#14 Interview With Fraser Mcdonald

In today’s episode, your host David Siegler interviews experienced property investor and business owner Fraser Macdonald. As a Deal Packager, Fraser has sourced and sold over 400 deals for investors with a combined value of over £28 million. Fraser shares his experiences from over 20 years of professional property investing and explains how his deals have gone from £32,000 to £180,000,000. Discover the secrets to becoming a successful property sourcer and how you too, can surround yourself with the right people in order to align your vision and values and ensure your own, property sourcing success. KEY TAKEAWAYS David: Tell us a little bit about your business Property Fit? Fraser: Property Fit was my sourcing company, I set that up in 2004 and we have sourced about 400 houses, worth about £28 million pounds. Property Fit specialises in sourcing high yield property for clients and manages all aspects of the process. David: What sought of scale are the deals you're doing now? Fraser: We’ve just got planning permission in Manchester next to Victoria station for a £180 million GDV scheme, that’s 556 apartments. Previously we have done a £21 million, 350-bed scheme in Derby and at that point, we didn’t know we would be getting into student accommodation. David: Do you have criteria for investors? Fraser: It’s not retail funding we are after, we only deal with professional investors with a minimum of £100,000, but we offer good rates, typically between 10%-20% based on the security of the deal. We look to make sure our investors believe in what we’re doing and that they trust in the deal. BEST MOMENTS “I bought my first house in 1997 and I put my deposit down using my credit card, I started building my portfolio the traditional way and had a surplus of cash each month” “Property Fit is the UK’s longest running property sourcing company” “We want to build things where the exit strategy is there” “People invest in you because they believe in you” “If you want to get rich quick, mix with the people that have been there and they’ve got what you’ve got” VALUABLE RESOURCES Progressive Property Facebook Community Wealth Dynamics Progressive Property Network Property Investors Network ABOUT THE HOST David is a property expert with over 25 years’ experience and his own portfolio of 26 units. His current rent roll is in excess of £10k per month. He is also a partner in a Deal Sourcing and Packaging business in the North West of England and has sourced over 250 properties for investors since 2004. In recent years he has, by necessity, had to develop an expertise in LHA strategies. This area is increasingly becoming a niche for him and he enjoys empowering other landlords by sharing the knowledge he has gained. The ultimate purpose when sourcing properties in this sector for investors is to minimise risk while maximising profit. He has had to find answers to the challenges of Tenant Find, Management, ensuring rents are paid and the transition to Universal Credit. These are strategies he uses in his own business and also on behalf of investors. His investor clients regularly achieve annual gross yields of over 20% with high occupancy rates and voids resolved, sometimes within hours. CONTACT METHOD   David’s LinkedIn David’s Facebook   ABOUT THE GUEST Fraser Macdonald is an experienced property investor and business owner. He has been investing in property since 1998. In addition to managing his own property portfolio Fraser also owns and runs three property investment businesses, Property Fit Ltd, Active Letting London Ltd and Active Letting Birmingham Ltd. Fraser also has extensive development experience in projects across the UK.