Guides

How sourcing works

Property Sourcings finds buy-to-let deals by working backwards from a target return to a maximum offer, then applying lender-style and optional investor checks — so you see honest numbers before you commit time to a viewing.

One-page story

  1. We fetch listings from property portals and enrich each one: floor area, tenure, sold prices nearby for true market value (TMV), rent estimates from nearby lets, and leasehold costs where relevant.
  2. Early safety checks remove weak listings before deeper maths — for example very poor energy ratings or listings far above market value.
  3. Buy-to-let maths runs on suitable properties: we solve backwards from a target return (ROI) to a maximum offer (MAO) — the highest price that still meets that return — capped at the asking price.
  4. We replay monthly cashflow at that offer: rent minus mortgage, management, maintenance, void periods, and leasehold costs.
  5. Lender-style checks ask: does rent cover stressed mortgage interest on this deal (ICR — interest cover ratio)? Signed-in members can optionally enable portfolio ICR across manually entered owned properties plus the deal being analysed. Is monthly cashflow above a sensible floor?
  6. Optional filters can apply a conservative rent haircut, minimum yields, simplified stamp duty buyer profiles, and return thresholds — members configure these in Account settings after sign-in.
  7. Paste a listing URL (signed in) — analyse one for-sale Rightmove or Zoopla link from the Search dashboard without running a full postcode batch.
  8. Deals that pass return and environmental rules get a full environmental report (PropEco) and a clear summary on the property page.
  9. Signed-in members see MAO, return, yields, interest cover, deal score, and step-by-step maths on each property.

How flip deals work

Flip is a buy-refurb-sell path — not a rental hold. We only run flip maths on properties in condition categories 3, 4, or 5 (refurb through heavy project), not turnkey categories 1–2.

  1. We estimate after-refurb value (ARV) from verified sold comparables near the listing.
  2. We work backwards from your target margin % on sale value to a maximum offer (MAO). MAO is not capped at the asking price when maths allow a higher offer — we check seller equity separately.
  3. A deal passes when net profit at MAO meets your minimum £ target. Margin % shapes the offer; it is not the pass/fail gate.
  4. Signed-in members see Project ROI on the flip tile (total return over the holding period) and Comparable ROI (annual) in the headline when flip wins against other strategies.
  5. Environmental checks (PropEco) run after flip maths pass — same credit policy as buy-to-let.

Flip listings do not receive a 0–100 deal score. Signed-in members can open the full How Flip works guide for gate order and settings detail.

Typical check order

Seller equity → maximum offer backward solve → cashflow replay at offer (stamp duty buyer profile applied)
  → per-deal interest cover stress → portfolio ICR (if enabled; off by default) → minimum monthly cashflow
  → yield filters (if enabled) → after-tax filter (if enabled; off by default for members)
  → return elimination (if enabled)
  → (on pass) environmental report + summary

Terms at a glance

Term Plain English
TMV True market value — reference price from recent sold prices nearby.
MAO Maximum allowable offer — highest purchase price that still meets the target return.
ROI Return on investment — annual profit compared to cash invested.
ICR Interest cover ratio — whether rent covers mortgage interest at a stressed rate.
Gross / net yield Rent as % of price before costs (gross) or after running costs (net).

Where do I verify numbers?

After you sign in, open any property from Active Deals for deal-specific MAO, return, and a saved step-by-step maths trace. Account → Settings controls what your next search uses — not listings already stored unless you rerun them.

How does a deal get scored?

Signed-in members see a 0–100 deal score built from return, interest cover, discount to asking, and net yield, with plain-English lines explaining each part on the property page and in the active queue.

When do Account settings apply?

Settings apply to the next sector search or property rerun after you save them. Create an account to tune lending, tax, environmental rules, and buy-to-let assumptions for your strategy.

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