The problem
Finding the next site means trawling portals and planning registers every evening. At about 3 hours a week that is roughly 13 hours a month (3 x 4.3), much of it on properties that were never going to work.
What the AI does
PropertyData is a UK property data service. Its pricing page says sourcing is included on all plans, with email alerts for properties matching investment strategies, and Standard includes 6 sourcing alerts, 6 planning alerts, 10 saved areas and 50 credits a month. Plot Map shows planning on Ordnance Survey maps, and a comparables search uses one credit. You set the strategy and area, read the alerts and decide which deals are worth a visit; the data doesn't replace a survey, legal checks or planning advice.
A worked example
A developer in Kent looking for houses to convert into flats spends about 3 hours a week on portals and planning registers. They set up PropertyData's Standard plan with sourcing alerts for their strategy and planning alerts for 6 towns.
Before
About 3 hours a week searching by hand: about 13 hours a month
After
About 1 hour a week reading alerts and checking comparables: about 4.3 hours a month
What it's worth
About $458£344€409A$660C$647 a month saved, against a $29£22€26A$42C$41 to $39£29€35A$56C$55 cost. That is 2 hours a week, about 8.6 hours a month (2 x 4.3), valued at $53£40€48A$77C$75 an hour. Standard is $32£24€29A$46C$45 a month plus VAT ($39£29€35A$56C$55 with VAT) rolling monthly, or $344£259€308A$497C$487 a year plus VAT, about $29£22€26A$42C$41 a month.
How to set it up
- Write down your strategy: property type, price range, towns and the planning route you're looking for.
- Start PropertyData's 14-day free trial and set sourcing alerts and planning alerts for those areas.
- Each week, read the alerts and discard anything that fails your rules in a minute or two.
- For the few that pass, run a comparables search and check planning history on Plot Map before arranging a visit.
- After a month, tighten the alert filters if you're seeing too many poor matches.
What goes wrong
- Alerts are only as good as your filters. Broad strategies flood your inbox and you'll stop reading them.
- Each search and comparables run uses a credit; Standard's 50 a month go quickly if you check every alert in depth.
- The pricing page doesn't say which plans include the Development Calculator or the advanced planning layers. Check in the trial.
- Data can lag reality. Check with the agent and the council before spending money on a deal.