We surveyed a focused group of UK property investors to understand what they’re dealing with in today’s economy.
The responses were consistent.
Whether someone had one property or a portfolio of ten or more, the same themes reappeared: Property investment in today’s market isn’t easy.
Investors are struggling to find time. Deals are harder to source. Finance is more complex. And there’s more noise than ever.
This article breaks down what investors are struggling with in 2026, and the solutions they want.
Before getting into it, here’s a quick breakdown of the investors we spoke to.
(Please note that respondents may invest in multiple strategies and were able to select more than one option. As a result, the percentages do not total 100%.)
36.5% own 10+ properties
24.3% own 1–2 properties
16.2% own 3–5 properties
8.1% own 6–10 properties
14.9% do not yet own property
32.4% have been investing for 10+ years
24.3% have 6–10 years’ experience
20.3% have 3–5 years’ experience
10.8% have 1–2 years’ experience
12.2% are in their first year
36.5% are actively looking for deals
24.3% are completing deals regularly
18.9% are completing deals occasionally
20.3% are in research or preparation mode
52.7% are buy-to-let landlords
47.3% are property developers (flips / BRR)
29.7% are deal sourcers or service providers
27% are involved in serviced accommodation
23% are HMO landlords
18.9% are involved in commercial property investment
14.9% are property developers (commercial projects)
14.9% are property managers
26.2% selected “Other”
With our group being more established UK property investors, the results were high-level. It wasn’t problems like “I don’t know how to stack a deal”.
What was surprising, though, was that regardless of whether someone had 1–3 properties or 10+, the struggles were almost identical. Below are the four primary problems that came up again and again.
A lot of investors aren’t short on ambition. They’re short on time.
For the more experienced property investor, they reported their time being taken up by deal completions, the conveyancing process, finding deals and tenant management. For those with a smaller portfolio, it was juggling a full-time job (which 25.7% of respondents said they were trying to leave to go full-time into property), or family duties.
Trying to view properties, place offers, manage negotiations, deal with tenants, raise finance, chase solicitors, and manage refurbishments is, unsurprisingly, time-consuming work.
You probably could have guessed this one. But one of the biggest struggles for UK property investors is finding deals.
What comes as more of a surprise, though, is that regardless of whether someone has been investing for ten years or two, this is still a difficulty. That suggests it has more to do with the economy and activity in the industry than people’s competence.
Why are deals harder to find?
For one, house prices are almost always on the rise (one of the reasons that property can be such a popular investment). But with house prices rising faster than rental income in many areas, it’s becoming harder to achieve strong yields.
Secondly, there is more competition than before. With property trainers and mentors in abundance, new people are entering the market all the time. And because most strategies can be taught, whether that’s serviced accommodation, HMOs, or lease options, more people are looking for the same types of deals.
Finance is another area that UK property investors have found difficult. The challenge reported is that finance is more complex than it used to be.
More investors are actively looking for deals and trying to grow, but that growth often depends on access to funding. Whether that’s traditional lending, bridging, or private finance, the process is rarely straightforward.
At the same time, different strategies require different approaches. Buy-to-let, HMOs, commercial conversions, and serviced accommodation each come with its own set of requirements, risks, and funding challenges.
Deals that might have worked a few years ago don’t always stack in the same way today. Also, due to interest rates being high, some finance products can stop deals stacking.
Of course, there’s always the option of angel investment and raising finance for property investors. However, another problem that was raised in the survey is that angel investors can be hard to find.
For many, it’s not just about finding the deal anymore. It’s about making the numbers work once you’ve found it.
Many people reminisce on the glory days of pre-2008. Days where you could get a 100% mortgage, or buy a property for between £50,000–£100,000 (sometimes much lower). And we mean a nice property in a good area, not the back-to-brick shell in a questionable neighbourhood you can get for £50,000 today.
But another thing special to that time was that knowledge wasn’t as widely available, especially before the .com boom. There were fewer events, fewer training programmes, and even fewer people talking about property investment online.
One of the biggest property investment challenges reported today is that there is too much noise. Too many people saying one strategy is dead while another is the future. Too many people are claiming huge profit margins, while other investors are wondering how.
The problem isn’t a lack of knowledge. It’s an overload of it.
Before we delve into this, let’s look at problem number one: time. People often struggle with time because they’re working the old way. They’re using spreadsheets to track deals. They’re trying to do everything themselves.
These days, there are systems and software out there that are designed to save UK property investors time. For example, PropertyPipeline, which allows you to track deals, viewings, and the status of your portfolio. There are even VA agencies, like Pocket Watch Assistant, that specialise in working with UK property investors, that can actively scrape data, find deals which meet your criteria, and follow up with solicitors for you.
Now, on to other solutions.
Property investors who filled out the survey specified they aren’t looking for more education. Instead, they want to see real deals, case studies and breakdowns from others who are active in the industry. They want to see what other investors are doing, and learn from that.
Thankfully, you’ll see plenty of property investment case studies in Blue Bricks Magazine, and on our free member webinars.
Apply to Become a Member, It’s FREE!
Our surveyees reported that they want rooms based on quality, not quantity. They want to be surrounded by other active UK property investors, and not just people with a mild interest in the industry.
Our survey shows that there is a real appetite for communities and events full of like-minded individuals. Rooms that have nothing to sell, and aren’t focused on fluff or making property investment sound easy. People want the raw, hard truth. They want solutions to their property investment challenges from those with the knowledge and credibility to help.
This theme from the survey reinforces the points above. UK property investors and developers want to be around others who are on the same path. Property investment is a lonely, difficult journey. It’s also a rare industry where you can be doing the same thing as someone else and not be in competition, unless you invest in the same area.
Our survey shows that UK property investors want to be around others who can guide them, or perhaps just make life that little bit less lonely.
Experience here does not just mean the experience of other investors. It means the experience of other professionals, like financiers and accountants.
Our survey showed that investors want solutions to real-world problems. That’s not training on how to invest in a certain strategy. Instead, it’s knowledge on how to make a deal stack in today’s market, or how to tax-effectively structure their portfolio so it can be passed to their children.
Of course, it also means leveraging the experience of other property investors, learning from their mistakes so that our surveyees don’t make those mistakes themselves.
What is most surprising about this survey is the consistency of the results. Regardless of experience level or portfolio size, almost everyone reported the same four problems.
Thankfully, the solution to these problems is quite simple: get around the right people and work with the right team.
It’s hard, maybe as hard as it’s ever been. However, we’re still seeing activity in the market. Deals are being done, it just seems they are harder to find, harder to make stack, and more difficult to finance cost-effectively.
This survey has reaffirmed what we have known for a while: investors need to be around other people on the same path. Not those talking about investing, but those actually doing it. And those willing to share the difficulties and the scary moments, not just the attractive figures.
If you’re serious about property, and you want to be around others who are, then click the link below to discover more about the Blue Bricks Club — the club for active UK property investors.
