When you first step into property sourcing, tunnel vision sets in fast.
You are taught to hunt for Below Market Value properties. You learn to spot motivated sellers. You build your criteria around the exact yield your investor wants, and you filter everything through that single lens.
It feels disciplined. Professional, even.
But I have come to believe that this rigid approach leaves some of the best deals sitting untouched, simply because the sourcer never stopped to ask the right question.
What I Was Getting Wrong
In 2013, I was still learning the ropes of dealing directly with sellers. My knowledge of what worked was, to be honest, hit and miss.
I walked into every viewing with a fixed agenda. I need this for a buy to let. I need to convert this into an HMO. I need the numbers to hit my client's target.
Not once did I stop to think about what the seller actually needed. I never considered how their situation, however complicated or inconvenient it seemed, might work to everyone's advantage.
I lost deals because of it. I missed opportunities that were sitting right in front of me, simply because I was so focused on the transaction that I forgot there were real people on the other side of it.
One property changed all of that.
The Two Bedroom Terrace
At the time, one of our investors was building a portfolio of what we called mini HMOs in a specific area. We had sourced a few properties through local estate agents and by purchasing from a retiring landlord, but we had not done much direct to vendor work.
We ran a leaflet drop in the investor's target area, and a lead came back within a few days.
I drove out to view the property. It was a two bedroom terraced house, well kept, good location, exactly the sort of thing our investor would want. The owners were a young couple with a toddler and, as they told me within minutes of sitting down, twins on the way.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
They needed to move. They needed more space, and they needed it soon. But they did not want to leave the area. The local schools were walkable. The transport links were good. They had built their life in that neighbourhood and had no desire to uproot it.
The problem was that almost every property nearby was two bedrooms. They had been looking and coming up empty. The open market had nothing for them.
Listening Instead of Pitching
I could have made them an offer on the spot and walked away pleased with myself.
Instead, I sat with the situation for a moment.
Our investor would have been delighted with the property. It ticked every box. But offering a fair price meant nothing if the couple had nowhere to go. The deal would collapse, or drag on indefinitely, because their underlying problem remained unsolved.
So I asked them to describe their ideal scenario. Not just what they wanted from the sale, but what they actually needed on the other side of it. Which streets would they consider? What did the new property need to have? How much work were they willing to take on?
They gave me a clear picture. Three bedrooms minimum, a decent sized lounge, a functional kitchen, a family bathroom, and nothing that needed serious renovation. They handed me a short list of preferred streets.
That brief became the foundation of the plan.
An Unconventional Campaign
My team designed a leaflet specifically around the couple's situation. We explained, briefly and honestly, that a young family was looking to upsize and would love to hear from anyone in the area who was thinking about selling.
We dropped them through letterboxes on the streets the couple had chosen.
Two leads came back from homeowners who had been considering a sale but had not yet approached an estate agent. We visited both properties, spoke to both sets of owners, and found a match.
The timing worked. The location worked. The couple could move into a home with room for five, just in time for the twins. And because we had solved their logistical headache, they were happy to sell their terrace to us. Our investor secured the property they wanted, in their target area, without competing offers or open market complications.
Everyone left the table satisfied.
The Lesson I Carry Into Every Negotiation
Sellers put their homes on the market for a reason. Sometimes that reason is straightforward. Sometimes it is layered with pressure, uncertainty, and competing priorities that have nothing to do with the price.
If you can understand what is actually keeping them up at night and find a way to address it, the deal rarely needs to be forced.
The most useful thing I did in that two bedroom terrace was put my investor's brief to one side for twenty minutes and just listen. The property was never going anywhere. But the couple's trust, once earned, was what made everything else possible.
Stop acting like a transaction machine. Start thinking like a problem solver.
The deals will follow.
