It’s been a week since the town of Stockport hosted the very first Edward Mellor Property Investment Seminar – and what an evening it was!
During the event, a group of around 50 property investors joined members of our Auction, Financial Services and Rental teams to discuss how to develop a winning property investment strategy for 2024 and beyond.
Also in attendance were our fascinating guest speakers, Saif Derzi, founder of SDGB Properties and award-winning property investor and Laura Philips, Head of Property Acquisition at Serco. Finally, our own Dale Cox and Austin Mellor rounded off the evening with their talk about developing and managing a successful property portfolio.
Overall, the evening was a resounding success and we’re pleased to share the story here.
Of course, no public event goes ahead without a flurry of activity behind the scenes to set the stage for a lively and entertaining evening. Over the past few weeks, members from across the Edward Mellor business collaborated to contact guest speakers, find a venue, and write copy for the big day.
On the day of the event, the evening began quietly, as first the staff and guest speakers and then the first few attending investors filtered into our specially prepared venue. After all of the build-up in setting up the seminar, the mood was more of a meeting of friends than the beginning of a target business event – a great beginning for future partnerships and business relationships.
The local café which served as our venue also captured the friendly tone of the event, providing enough space for guests to mingle and share ideas surrounded by the blue and white of Edward Mellor branding. Special thanks to our Facilities and Property Manager, Catherine Dixon, and the auction team for taking the lead in setting up the space.
When it was time for the event to start in earnest, Edward Mellor CEO, Colin Mellor kicked off proceedings with a brief speech outlining why even though the property market is evolving, after 40 years in the industry he still believes that property investment is still ‘as safe as houses.’
During the event, our guest speakers covered everything from understanding the property investment market to getting the best return on your property. Laura Phillips discussed how less traditional rental options can provide stable returns for example, while Edward Mellor team members talked about building a solid property investment strategy.
The stability and reliability of property as an asset is a theme that has searched all of our speakers well during their careers. During their presentations, each in their own way discussed how property investment can draw impressive yields with less risk – with the right investment strategy.
With his opening presentation, Saif Derzi briefly shared his remarkable story and outlined the importance of looking for the right opportunities when building an investment strategy. Saif bought his first BTL property in 2015 and has since gone on to buy over 220 properties.
Part of his success has been in knowing how to look for properties that others might have overlooked. Often these properties are ‘mismarketed’, or undesirable to larger investment companies due to being tenanted or having structural issues that put buyers off. However, these homes can often be bought at a good price and sold at a profit later on.
Any property transaction will naturally rely on both communication and financing to secure a successful deal. During the second part of his presentation, Saif outlined some of the steps involved in facilitating a property transaction and how to turn that into a good future return.
Rather than discussing buying property at auction, Laura’s presentation focused on letting opportunities for landlords looking to capitalise on their investment quickly. As the Head of Property Acquisition at Serco, Laura is tasked with sourcing properties to house asylum seekers living in the UK while they wait for their asylum applications to be processed.
Buy-to-let landlords with new properties to rent could potentially quickly fill those properties with Serco as their tenant for stable returns in a short time.
Some of the benefits for landlords renting to Secro include:
This can be a good way for landlords across the UK to find a reliable tenant for their latest property investments and start making positive returns.
Our final speakers on the evening were Auction Valuation Managers Austin Mellor and Dale Cox, who took to the stage to show how Edward Mellor Estate Agents can provide buy-to-let landlords with end-to-end support at every stage of their property journey.
With as many as 52% of landlords adding to their portfolios in the past 12 months, interest in the buy-to-let market is undoubtedly hotting up, meaning that a solid investment strategy is key in building a successful property portfolio.
During the evening Dale discussed the key steps in building a property investment strategy, from assessing your starting resources and setting an achievable goal to finally laying the foundations of a functioning property business.
Austin followed with practical advice and real-world examples of the yields investors can expect from their properties to help attendees fully visualise how their investment strategy can become a reality.
Our first Edward Mellor Property Investment Seminar has been a great success and we’re looking forward to hosting future events soon. In the meantime, if you have any property queries from purchasing or selling homes to mortgage and financial advice, contact your local Edward Mellor branch for the best advice.
Related Links
Edward Mellor Auction | Mortgages | February Auction Success
