i am a property developer in the croydon area.?

I love it when people blame estate agents for doing their job (comment on later answer to your question). Anyone who asks an agent to sell their property EXPECTS them to get the best price. An agent who doesn't get the best price is letting his client down! The only hope you have of getting a deal on a property is to find a lousy estate agent, one who only wants a quick deal, or one who is so out of touch with the market that they have no idea what a property's potential is. The type of agent I have in mind is the really cheap (low commission) agent who has to 'pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap' to earn a crust. They don't care what price they get because their cut is so pitiful it doesn't matter. The other 'out of touch' type of agent would be firms that have been around for donkeys' years, often with really good contacts with lawyers (lawyers often have long-standing agents they use for probates) who don't award business on the basis of the quality of service they get, but how often they get taken out to lunch, or whether they were allowed to win the last round of golf they played with their agent chum. A bit cynical perhaps, but you get the picture. Alternatively you need to steer clear of agents and find properties by looking on the planning register, to see what applications have been made of recent. Maybe you'll get lucky and find one made by the seller, rather than by an agent. Or, walk the streets and look for run-down property and pop a note through their door.

I don't think it has anything to do with TV it is to do with greedy estate agents pushing up propery prices, everyone wants megabucks for their property, they feel so chuffed when they get it but they fail to see that they are pricing their own children out of the housing market. I don't think enough affordable houses are being built and planning authorities are like the gestapo when it comes to getting the go ahead for new developments.

A lot of lower end houses are being bought up by *Buy to Let* people as investments, all very well but what are first time buyers supposed to do? Whole thing is crazy, I'm glad I don't have to worry about it anymore.

My son & me have been looking to enter the property thing for a while.Not so much to develop but buy cheap,redecorate & sell on.We have decided that auctions are not on.There seem to be so many people in competition,all busting a gut to win therefore pushing up prices a basic economic fact.There are agencies around providing leads to distressed properties all over the country but you have to pay fo the info. and not many in croydon.Even in the BTL field the normal rules seem to be changing in that rent of 130% of borrowing cost is not achievable.So to answer your question yes!!!

How about looking in the Wallingford area. It was listed by Forbes magazine last month as one of the 10 best most affordable areas in the country.

i live in croydon, id find a better area to do your job with all the news about what goes on around the area alot of people i know are starting to move they don't want there kids in that sort of environment