From Mechanic to 60+ Deals: How Dion Ferra Finds Property Before Anyone Else

Dion Ferra's challenge before Property Filter

Dion Ferra ran a mechanic business for 16 years, buying property on the side. By the time he came across Property Filter, he had bought 10 properties, eight of them social housing stock in Greater Manchester. He was stepping away from the mechanic business and going full-time into property.

He knew how to buy property, how social housing works as an investment and how refinancing works, but in his own words he "didn't really know much else". His knowledge of property values and rental values was low, and at the time the only sites he knew were Rightmove and Zoopla.

He came across Property Filter through Guillaume's first video, around 15 to 30 minutes long. "Instantly, I was like, yeah, absolutely, 100%," he says. "Whatever the fee was, I was like, no, I can definitely see the value in that. It was a no-brainer, straight away." He was already committed to going full-time, and he knew the property sourcing software would massively help. At the time, Property Filter had information the other sites did not, which gave him what he calls "a little bit of a leading edge, from the get-go".

"Back then… taking a call and giving them information that I had to make me sound like I was a little bit ahead of where I really was, so it helped a bit at the beginning."

How Dion Ferra uses Property Filter to find flips and developments

Dion's approach comes down to three rules, all built around being the first on the phone to the agent.

Rule 1: most recent change only

Dion always searches by most recent change. That view surfaces everything that has just moved: new listings, properties back on the market, price reductions and price increases. "Whatever's had a change, I want to know," he says, "and I want to be the first on the phone for that."

Rule 2: 1-4 days old, no more

If a property has been on the market for around ten days, Dion probably will not pursue it. His window is one to four days. At that point he knows he has a good shot, before demand builds and before a bidding war starts, and he would rather spend his time on the properties where he has more chance.

"If it's 1 to 4 sort of days on… I know I've got a good shot. If it's been on too long, I know there's too much demand. I'm not getting in bidding wars."

Rule 3: never ignore STC properties

This is the tip Dion would give himself if he were starting again: do not just look at what is on the market. When a property has been sold subject to contract (STC) for a while, there is a high chance it falls through, or as he puts it, "40% of properties fall out of bed." So every STC property in his area that fits his criteria goes on a watchlist. When one comes back to the market, Property Filter sends a notification, and he hits the phone straight away. By then the agent has had to put the property back on the market with the vendor on their case, and Dion has a high chance of securing it. Fellow member Justin Ingrey found two fall-through deals with a single Property Filter indicator.