Chancel, a full-time working mum in the UK, uses Property Filter to find motivated sellers faster than traditional portals like Rightmove. The platform's automated filtering and tagging system let her contact agents before they're swamped with inquiries, saving her hours while juggling a two-year-old and property investing.
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So I'm Chancel. About myself, originally from South Africa, been in the UK for 5 years now. 8 weeks premp, and it kind of was a bit of an eye-opener for me in terms of life's short and anything can happen. So do I really want to be where I am like in 2 years' time, 3 years' time, 5 years' time? Yeah, so that's what led me to property. Yeah, I guess that's where I'm at now. I still have a full-time job and a 2-year-old, so my property career's gone a little bit slower than I would have liked, but it is what it is. Um, I guess the main thing is that we keep going, and it's our own race at the end of the day. So comparing to other people, like, everyone's in different situations, different circumstances. So yeah, that's what I keep telling myself. It's my own race, just keep going. Um, little steps every day. So that's a little bit about me. Um, property-wise, what do I do? So I focus my areas is Solly Hall and Birmingham.
What do you say you were facing?
I guess slowness. So the thing that actually led me to Property Filter is I would go on Rightmove as everyone does, scroll, scroll, scroll, then eventually find property that I think is a good deal. But as a newbie, you're like, why is this property still around? Is it too good to be true? Like, you, you think about it for a little bit. And then eventually when I phoned the agent, I would get a, oh, we've been inundated with inquiries, we're not taking any more viewings. So then that was like a good way to be like, okay, well at least I know it was a good deal, but I was too slow to find it. Then I actually spoke to someone from a networking event and I said, look, this is what's happening. Is there any way you can help me like find deals quicker? And he's like, well, try out PropertyFilter thing. Yeah, so that led me to PropertyFilter, did the 14-day trial, and I found it really useful. Again, in the beginning, which I think everyone feels, you're so used to Rightmove, PropertyFilter feels a bit— yeah, yeah. So then you like jump in between PropertyFilter and Rightmove until you grasp how good PropertyFilter is and how much quicker you can find those deals. And like especially when properties come back, you know that straight away, whereas in Rightmove you don't always know that straight away. So yeah, I just found that it sped up me getting to the agent first versus me scrolling and scrolling and eventually finding is a deal.
Yeah. And so when you, the moment you felt you realized that using Rightmove wasn't sustainable was solely the fact that By the time you got— you contacted agents, you were already too late. That was the main indicator. Okay, wow, okay, interesting. And then, so when you first joined Propertyfilter, what hesitations did you have, if any, about using the platform itself?
Me, I didn't have any hesitations. And then actually getting traction with agents on property, so being the first person to be viewing, so just realizing that they are actually motivated, focusing on the reduced and back.
Yeah.
Okay.
That's, is that kind of your main, your main, your main avenue?
And funny enough, the one that was sold obviously a long time, I didn't end up getting that deal because like, I think a week or two later they completed, but he phoned and then I told him, I was like, well, if you've got any other properties, let me know. And he actually phoned me yesterday. To say his son is selling a property, am I interested?
So yeah, you've got viewing booked in, have you?
Or not yet? Um, yeah, so yeah, he just phoned yesterday and I need to— he said, well, have a look, let me know if you're interested, then I'll get my son to contact you. So yeah, I've had a look, I just need to get back to him, um, today. I know time's of the essence. Very interested. Was like, it's just, it's nice to see things work. Yeah, like people talk about, tell people what you do, it will lead to something.
People believe it, but when you see it happen in real life—
exactly, exactly. So yeah, it was quite nice. So I need you to send us some letters again.
Yeah, quality. Okay, um, what impact has Property Filter had on yourself?
Yeah, so definitely time saving is one of it. With a full-time job still and a little one, like, you just got to make the most of the time that you have. So the fact that Property Filter already filters the motivated sellers for you without you having to do that, without having spreadsheets. So definitely one of the biggest things is time, but for me was also being in the community. I think I've mentioned it previously, but like property's been a longer process for me than I initially wanted it to be. And it's quite easy just to drop out and be like, well, maybe property's not for me because I haven't got a deal. Everyone else is doing deals. Like, but yeah, the community that backs Property Filter and backs the members has been a game changer for me. It's kept me motivated. It's kept me going. So I guess one of my favorite features, and this is because it was like quite a memorable one, was when Property Pulse introduced the LHA rates. So I had a little sticky note on my laptop for LHA rates. And at the time I was doing a lot. I was helping someone else which needed to know the LHA rates, so I needed to know it. And then the one morning I logged on. And the rates were, and I was like, I'm all right, this is amazing.
So yeah, your little sticky, your little sticky note could come off the, off the, uh, the desktop. So that's definitely one, one really good tip there. So forgetting the, uh, favourite features, staying on the tips you've got for people, what other top tips would you say you have for our members?
Um, definitely use the tags, helps a lot, especially when you've got lots of properties. I, my tags are focused on like the strategy. So is it a short lease? Um, have I looked at this property for assisted sale? Have I looked at this property to do a title split? That's because what I find, you, you look at properties all the time and you think you'll remember, but then you don't. So you go back into that property and you're like, why is this one in my pipeline? So just tagging it. And yeah, again, since my husband's joined, I have a tag for me and he has a tag for him so that he knows these are the properties that he's put into our pipeline. These are the properties I've put into my pipeline. Yeah, it just makes things quicker because again, and also the notes, just make your notes because again, because you're going through different properties, what you're thinking at the time, like as soon as you see the property, just write it down in the notes section. Because when you look at it again after you've booked the viewing, you're going for the viewing in a week's time, you're like, what was my thinking again? So Yeah, I find those really useful. So that would be my top tips. I guess just like what I said in the beginning, just don't compare yourself to everyone else. It's your own race. I think of property a lot like running. It's not easy. It's hard. It's hard work. But if you do it consistently, then it gets easier. It's the same with property. It's not easy. It's not complicated. But it's definitely not easy. But if you just work at it every day or every second day consistently, it gets easier. Yeah, that's— yeah, don't compare yourself to anyone else because, you know, what you're going through in your life, someone else isn't going through.
