First they facilitated friendships, and then internet dating – but now chat rooms are responsible for a new trend among buy-to-let investors.
For many, buying a property is one of the biggest investments ever made during a lifetime - few would dare to make a purchase of such scale with a group of people that they have never met before.
Yet recent months have seen buy-to-let investors start to use the web to form clubs via online chat rooms.
A means of sharing knowledge and securing greater bargaining power with service providers, such as mortgage brokers, these online buy-to-let investment clubs are becoming increasingly popular as house prices continue to rise.
LandlordTrader.co.uk has set up a secure discussion area in response to a recent rise in the number of people looking to set up investment clubs via the sites forum pages.
Landlord Trader spokesperson, Dan Haysom, commented:
“The increase in house prices have meant that people are finding it harder to find the returns that they were once achieving and now have to seek alternative means.
“These property clubs allow individuals to benefit from shared experiences, skills and costs.
“Being a member of an online investment club allows greater economies of scale, providing better negotiating power with letting agents, property developers, solicitors and mortgage brokers.
Buy-to-let investor Brian Baggarley instigated the creation one of the first clubs of this kind, formed on LandlordTrader.co.uk earlier this year.
“Whilst using the website’s discussion forum, I realised that that I could really benefit from the shared knowledge of other users.
“I posted that I would like to start a club and the response by many of the regular posters has been fantastic, with our first meeting due to take place in early October.
“We’re really looking forward to getting a healthy number of investors on board to exploit the investment power of buying in numbers but also to share knowledge.”
Five Top Tips for Forming a Property Club:
1. Define strategy / areas of interest for the club
2. Agree a fee or costs (if any) for remaining in the syndicate
3. Appoint a chairperson / main contact for the club as well as roles for other club members
4. Appoint service providers including mortgage brokers and solicitors – negotiate club discounts
5. Define means of communication / frequency of club meetings, for example LandlordTrader.co.uk secure forums
