Hi, I am fairly new to the property market, although i have built a small portfolio of 5 propertys. I live in walsall, nr Birmingham and I am finding it extremely hard to find a property to renovate and sell without making a profit of more than about £5 -8 K, with about 4-5 months turnaround.I wish to stay if possible in the UK local & surrounding area. Has anyone got any ideas where I can do other projects with a bigger profit margin?, or has anyone got any deals at the moment that might interest me, that will have a slightly hiher margn? many thanks

Join the club! Since all the renovation programs on telly, there is not many renovation projects available. Estate agents now put "renovation potential" on their properties to get better prices!I consider the best option is still the buy to let strategy of buy, hold, remortgage and release funds. The market will be dropping over the next 2 years, so you should get bargains then if you get ready to re-mortgage your existing properties soon and take cash out and put in offset account.On renovation, I think that searching the country is mis-guided. I am going to concentrate on the surrounding area, not going more than 25 minutes drive. Read local planning laws, planning applications, look at maps, really get to know the area and the people who are currently in the property game. Soon the opportunities will appear and you will be able to get them before they hit the market.Good luck to us both,Cheers,Kevin

Hi Kal,I'm based south of Birmingham (near Solihull)and agree that it's not easy to find renovation projects with good profit margins in the area! We have a 3 bed house in the area that we rent out - sometimes a challenge! Have you looked at buying an off-plan overseas (eg. Poland) as an alternative/addition to what you're doing, or would this not fit your plan? As far as renovation projects in the locality go, I would say word of mouth is the best source of such properties - networking with local surveyors to let you know when something comes available (before it's on the market) etc, would be good! All the bestHelen

Thanks guys for your response,the message I am getting is to network with local estate agents, etc.., and wait for the oportunity. I have already remortgaged my porfolio, as the amount of monies released are based on the rent achieved !, therefore I still have surplus money in the portfolio but going by the the rent achieved calculation by the lenders, I am unable to release this cash, unless the rent increases dramatically, or I sell a property ? I am a bit worried about investing abroad,as I used a tiler recently from poland, who informs me that they earn on average around £10 a day, and I am thinking how are they going to afford the rents there? If anyone has further advice or views, I would be delighted to hear from them, regards kal