Sourcing a Property Sourcer Tool

12th July, 2021

Is there some way to quickly share property information with potential buyers, and investment prospects, in an aggregated way? Ideally from one place as opposed to collating the information from various locations – both physical and online – then maintaining and communicating it all yourself.

The process for a buying agent is typically to collate information about, or await instructions for, any number of available properties from numerous sources including:
- Their own databases- Selling Agents- Auction Houses- Landlords looking to Sell- Probate Properties- Off-Market Properties, often with Incomplete Paperwork- Directly from Distressed and/or Anonymous Seller(s)- Online Portals such as & Previous Relationships i.e. Lifelong Selling Agents/Clients- Directly from Property Developers struggling to Sell Plots- Their own website enquiries

We have found that many selling agents do not always want to reveal the source of the instruction to avoid prospective buyers potentially liaising with sellers directly. Realistically though, an investment buyer or somebody that engages a selling agent is probably time-poor themselves and would therefore want the agents to put in the graft for their commission.

We have garnered how property sourcers and selling agents use the following tools as ‘make-do’ solutions to share property information with their prospects:- WhatsApp, to Individuals- Email Blasts- Printing, yes Mailing Out is still Prevalent- Social Media Posts i.e., LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram- Mobile/Telephone Calls- Cloud Storage i.e., DropBox, Google Drive

Why isn’t there a CRM for property sourcers and selling agents that can aggregate this information into a single platform, whilst still retaining the original locations? Our insight is that this kind of niche purpose-built tool is unlikely to be financially viable unless it can be converted for larger use cases such as a homeowner manual or property passport since they both involve aggregating property data. We suggest a process that might look like this;

1. ADD a property name that works for the homeowner, property sourcer or selling agent and any other third-parties involved in the managing and/or selling of the property.

2. UPLOAD any PDFs, images, videos, plans, notes, or links to relevant third-party websites involved in managing and/or advertising the property.

3. INVITE potential buyers and investment prospects as users with whom you would like to share the property information, with ability to restrict viewing/editing permissions. The invitation can be sent via WhatsApp, Email etc.

4. REMOVE any users who are no longer interested in, or otherwise relevant to, the property – this could be set to automatically remove unengaged users after a predetermined period.

5. OFF-PLATFORM meetings, whether online or at the site, could then be reserved for providing assurances and further details where necessary in the final stages before the point of purchase.

Then all the collated property information can remain on the platform for the new homeowners’ and/or occupiers’ convenience – forming the basis for their homeowner manual going forward.

What do property selling agents and sourcers think of such an app?

At SHEDyt, we are building a platform for collating, maintaining and sharing property information over the lifetime of a plot or property, not for a single transaction or use case, to facilitate sustainable long-term property management. If you believe the platform could help you as a selling agent or property sourcer, get in touch.

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