In order to decide if there is a distinct difference between ‘property sourcing’ and ‘deal packaging’, enough to warrant the use of a different description for your business we first have to look at each in turn.
Property Sourcing
The definition of ‘sourcing’ can be described as the act of searching, finding and evaluating a ‘product’ (property or land in our sector).
The process of ‘sourcing’ may include any or all of the following tasks:
- Identifying a geographical area for investment
- Identifying an investment strategy
- Generating property or land leads
- Filter leads based on potential
- Arrange viewing
- Carry out due diligence on the property or land
- Make offers
Any investor would have to ‘source’ for themselves to find a ‘deal’ to start an investment portfolio or increase an existing portfolio.
A sourcing agent would ‘source’ a ‘deal’ for an investor who is using their ‘property sourcing’ service.
Deal Packaging
The definition of ‘Packaging’ can be described as to contain, protect, communicate and market a ‘product’ (property or land in our sector).
The process of ‘packaging’ is simple once an offer has been accepted on a property or land then you would ‘package’ the deal up and send to your investor – hence the term ‘Deal Packaging’.
An investor would not have to ‘package’ a deal that they were buying themselves, whereas a ‘property sourcer’ or ‘deal packager’ would package up a deal.
So, is there a difference between Property Sourcing and Deal Packaging?
Some believe that a ‘property sourcer’ provides a much more in-depth service – from sourcing a deal, packaging it, to managing refurbishments, whereas a ‘Deal packager’ simply finds the deal and packages it.
The only difference is the way that each person describes their business. People have caused a lot of confusion over the years as they’ve created all sorts of different titles to describe what they do when operating a business that ‘sources’ for investors.
Often people want to avoid being linked with the ‘sourcing’ sector as it’s had such a poor reputation for being honest, professional and ethical. Some simply want to try to find a loophole to avoid the cost of setting up ‘compliance’ for their business.
There are a number of terms you can define yourself as:
- Property sourcer
- Sourcing agent
- Deal packager
- Portfolio builder
- Deal sourcer
- Property finder
- Deal finder
However, the thing that doesn’t change is that compliance is a legal requirement. There should be NO confusion!
To operate either a ‘Property Sourcing’ or ‘Deal Packaging’ business you would have to master both skill sets – Sourcing and Packaging!
NAPSA Team
