So you’ve learnt everything there is to know about property and you’re ready to invest but you have no funds.
Maybe you had money but you’ve just invested it into a project (well done to you), but now you want to get involved in more property projects.
The only way to continue (or start) if you have no money, is to use other people’s money, and by this we mean investors.
Finding property investors to work with you can allow you to build experience, your own portfolio and cash flow.
All while enabling someone with money to get great returns on their investment when they wouldn’t have the time or knowledge (or both) to do so themselves.
Of course, first, you need to find these investors that are willing to work with you.
Whether you’re looking for private investors for property development or you’re a deal packager looking for investors, this post should help you.
So where do these rare specimens reside? Let’s find out…
💡 If you just want a summary, here’s how to find property investors for your projects 👇
- Facebook Groups
- YouTube
- Podcasting
- Local Property Meetups
- Mutual Friends
- Industry Publications
- SEO
- Angel Investors
- Crowdfunding Platforms
- Exhibitions and Industry Events
- Referrals and doing a good job
- Bonus Method: (See At The Bottom)
Where To Find Private Property Investors
1. Facebook Groups
Facebook? Isn’t that where you play Farmville (not sure if this still exists) and annoy your friends to play too?
Yes, that same Facebook.
There are plenty of Facebook groups for property investment where people come together to talk about their deals, what they’re working on, and ask for advice.
There are some broader ones covering large areas, but you can also find local groups which can be more useful to you if you invest locally.
Here you can start posting about your deals so people know what you’re doing.
If people are interested in what you’re doing then you’ll slowly start to build a reputation and you may get approached by investors.
You may even have some people post that they’re looking for specific types of deals for which you would be the perfect partner to work with.
Try to join a mixture of groups so you can get access to a wide variety of people.
In property investment, some people tend to gravitate to one specific strategy and shut out everything else.
Because of this, some people may only join groups for BRR, and some people may only join HMO groups.
Some people may only join local groups but other people might only join the broad nationwide groups.
By joining a mixture of groups, not only will you have access to more people but you’ll start to learn more about the specific needs of different types of investors and projects.
You’ll also start to see recommendations by other people for solicitors, brokers, tradespeople and other professionals that they’ve worked with.
This is always helpful, especially if you’re looking to work in a new area or expand the network of people you work with.
Pros:
- Free
- Anybody can do it
- No technical knowledge required
- Can do it from anywhere
Cons:
- May get a lot of time wasters on Facebook
- Have to filter through the BULL and spam
2. Instagram
I was surprised that there are so many people in property investment circles on Instagram.
Whilst you can’t join groups in the same way as Facebook groups, you’ll start to get recommendations for who to follow and content from people in a related niche once the algorithm understands you’re into property investment.
Follow a few accounts and you’ll start seeing more content related to those accounts.
More importantly, you should be posting content to get more eyes on your profile.
This doesn’t have to be content about a deal you’re doing if you haven’t got any current deals.
It can just be property-related content in general.
A news item related to property, some educational information, even a meme about stamp duty or estate agents that makes people laugh – anything that can give a bit of value to someone interested in property investment.
Slowly you should start seeing other people interested in property investment starting to follow you and hopefully some of these are going to be your investors or they’ll know people that are.
Pros:
- Free
- Anybody can do it
- Little technical knowledge required
- Can do it from anywhere
Cons:
- May get a lot of time wasters in your DMs
- Have to filter through the spam accounts
- Requires time to plan and create content
3. LinkedIn
Linkedin is a bit different to other social media in that it is aimed at professionals.
Just by design, this tends to mean that there is a slightly higher calibre of person on here, this is not to say there isn’t spam though.
A great part of LinkedIn is that you can connect with people and almost instantly get an idea of whether they have money or not.
This is because when you connect with people you can see their job roles and history which gives you an indication of their income level.
One benefit of LinkedIn over some other social media platforms is that a large majority of LinkedIn users are consumers rather than producers of content.
By this, I mean that on LinkedIn people post less content on average than on other social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram.
This means if you start posting property-related content or even reposting interesting articles on LinkedIn, you’re more likely to be seen than on other social media platforms.
This means it can be easier to start building a reputation and following in property circles.
Over time this will lead to more connections that you can add to your network in property investment.
Pros:
- Free
- Anybody can do it
- Little technical knowledge required
- Can do it from anywhere
- Easy to judge the income level of people on LinkedIn
- Less spam than Facebook and Instagram
Cons:
- Requires time to plan and create content
- Fewer people use LinkedIn
4. YouTube
YouTube is another great way to find investors for your projects.
By creating content around property, you can become an authority around your subject and build trust with people that are interested in property.
Of course, you’re going to have to learn to make videos, get them seen and grow a channel.
It doesn’t have to just be guides telling people what to do.
You could even just be documenting your journey and any struggles that you face in your property investment journey.
Even just sharing things that you have learnt recently.
All of this is educational for people and builds trust and long-form video or audio is one of the best ways to build trust with people.
You can then use these videos as an ever-green lead generation tool because they’ll keep getting new views and new people coming to them that could be interested in your services.
You can see that if you search for “how to find property deals UK” then the top 3 videos that show up all have tens of thousands of views.
If you have multiple videos showing up for terms that investors may search for, then this is a great way to start getting attention and building trust with current or would-be property investors.
Pros:
- Anybody can do it
- Don’t really have to deal with spam
- Long-form content builds more trust
- Can repurpose content into podcasts and shorter-form content for social media
Cons:
- The potential cost of equipment and software for making videos
- Requires time to plan and create content
- Need time to learn about making videos
- Time required to learn how to get videos seen
5. Podcasting
This one is hard but doable.
Similar to YouTube, you would be creating content on a regular basis around property investment.
It could be educational guides if you have enough expertise and authority or news items in the industry.
You could also just interview people who have already ‘made it’ for case studies (I don’t know why but case studies are so addicting to me!).
This is particularly useful if you are new because people can get a lot from other people’s stories.
As I said in the last section, this will be great in building trust because it is a form of long-form content.
You can even double up the content on podcasting without doing extra work if you have a YouTube channel too.
You can repost the podcast episode on YouTube as a video and vice versa.
You can repost the audio from the YouTube video as a podcast episode to platforms like Spotify (only if it makes sense without the visuals of course).
If you want to go even further you can then post shorter repurposed clips to other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
A great example is ‘The Property Podcast’ by Rob Dix and Rob Bence.
The Property Podcast has been around for almost 10 years now and it’s gained a following which has helped Rob Bence and Rob Dix develop and promote their other products.
Their other paid products include:
- A sourcing business
- A tax service
- Best selling books
- A REIT APP (Portfolio)
This is not to say that they couldn’t do these other products without the podcast, but there’s no doubt that it helped with getting customers and credibility.
Pros:
- Anybody can do it
- Don’t really have to deal with spam
- Long-form content builds more trust
- Can repurpose content into YouTube videos and shorter-form content for social media
Cons:
- Potential cost of equipment and software for podcasting
- Requires time to plan and create content
- Need time to learn about making podcasts
- Time required to learn how to get podcast episodes discovered
6. Local Property Meetups
In-person property meetups are another great way to meet property investors.
There are different meetups happening all year round.
Some meetups may be free and some may be paid.
You could argue that the paid ones are better simply because there’s a higher barrier to entry and you’ll have fewer time wasters, but that’s not always the case.
Some of the local meetups in your area can also be found through Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
If you are a regular at these meetups, you might eventually become a speaker or presenter and this can help in building trust with the attendees even further.
Pros:
- Build connections quicker because it’s in person
- Easier to judge how serious people are in person versus online
- Opportunity to become a speaker or presenter
- You can guarantee that the people around you are interested in the same thing
Cons:
- Cost of entrance fee and transport to meetups
- Not on your own schedule
- Can be difficult for introverted people
- Some meetups serve as marketing to get you into training courses
7. Mutual Friends
It’s likely there’s either someone you know, or someone that one of your friends and family members know, that could be the perfect investor.
Let your friends and family members know what you are up to and that you are looking for property investors and you might be surprised with who they know.
They might even come forward themselves to invest with you.
Pros:
- Trust is already built
- You might already know the person really well
- Mutual friends may be more flexible when investing with you
- No spam or dodgy deals
Cons:
- Risk of ruining relationships if you’re a numpty
- Can be difficult for introverted people
- Might feel more pressure/stress to perform since it could be someone close to you
- The mutual friend may have a low level of property investment knowledge
8. Industry Publications
If you have an interesting case study or have the money for an advertisement then you can get yourself into an industry publication.
This can be an online publication or a print publication but online is more likely nowadays.
If you can get yourself into an industry publication then you can quickly get lots of eyes on your content which will bring you leads who can eventually become investors for you.
Pros:
- Can quickly get yourself seen by a large number of people in the industry
- If you are in a reputable publication people may associate this with your own personal brand
- Great if you’re good at marketing and you have a good story to tell
Cons:
- Can be costly if you are paying for a sponsored post or advertisement
- No guarantee that people react to your slot in the publication
9. SEO
For this, you might need to be slightly technically inclined.
SEO stands for ‘search engine optimisation’ and it is a technique that allows you to show up in searches when people Google things.
So essentially you would create a website where you produce content that helps property investors.
This doesn’t have to just be content in the form of articles and market updates. It could even be a useful tool that you’ve created that helps investors.
Whilst doing this, you need to make sure your website actually gets visitors and this is where SEO comes in.
If your website is SEO optimised then over time you will start to see visitors coming to your site who can be potential customers.
On your website, you can include links and calls to action where people can book an appointment with you or give you their contact details.
Just keep in mind that SEO is generally a slow and long game, but it does provide more ever-green leads. SEO works to get attention for months and years not days and weeks.
It’s a different beast from social media.
Pros:
- Ever-green leads if you do your SEO right
- Harder to replicate because of the higher barrier to entry
- Particularly good for people that are technically inclined
Cons:
- Need to pay for website costs (hosting, domains, etc.)
- Need technical knowledge and SEO knowledge
- SEO is a slow process, don’t expect much for the first 6-12 months of a website going live
- Need to keep up with trends in SEO and updates to Google etc. so that your content can still rank and be seen
10. Angel Investor Networks
Angel investors are private investors that are high net-worth individuals. Angel networks are where you can find groups of these investors and submit your proposals.
If your proposals are to their liking, you can receive funding.
Just make sure to do your due diligence on these platforms because some can have a reputation for having a lot of scams.
Pros:
- Angel investor networks can be more flexible compared to institutional finance providers like banks
- Access to a large pool of investors quickly
Cons:
- Competing with other people posting their proposals on the platforms
- There can be scams
11. Crowdfunding Platforms
You can use peer-to-peer lending platforms to get your property project off the ground and they’ve increased in popularity over the last decade.
One of the bigger players in the market is CrowdProperty.
On these platforms, you’ll have to pass the checks that the platform has and make sure your proposal is attractive enough to investors.
In this example, you won’t be directly interacting with investors but you will be able to access funding.
Pros:
- Fairly quick process
- You retain control over the project
- Access to a large pool of investors quickly
Cons:
- Hard to build a relationship with an investor
- Competing with other people posting their proposals on the platforms
12. Exhibitions and Industry Events
Industry events in the property investing space can be great places to meet lots of property investors in a short space of time.
These events are also great just to learn about the industry in general and discover new things happening in the industry.
Even if you don’t manage to meet investors directly, you will also have access to other professionals in the space who do have connections to investors.
Here’s some popular industry events:
You could even take a different approach and go to general business, entrepreneur or investing events where there will be other like-minded people and potential investors.
Here’s a promo video from The Property Investor Show to give you an idea of what to expect.
Pros:
- Build connections quicker because it’s in person
- Easier to judge how serious people are in person versus online
- You can guarantee that the people around you are interested in the same thing
Cons:
- Cost and time for travel
- Entrance fees (not all events)
- Not on your own schedule
- Can be difficult for introverted people
13. Referrals And Doing A Good Job
So you might have used some of the methods above to get your first investors.
But what if I told you that you could turn 1 investor into 2 or 3 investors? Well, you can and this is how.
First of all, do a good job. Under promise and over deliver and your investors will be pleased.
If you do this once they are likely to use you again, why wouldn’t they?
Even better, they are likely to actually refer their contacts to you.
So not only do you get repeat business, but you get referral business through word of mouth which is priceless.
When a good friend vouches for someone, that person is already on the way to becoming a customer and half the job is done.
Of course, you need to make sure that you continue doing a good job for them and every other customer after them to continue getting this repeat business and referral business.
You should do your best to encourage people to give you referrals and you shouldn’t feel nervous about this, especially if you have given them a good service.
Pros:
- Free organic growth (repeat and referral business)
- You’re just doing your job
Cons:
- None
Bonus: Go Where There’s Money
Some people might disagree with this one. It’s not a guarantee, but it can work.
You go to property meet-ups to surround yourself with people who are investing in property or at least interested in doing so.
So why wouldn’t you take the same approach to go and surround yourself with people who have money?
After all, the investors that you are looking for need to have spare money and a lack of time.
But how do you go to places where there’s money?
You could go to a fancier gym, maybe a country club, maybe fancier bars.
Maybe even go bankrupt and move to London if you don’t already live there. (just kidding).
Whatever it is, this is one of those things where, if you’re lucky, you cross paths with someone at the right time and you’ve found yourself an investor.
If you’re in the kind of environment where the people around you are more likely to have more money than the average person, then you’re at least tilting the cards in your favour when you do have those ‘chance encounters’.
Just please don’t go and book a first-class ticket because you think you’re going to make money all of a sudden.
Be mindful of what you are doing and don’t go broke trying to pretend to be rich.
Do this right and you could create your own luck.
Pros:
- You might end up friends with a secret billionaire
Cons:
- You might not
Conclusion
So, now you should know plenty of ways to find private property investors for your projects.
If you’re still sturggling with finding deals then you should use deal sourcing software to find deals faster as they can be a complete game changer.
I’m not endorsing any particular platform or marketplace mentioned in this post. Remember to always do your own due diligence if you use any platforms or marketplaces to find investors.