This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit secretpropertyclub.substack.com Heidi Mobbs and David Oliveira ran a live Q&A, and it was exactly the kind of session that makes this community worth being part of: * Real Questions * Real numbers * Real Deals * Real Investing Experience If you couldn’t make it live, or want the highlights in writing to come back to, here’s the full recap. A member asked: Is It Normal For A “Deal Sourcer” To Charge An Upfront Deposit? One of our members, who we’ll keep anonymous, was about to view a property where the agent was demanding a £2,500 mandatory deposit plus a £396 admin fee before he could even proceed, with a promise that the deposit would only be refunded if the survey came back unmortgageable or uninhabitable. He wanted to know if that was normal. Short answer from Heidi and David: No, and it’s a genuine red flag. Here’s the reasoning. A proper letting or estate agent should never charge a prospective buyer anything just to view or buy a property that’s listed on Rightmove or Zoopla. If someone acting on a property that is listed on Rightmove is asking for money upfront, they’re not really operating as a straight agent. They’re operating as a deal sourcer, and legitimate deal sourcers get paid on completion, not before. Heidi runs her own deal sourcing business and said she’s personally never comfortable asking for money upfront from a buyer, and treats it as a red flag whenever she sees someone else do it. It doesn’t square with real transparency, and she doesn’t put much emphasis in the NDAs that usually come attached to these arrangements either. There is a legitimate version of paying a sourcer, but it looks different. A sourcer with a genuine exclusive relationship direct to the vendor will use proper paired contracts, one with the vendor and one with the buyer, so they legitimately can’t be cut out of the deal. That’s a world away from taking a refundable, in theory, deposit on a property that’s sitting openly on the market. If it were genuinely a great deal, it likely wouldn’t still need this kind of arrangement to move. There was a second flag on the same property. It has a sitting tenant, but is being promised to be “sold empty.” That’s a big one, because nobody can actually guarantee a property will be empty unless the correct Section 21 or eviction process has been properly served with correct dates, and Section 21 itself is being phased out under the Renters’ Rights Act reforms. If you’re ever in this position, ask directly: Has notice actually been served correctly, are they leaving voluntarily, and what’s the real timeline? On tenanted viewings more broadly: Sashflow is king. A good, long-standing, rent-paying tenant who looks after the property isn’t automatically a problem, and sometimes it’s better to keep them than to push for empty possession. David’s own example: Before deciding whether “empty” is even what you actually want, ask the tenant for proof of five years of reliable rent payment first. A few practical viewing tips came out of this too. Remember it’s someone’s home, be empathetic, and always ask before moving their furniture. Watch for damp tells around windows: * Flaky paint. * Discoloured patches. * Walls that feel cold to touch. And if the property is tenanted, talk to the tenant directly, not just the agent. Tenants will often volunteer far more honest information about a property’s real problems, and the landlord’s actual reason for selling, than the agent ever will. David estimates this happens roughly seven times out of ten. Heidi’s tip: Go to viewings in pairs with different roles, one person builds rapport with the vendor or agent, the other talks to the tenant. That's the first question answered in full. Up next: How to start building a portfolio with next to no capital, the real numbers behind a purchase lease option (PLO) deal that generates £450 a month in cashflow without owning the property, and whether you should be buying in your own name or a limited company. UPGRADE TO KEEP READING
