From no property experience to conversion projects

– meet Sourced Franchisee, Gabriel Wenner

Gabriel Wenner comes from no property experience, but with the help of Sourced, his focus is to build his own HMO portfolio and earn a substantial income from it. Gabriel and his partner, Vanessa, are currently working on a 6 bed HMO conversion project, funded by Sourced Capital with a GDV of around £200,000

The Franchisee's background and property history

Before joining Sourced in May 2020, the franchisee had no experience in property, apart from attending a few networking events. Gabriel had built a career in video production, working on TV programmes and now he owns his own studio.

Together with his partner Vanessa, they spent the past year gathering knowledge on how to grow a profitable property portfolio. They’ve been utilising the resources that come with their franchise, including a support structure and over 70 training days per year. Our bespoke training courses are exclusive to franchisees, and they are covered by your franchise fee when you come on board with us.

Over the course of last year, Gabriel started sourcing properties, which allowed him to generate some quick cash and helped him come to grips with the basics of property first. However, Gabriel and Vanessa’s main focus is expanding their HMO portfolio for a more long-term and steadier cashflow.

Currently, the franchisees are working on their first 6 bed HMO conversion project, aimed at the professional’s market, located in Barrow-in-Furness. Vanessa and Gabriel spotted this conversion opportunity through social media, by browsing through property related groups on Facebook. Gabriel shares, the vendor of this property was in quite a rush to sell it, and they managed to come to a deal they were both happy with fairly quickly.

Why Join Sourced Franchise?

“Sourced have assisted me in a number of ways, in terms of training, the funding platform, knowledge and the support provided”, Gabriel shares.

The couple joined the Sourced Franchise to build their own HMO property portfolio as well as gain access to exclusive financial facilities. The franchisees can borrow up to 70% of a project's GDV. This means you can cover up to 100% of the purchase price and labour costs. Franchisees also benefit from comprehensive training, dedicated support staff and a range of business resources.

Who Would you Recommend Sourced to?

Gabriel admits, “if you are coming into property from a point of view of having no experience, I can recommend Sourced Franchise extremely highly”.

Sourced Franchise was created to assist people who are passionate about property and determined to find success. We provide a proven business model and the resources you need to get started, designed for people with or without experience in property.

How to Find out More

Are you looking to get into property or to scale your existing property business? Download your copy of the Sourced Franchise prospectus to find out how Sourced can help>>

Meet Andrew Perry, HMO Expert and Marketing Agency Business Owner

Andrew Perry joined Sourced with a large amount of experience and knowledge about HMOs, but wanted to expand into other property strategies. With the franchise, he got access to training in a range of property strategies, such as refurbishments, commercial to residential conversions, deal trading, lease options and more. He knew the training and support provided by Sourced was the best step to take, in order for him to achieve his financial and property goals.

The Current Portfolio

Currently, Andrew has an excellent cash-generating portfolio based in Northampton, comprising of 2 x 6 bed HMOs. Apart from that, Andrew owns a successful digital marketing agency. The franchisee had some money that he wanted to invest into real estate, but also wanted to benefit from a regular cashflow and capital growth. Andrew then spent a few months researching a vast number of different properties in Northampton, and eventually found his matches. He refurbished both properties through a local contractor, which took a combined time of 6 months, refinanced the properties and is now earning a hands-off 18% ROCE on both properties.

The franchisee’s goals since joining Sourced were to focus on deal trading as well as looking at larger scale development projects. Andrew feels that the support from Sourced provided him with “quick ways to creating cashflow”.

How is the training provided by Sourced?

So far, Andrew has attended the mandatory induction course and then furthered his existing knowledge at the ‘HMO and Lease Options’ event. He shared that the events were “an excellent networking opportunity, with brilliant training and a really good atmosphere”. Apart from the training and ongoing support, franchisees have access to a custom CRM system, which they can use to upload deals and receive feedback. The CRM also houses all the tools that franchisees have access to, such as deal calculators, marketing materials, legal contracts, and more.

Want to get started in property, but don’t know where to begin?

Andrew Perry would recommend Sourced Franchise to “anyone looking to create a property business. Sourced can be for those who are looking to generate a secondary/support income as well as those who want to build a property business to work in full-time, control their own pension and generate cashflow”.

If you are eager to get started and determined to find success in the property world, you are in the right place. With Sourced, you will get a proven business model and all the resources you need to get started. Whether you are completely new to property or already have some experience, we will tailor our package to suit your needs.

From Refurbs to New Build – Meet Sourced Franchisee, Nicola Hargreaves

Nicola Hargreaves is currently working on her third project as a Sourced Franchisee, utilising the exclusive funding platform. The franchisee’s long-term goal is to have a large buy to let (BTL) portfolio, while also operating a rent to rent serviced accommodation business and cherry-picking deals for a select network of investors.

Buying the First Investment

Nicola’s property investment journey started in 2011, when she purchased her first flip project, which consisted of a terraced property in need of refurbishment. A couple of years later, she purchased another terraced house to flip, which needed extending and a full refurb throughout to achieve a value uplift. Having successfully completed both projects, Nicola got the bug for property and decided to turn her new passion into a business.

Moving to Larger Projects

Rather than continuing to do small flips, Nicola decided to seek help from experienced property professionals and to get some training under her belt. That’s when she came across Sourced Franchise, which not only provided her with training and ongoing support, but also a network of investors. “With Sourced, I got access to a ready-made framework for my business.” Nicola shares. “I am supported by the Head Office, plus I also get access to investors, and I can reach out to other franchisees.”. Like many other franchisees, Nicola also wanted to access the funding facility. “With the funding from Sourced Capital, I can do much larger refurb projects that I would not have been able to do otherwise.” Nicola admits.

Utilising the Funding Platform

Nicola’s first project with Sourced was a refurbishment of a 2 bed terraced house in Darvel, Ayrshire, Scotland. The Capital team raised £34,900, which was used towards the purchase price of £33,000 and refurb costs. The forecasted GDV was £58,000, generating a profit of 18%. The property has now sold for more than the forecasted GDV and the project has completed on time. The most recently funded project by the Ayrshire franchisee, is the conversion of a former police station into a 4-bedroom home, located in Auchinleck, Scotland. £141,500 was funded through Sourced Capital, to help with the purchase price and work costs. Upon completion, the new family home will be sold on the open market to release an estimated profit margin of 27%. The project is set to complete within 9 months, allowing 3 months for the works and 6 for the sale process.

Becoming a Developer

When asked about the next project, Nicola shares that she is in the process of acquiring a site that she plans to build 6 houses on. She adds that “building homes has always been something I have wanted to do and thanks to having gained experience on the smaller-scale projects, I am now much more confident”.

Sourcing for Investors

The franchisee is also helping investors passionate about refurb, flips and BRRR’s to achieve their property aspirations. Nicola sources properties for these strategies and is also able to coordinate and manage all works. The latest acquisition on behalf of an investor is a 3-bed house in Ayrshire, which requires modernisation throughout. Once completed, should the exit be to sell, the expected ROCE is 47%. If the investor decides to hold and rent instead, then ROCE is 54%.

From a Teacher to a Property Developer

Sourced franchisees come from a variety of backgrounds. There are newbies, who understand the earning potential of property but need help to get started, seasoned investors, who wish to expand into new investment strategies or property professionals, who join to utilise funding to move into developments.

Sarah Corrie was an English teacher, loving her career and enjoying working with her pupils. She’s always had interest in property though, and after several years in the classroom, she decided it was time for a change. “I came across Sourced Franchise back in 2019 and after one meeting with Stephen [Managing Director], I knew joining Sourced was exactly what I needed!”

Sarah came onboard as Sourced Scarborough, having chosen her local area as her territory. The franchisee’s property journey started with attending her Franchise Induction Training in May 2019. “I am drawn to old and unusual buildings that I can bring back life into.” Sarah admits. “On my last day of induction, I came across this historic building in Hull, which turned out to be a former Dutch Embassy. I knew that was a project for me!”

Alongside the Hull conversion, Sarah is also working on another project, located in her hometown, Scarborough. “My builder knew the owners of this dated guest house, which they were keen to sell.” Sarah said. “After one look, I knew this was a perfect project for me. The seaside location is a hotspot for visitors, so I am turning the property into 3 self-contained serviced accommodation apartments.” Again, Sourced helped Sarah to raise funds for the purchase price and development costs for this project, which is set to complete within just 6 weeks.

“Fortunately, Covid-19 hasn’t had much impact on my projects, as we have got all the materials and since the construction industry can continue, we are on schedule with both projects.” the franchisee confides. In the future, Sarah aims to work on more similar projects, following her passion for turning old buildings into spaces that people can enjoy again. “I wouldn’t be where I am without Sourced.” Sarah admits. “I would recommend this franchise to anyone who wants to pursue their passion for property.”

£422,000 Profit in 18 Months Through Franchising

Being aware of how exciting and lucrative the property industry can be, Chris Richardson started looking for options to get into the property game. Rather than investing in his first buy to let or HMO, the experienced business owner and entrepreneur was interested in alternative ways to start making money from property.

Having weighed up his options, Chris decided to join Sourced Franchise, a hybrid between a training provider and a professional network, that offers much more than training to its members. Apart from training, the Franchisees get access to ongoing support, 100% funding for their own projects, marketing support and much more. “I didn’t have any property experience before joining Sourced,” Chris admits. “It really appealed to me to get support from people that have got that experience.”

Initially, the franchisee treated his Franchise as a part-time venture, which would allow him to get into the property industry and slowly scale his business. That remained true, until he came across a four-story office building for sale, located in a quiet cul-de-sac of Bournemouth’s town centre.

The franchisee was instantly struck by the property’s potential. It came with a planning permission to convert the building into 14 self-contained apartments and its central location made the investment an excellent serviced accommodation opportunity.

All Chris needed was funding, which was provided by Sourced’s very own peer to peer lending platform, Sourced Capital. Unlike traditional funding options, the loans are based on the GDV (gross development value) of the projects, allowing Franchisees to borrow up to 100% of the purchase and build costs!

With the support from Sourced Head Office, Chris carried out extensive due diligence on the project, put a plan of action together and in no time, the contracts were exchanged.

The project was launched on Soured Capital under the name ‘Exchequer Grange’ with the loan amount of £1,202,875, offering investors a return of up to 12% pa. The funds would cover the purchase and conversion of the office building. The Exchequer project was fully funded within 4 weeks of being launched, having appealed to numerous cash, pension and ISA investors.

Once the works are completed, the franchisee’s plan is to sell the serviced accommodation units within an 18-month period, generating a profit margin of 30%. The appointed contractor is currently carrying out the works on site and the project is en route to be completed on schedule.

£1,103,000 Raised for a Developer

Alongside building an impressive career as a Chartered Accountant, Chaz developed a passion for property. He has been developing and refurbishing properties for his personal portfolio for the past few years, and he decided it was time to get some professional training under his belt and move to larger projects. Chaz’s business partner, Jas, already owns an impressive buy-to-let portfolio worth over £2,000,000. Together, the aspiring developers came on board with the Sourced franchise network to get into large scale property developments and to take their existing property ventures to the next level.

Having completed their training, the franchisees created an action plan with the help of Sourced Head Office. In just a couple of months, the developer partners discovered a development opportunity in the seaside town of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. The perfectly positioned plot of land was available with planning permission in place for the build of 6 terraced townhouses.

The franchisees decided to use Sourced’s in-house funding facility, Sourced Capital, to help them fund the project and in just 2 weeks, the full loan amount of £1,103,000 was raised. The franchisees offered a return of 10%-12% to investors, which will be paid back upon the sale of the new houses. The existing dwelling will be demolished to create a selection of 3 bed townhouses, all a stone’s throw from the beach. A local builder has been appointed to carry out the works, to benefit from their local knowledge.

“Joining Sourced Franchise allowed us to move to larger developments much quicker and we’re amazed how fast our first project was funded!”

“We had 5 estate agents interested in selling these units before the project was even launched for funding. It’s new, no one has done it so close to the sea before and demand is high.”

The developers invested £340,000 of their own capital into the seaside project. Out of the £1,103,000 raised via Sourced Capital, the franchisees will utilise £199,000 towards the purchase price and will use the remaining balance to cover the build costs and professional fees.

After the development is complete, the franchisees will sell the townhouses and generate a profit margin of 39%. The total timescale for the project is just 14 months.

From Builder to Developer: Sourced – Funded – Sold

Having worked in the construction industry for many years, James has helped many people to turn their property dreams into reality, very often allowing them to generate a healthy profit margin in the process. Just like many other experienced builders, James wanted to start developing for himself.

James had all the knowledge and skills on how to convert, build, refurbish, alter and so on, but he needed funding to get started. He started researching his options and he came across Sourced, which offered exactly what he needed.

Soon after completing his initial franchise training and learning how to structure and package property deals effectively, James began the hunt for his new project. In no time, he discovered an ideal conversion opportunity: a detached bungalow that could be converted into a 4 bedroom house, satisfying the demand for larger properties in the area.

Sourced Franchisees get access to funding via Sourced’s very own peer to peer lending platform. Unlike traditional funding options, the loans are based on the GDV (gross development value) of the projects, allowing Franchisees to borrow up to 100% of the purchase and build costs!

The funding allowed James to borrow the funds he needed to complete the project and generate a profit margin of 21% on sale of the converted property. James has now sold the property off-plan, on the same day it was put on the market and he is looking to complete the works on schedule.

1. Sourced

James discovered the opportunity and passed it to Sourced HQ for review. He knew straight away that rather than trading the deal on to an investor in exchange for a sourcing fee, he wanted to carry out the conversion himself and benefit from the profit margin, while gaining development experience.

2. Funded

With the help of the Sourced Capital Team, James did his due diligence, crunched all the numbers and packaged the deal as a loan investment opportunity – allowing him to obtain funding via the peer to peer platform. The project was fully funded in just 5 minutes after launch.

3. Sold

2 weeks after funding the project, James put it on the market, hoping to sell it off-plan. The project once again proved to be a success, and the house sold off-plan on the same day it was put on the market, despite difficult market conditions caused by the coronavirus outbreak. What a success!

Experienced Property Investor Joins Sourced Franchise to Get Funding

After completing a number of light refurbishments, flips and managing a few buy-to-lets, Phil Gordon wanted to move to bigger projects and step up his property game. However, just like many other aspiring property developers, the hurdle he came across was funding. Hefty deposits required for mortgages and high fees of bridging loans, make borrowing money a hard pill to swallow.

The solution presented itself to Phil after discovering Sourced Franchise and the hurdle of funding turned into merely an integral part of his projects – all taken care of by Sourced Capital. Unlike borrowing money from traditional sources, loans with Sourced Capital are based on the end value of projects, allowing franchisees to borrow up to 70% GDV. In most cases, that covers the purchase price of the property, materials, labour and any fees required to complete the project. This allows our Franchisees to complete large-scale projects with a minimal financial input of their own – maximising profits.

Sourced offers the only franchise opportunity of its kind in the industry. On top of access to funding, the Franchisees get access to over 70 training days a year, they receive ongoing support, exclusive materials and much more. All the additional benefits sealed the deal for Phil, and he joined the network as Sourced Central Glasgow.

Phil’s first project as a Sourced Franchisee was a 4-bed refurbishment property, conveniently located in the outskirts of Glasgow. Phil borrowed £182,000 from Sourced Capital, which covered the full purchase price of £177,000 and allowed the Franchisee to use very little of his own money to complete the project. Once sold, the project will generate £40,000 in profit – that’s after paying back all of the interest to investors!

At the time of writing this article, the refurbishment works on Phil’s project were completed and the property is being advertised on the open market.

Phil says: “I joined Sourced mainly for the access to the funding, to enable me to get into larger projects than what I’ve done before. I also joined for the training, support and everything else that comes along with joining.”

Gain a Competitive Advantage for your Property Business

Imagine, you’re the managing director of a multi-million pound property development company and you’re looking for a firm to sell your properties. Who would you rather work with: an established agency with a large portfolio and a database of international investors or a property sourcer operating on their own?

Many one-man bands in the property industry can relate to being judged by the bigger players. Whether it’s your “unprofessional email address” or the quality of your logo etc, you should really be seen for your property skills and knowledge. It all comes down to one thing: the decision-makers of big companies look for partnerships with businesses who are reputable, have a proven track record and can be trusted on delivering their proposals. Having a recognisable, trusted brand name behind you can open the doors to working with bigger companies, generating a steady cashflow.

Being faced with the issue himself, Shahid Aslam joined Sourced Franchise alongside his son Zak, which allowed him to scale his property sourcing business, all thanks to having the Sourced brand and reputation behind him.

After years of experience in trading property deals, Shahid wanted to step up, working with larger developers and landlords who had sizable portfolios. Despite his success, Shahid found it challenging to convince larger companies to work with him. He quickly realised that what he needed was to join a larger network and put a reputable brand behind him. Very soon after joining Sourced, Shahid started reaping the benefits.

In January alone, the father and son duo sold over 20 rent to rent deals, each within 48 hours of passing them to Sourced HQ team for marketing. The typical sourcing fee a franchisee earns per deal ranges between £3,000 – £4,000, making January successful and profitable for Shahid and Zak.

Shahid says: “Joining Sourced has been one of the best business decisions I’ve made. Before joining, I wouldn’t have dreamt of doing multi-million pound deals.”

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