If you want to become a deal sourcer or you are an investor looking at using a deal sourcer then knowing about the property sourcing fees involved is vital.
This guide tells you what a sourcing fee is, how much they are and what can affect the fee.
By the end of this post, you should know how to spot a fair price if you are an investor and what is a fair price to charge as a sourcing agent.
Related Reading For Investors: How To Find A Deal Sourcer
What Is A Property Sourcing Fee?
As a property deal packager, you will be sourcing properties for investors that match their criteria.
If an investor agrees to go ahead with a property deal then the deal packager (also known as a property sourcing agent) will then charge a sourcing fee.
This is also called a finder’s fee.
Sometimes a sourcing agent will charge a deposit or a retainer before any deals are found to guarantee some income for the work they are doing researching properties.
How Much Do Property Sourcing Agents Charge?
On average property sourcers charge between £2000 to £6000 as a fixed fee or about 1%-2% of the purchase price.
Sourcing fees for property can vary for a lot of reasons and there will of course be exceptions to this rule.
To get a better idea of what people charge, I looked at 5 different sourcing businesses operating in different regions of the UK to get an actual representation of the range of prices.
The fees detailed below are just for sourcing and do not include any project management costs.
You’ll see that the costs of sourcing a property can vary a lot just based on these 5 examples below.
Company No.1
Sourcing Fee:
2% purchase price (minimum of £3950 + VAT) with an initial fee of £1000 for new clients.
Area of operation:
Midlands and North of England.
Company No.2
Sourcing Fee:
90% of deals were priced at a fixed sourcing fee of £3995
10% of deals were priced at a fixed price of £4995.
Area of operation:
North East of England.
Notes:
For this company, I looked at 10 of the deals that they had as case studies.
It was unclear from the website if it was inclusive or exclusive of VAT, but since it was not mentioned I will assume these are inclusive of VAT.
Company No.3
Sourcing fee:
1% (+ VAT) of the purchase price.
Area of operation:
London
Notes:
Since it is London the prices can vary a lot resulting in sourcing fees also varying a lot.
To illustrate the potential sourcing fees, here are some hypothetical examples that would be in line with London prices.
Example 1:
Purchase Price: £500,000
Sourcing Fee: £5000 + VAT = £6000
Example 2:
Purchase Price: £600,000
Sourcing Fee = £6000 + VAT = £7200
Example 3:
Purchase Price £700,000
Sourcing Fee = £7000 + VAT = £8400
Example 4:
Purchase Price £800,000
Sourcing Fee = £8000 + VAT = £9600
You can see here how the sourcing fee can increase quite a bit when following a ‘% of purchase price’ model in expensive areas of the UK.
Company No.4
Sourcing Fee:
3% of the purchase price.
Area of operation:
Around the UK.
Note:
This company has deals around the UK, so the sourcing fee can vary largely depending on the area you are investing in.
Let’s look at two scenarios to illustrate how the costs can vary.
Scenario 1: Relatively cheap property in the North of England worth £80,000
Purchase Price: £80,000
Sourcing fee: £2400
Scenario 2: More expensive property in the South of England worth £400,000.
Purchase price: £400,000
Sourcing fee: £12,000
You can see how the purchase price can drastically change the finder’s fee when you are charging on a ‘% of the purchase price’ model.
Company No.5
Sourcing Fee:
Fixed fee of £6250 (inc VAT).
Area of operation:
Wales
Summary
As you can see from the 5 example companies above, the highest fixed fee is £6250 inc VAT.
However, you can see that the potential sourcing fees are highest on expensive properties where the deal packager is charging based on a ‘% of the purchase price’ model.
What Affects The Property Sourcing Fee?
There are a number of different things that affect the sourcing fee when it comes to property deal sourcing.
If you’re wondering how to charge more as a property deal sourcer/packager then the following points will be important to keep in mind.
The Reputation Of The Deal Sourcer
If the deal sourcer is new to packaging property deals, it is likely they don’t have a lot of reviews and testimonials.
This would make it harder for them to get clients so they may have to charge lower prices than the average property sourcing agent.
On the other hand, an established deal sourcer with a large client base and strong testimonials can charge a larger fee for their services.
For investors, this could be a way to find a good deal as being new to deal sourcing doesn’t necessarily mean that someone is incompetent.
Some sourcing agents may be new to deal sourcing specifically, but may have been investing in property themselves for a long period of time.
Level Of Involvement Of The Sourcer
If it is simply finding a turnkey buy to let and negotiating a good price, the fee may be lower compared to a deal where the deal sourcer has some project management duties.
For example, if the deal sourcer is also going to carry out a refurbishment of the property and manage the whole process then it is likely that an extra charge will apply.
Structure Of The Sourcing Agreement
Different sourcing agreements have different terms.
If it’s a fixed fee then you know what to expect.
But it could be a fixed fee as a one-off payment on completion of one property.
Or it could also be a fixed fee as a monthly retainer if you plan to buy multiple properties through one sourcing agent.
Of course, the fees can add up month to month, but if the sourcer can find enough properties for the investor it may well be worth it.
Location And The Purchase Price Of A Property
The purchase price of the property can affect the cost of the sourcing fee and this is especially relevant when the deal packager prices their services based on a % of the purchase price.
2% of a £100,000 property in Yorkshire is only £2000, but 2% of a £600,000 property in London is £12,000.
Clearly, if you are sourcing properties on a ‘% of purchase price’ model, then sourcing properties in the South will be much more lucrative on a ‘per deal’ basis.
In general, fixed fees in London and the South will tend to be slightly higher too (but this is not always the case).
The purchase price is heavily influenced by the region that the property is located in, so the geographical location can definitely affect the sourcing fee.
You can see why this might tempt deal sourcers living in the North to carry out property sourcing for areas with higher-priced properties.
Is Property Sourcing Profitable?
So the biggest questions on a wannabe deal sourcers mind…
“Can I make money in property sourcing?”
and
“How much can I make as a deal sourcer?”
Well, you can definitely make a decent living…
If you take into account, that you can make anywhere from £2000 to £5000 per deal (with the potential for more), you can see that just one or two deals a month can be a comfortable income for the average person.
If you can just scale this up to 3-4 deals per month then you’re looking at numbers potentially in excess of £10,000 per month or £120,000 per year.
But to make it clear, let’s lay out a table of different scenarios to see how much a deal sourcer could make with a deal flow of 1-4 deals a month.
We’ll be using a finder’s fee of £2000, £3000, £4000 and £5000 per deal in our examples.
Looking at the table above, you can see how deal sourcers can start to make some serious money when you start to build up a decent deal flow.
This doesn’t mean that you’re going to start raking in cash within the first few months though.
Do keep in mind though that the above is just revenue and not total profit.
You’ll need to think about operating costs as a deal sourcer such as driving to viewings, potential office space and marketing amongst other things.
You also have to remember that there are costs to becoming compliant as a deal sourcer.
Finding investors for your deal packaging business is also really important.
Maybe you can find 4 perfect deals every month, but you need investors on your books to actually make use of these deals.
How Much Should I Charge For Sourcing Property?
So, how much should you charge for deal packaging properties?
Well at the end of the day, this is a business decision based on the investors you have and the properties you are sourcing.
You don’t want to be charging £12,000 sourcing fees on an £80,000 property in the North.
You also shouldn’t be selling yourself short by charging £1000 in sourcing fees on a property worth £700,000 in London.
Consider that average fixed fees are in the £2000 – £6000 range.
Consider the area and purchase price of the property.
Consider your investor profile.
Consider your reputation.
Consider your level of involvement in the process.
Consider your nearest competitors and the wider market.
After considering all these factors you should be able to come to a number where you can comfortably say:
“this is how much I am charging for my deal sourcing services”.
Eventually, if you hire other people to work as property sourcers for your own business you should factor in the cost of salaries when working out your fees for clients.
Once you have decided on your fees, you should also make sure that you’ve got the right contracts and agreements in place for potential clients to sign.
Don’t forget to look into this, as payment terms can vary from sourcer to sourcer depending on what works for you.