I should probably sneak in a disclaimer right at the start by saying that these aren’t the ONLY five things you need to be a successful property developer. But I CAN tell you that if you haven’t ticked these five boxes, achieving property development greatness will likely prove to be an uphill struggle.

Finding a great property development deal can be rather tricky, as any new developer will testify. It would be nice to think that we could have a quick surf on Rightmove one evening in our jim-jams, pick up a couple of great deals that deliver £250k profit apiece, and get our construction team to crack on with them. But let’s face it; if it were that easy, everyone would be a property developer. However, this difficulty is good news for the more clued-up and tenacious individual. Other people start by thinking they’ll ‘give development a go’, and when they find it’s not quite as easy as popping to Sainsbury’s, they give up. And for the discerning, educated would-be developer like yourself (should I also mention suave and sophisticated?), it means there’s much less competition.

For my sins, I’ve been involved in property development for nearly 40 years, and can almost remember when Big Ben looked the colour it does now the first time around. But with age comes experience, and I’ve seen and worked with many developers and their projects during that time. And a question I often get asked is what sets the most successful new developers apart from the rest. I’m talking here about first-time or relatively inexperienced developers who are just starting their development journey. And while there are many ingredients required to bake the ‘perfect developer’ cake, there are five key areas that can make a big difference to a new developer’s chances of success. Let me take you through them, starting with:

1. De-risking your projects
Mitigating risk is a critical task for any developer, and it should be front of mind in almost every decision you make. It’s those ‘what-if’ scenarios that can often bite you on the backside, and you need to neutralise as many of them as possible.

So, what sort of risks are you likely to encounter? Let’s begin with one of the most significant development risks: planning. If you’re building something new, you’ll need to get planning permission, and unfortunately, our planning system delivers little in the way of guarantees. Chronically under-resourced local planning departments often have little hope of hitting their agreed turnaround times for considering applications, and many are therefore kicked into the long grass. You could be asked to undertake all manner of surveys, which conveniently stops the clock, suspending the deadline requirement. And even when your application is considered, there are many areas where the council can push back or object. How can you remove planning risk? While you can’t dodge the system altogether, you CAN get a massive head start by avoiding new-build and converting existing buildings instead, using permitted development rights (PDRs). These rights automatically allow you to change the use of the building, usually to residential, without the need to apply for full planning permission. So, choosing conversion over new-build can dramatically reduce your planning risk, give you more certainty, and usually save you time.