I earned £9k ‘spotting’ an empty home

MAKING A PROFIT

IN MANY areas of the country property prices are rising because of high demand and low supply. But despite this, empty buildings continue to blight some neighbourhoods.

Matt Philpott, 32, used to go past a dilapidated home on his walk to work as a salesman in online advertising. At the time he was living in Balham, South-West London, and had no idea that spotting an empty home could net him thousands of pounds.

Matt explains: ‘I’d heard about a website, YouSpotProperty, through friends where you can get money for information about derelict properties and I knew of one from my walk to work, so I reported it.’

Initially, Matt received a £20 Marks & Spencer voucher from YouSpotProperty. But a couple of months later he was informed it was buying the property, earning him a reward equivalent to 1 per cent of the purchase price – or £8,800. He says: ‘I felt like I had won the lottery and I was so happy.’ Matt is using the money to buy a motorbike to get around Barcelona, where he now lives. ‘YouSpotProperty is a great idea,’ he adds. ‘It renovates a derelict property and the general public can make some money out of it.’ When a spot leads to a purchase, £500 is also donated to a charity operating in the same borough as the property. The downside is that the cash reward is only paid for residential property – so boarded-up shops won’t do. It is also only paid for homes located within the M25 and which are not already on sale to the public.

A more laborious way to earn money from property is to buy unloved property – and renovate it yourself. It is not a project suited to everyone, but can generate handsome returns.

For a free renovations checklist, visit propertychecklists.co.uk.