time they end up in the bin.

5.      Avoid Time Wasters

Being new to the real estate business, getting a phone call will have you fired up and eager to show off what you know about the business. You should bear in mind that the world is filled with a lot of indecisive people with time on their hands and you don’t have to go running off to meet everyone who calls you to check on a property. Ensure they are valuable leads before spending time or effort on them.

It is an exciting adventure you are about to embark on. Every big real estate agency you see out there and whose success you covet started just as you are starting. Make calculated moves and take your slice of the market.