Confidence is a big part of being a property developer. But having confidence in yourself isn’t enough. You need to convey that confidence to others too, so they’re eager to come along for the ride – including lenders.
When it comes to development appraisals, many developers try to demonstrate their confidence by putting in the most optimistic figures possible in the hope that lenders will see the huge profit at the end and want to invest.
But this forgets a fundamental truth (that you can bet lenders won’t forget)…
Optimism isn’t the same as confidence
Confidence is the belief in yourself and your abilities.
It’s the belief that you’ll be able to adapt to changes in the best way possible. It’s the belief that you have the talent, expertise and experience to make this deal happen – perhaps better than anyone else.
Confidence, therefore, is about what’s in your control.
Optimism though? That’s the belief that everything will be alright, whether you do anything or not.
Optimism alone can be problematic in the property world, when things can change fast – and you need to react even faster.
Looking at the good and the bad in a financial appraisal doesn’t make you a pessimist – it makes you a realist.
And, better still, it makes you look confident.
Be optimistic about your skills, but pessimistic about your bills
A lot can change in a build, and not all of it is in your control (for instance, I looked at three macroeconomic issues here).
Taking a view that build costs could go up, or sale prices could go down, shows you’re a business person rather than a dreamer.
If lenders believe your numbers, believe they’re realistic (maybe even a little conservative) then they’ll trust you as a safe pair of hands.
And what lender wouldn’t be interested in finding out more about a deal like that?
How to feel confident with your development appraisals
One of the key ways to feel confident in your development appraisals is by having a simple, efficient way to run them.
A way that cuts the risk of mistakes, lets you consider market fluctuations, and gives you believable results at the end.
Of course, the best way would even let you do all that for free.
Introducing LandFund
LandFund is the new platform to help you build powerful development appraisals in a simple way. It’s from LandTech, the company behind LandInsight, and it’s completely free to use.
With it, you can:
- Unlock instant sensitivity reports – with a simple visual representation of what could happen if things go slightly worse – or better – than expected, so you know a project remains viable
- Create and edit appraisals easily – with dynamic fields and templates you can proactively run scenarios to see how different eventualities – such as getting planning for fewer (or more!) houses than expected – would impact your final results
- Cover everything lenders look for – with less chance to miss important metrics, and less room for human error to scupper the project you’ve worked so hard to assess
LandFund is cloud-based, so you can work on it from anywhere. It’s covered by industry-leading data security standards. And it’s completely free.
Make it easy for lenders to say yes
Confidence is a big part of property development, and making sure that you – and your development appraisals – demonstrate the right kind of confidence is vital to securing the interest of lenders.
After all, lenders want to lend money. They just want a developer who makes it easy for them to say yes.
Have solid development appraisals. Cover everything they need. Share numbers they can believe, and be someone they can believe in.
Do that, and you’ll stand out from the crowd.
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