What if your next tenant was also your buyer?
June’s Crawley Property Meet brought together property investors, landlords, developers, property professionals and business owners for another evening of networking, learning and sharing ideas.
Held at the Sandman Signature Hotel London Gatwick, our monthly in-person property networking event is an opportunity to make new connections, catch up with familiar faces and hear practical insights from people working across different areas of the property industry.
June was no exception, with a fantastic mix of regular attendees and people joining us for the first time.
June’s Guest Speaker: Sheila Smith, BeHomed
Our featured speaker for June was Sheila Smith, founder of BeHomed, who joined us to deliver her presentation:
“What if your next tenant was also your buyer?”
Sheila founded BeHomed to provide an alternative route between renting and traditional home ownership. The idea was influenced in part by her own experiences of the housing market: while living in Brighton, Sheila was forced to move twice in two years when landlords reclaimed their properties, while her husband Matt moved back in with his parents in order to save for a deposit.
Building on Sheila’s existing experience in buy-to-let property, BeHomed launched in 2024 with a rent-to-own model designed for people who want to own a home but aren’t yet in a position to secure a traditional mortgage.
During her talk at Crawley Property Meet, Sheila explored what this model can mean from both sides of the property transaction.
For aspiring homeowners, it can provide an opportunity to move into a property now while working towards purchasing it later. For landlords, it introduces another potential exit strategy: rather than simply selling a property on the open market, there may be an opportunity to agree a future sale with a tenant who ultimately intends to become the owner.
Under BeHomed’s model, the future purchase price is agreed at the outset. The tenant rents the property for an agreed period and makes additional contributions towards the future purchase, while retaining the option – rather than the obligation – to buy.
Sheila brought the concept to life with practical examples from her work with landlords, developers, investors and prospective homeowners. The model has also started attracting wider attention, with The Standard featuring BeHomed and the story of a family in Shoreham using the scheme to work towards buying the home they currently rent.
For our audience of property investors, landlords and developers, the session provided an interesting look at how changing affordability, mortgage access and pressures on landlords could create demand for alternative approaches to buying and selling property.
Insights From Our Resident Experts
One of the things that makes Crawley Property Meet more than simply a networking event is the opportunity to hear regularly from our Resident Experts.
Each month, they bring attendees useful updates and practical information from their own areas of the property industry.
David Lucas – Coversure Molesey
Our resident insurance expert David Lucas from Coversure shared his latest insurance insights for property investors.
David highlighted why property owners need to make sure their insurance arrangements continue to reflect changes in legislation, market conditions and their own property strategies.
Insurance isn’t always the most exciting part of property investment, but having the right protection in place is an important part of building and protecting a portfolio.
Wayne Greenway – Greenway Associates
Wayne Greenway of Greenway Associates shared his expertise in architectural design, planning and property development.
Wayne discussed how good design and careful planning can help unlock additional value within a property project, encouraging attendees to look beyond the obvious and consider how different design decisions could maximise the potential of a site.
David Farmer – Lime Finance Solutions
We also heard the latest property finance and lending update from David Farmer of Lime Finance Solutions.
David covered developments in the lending market, including commercial investment finance and lender appetite for strategies such as HMOs, serviced accommodation and short-term lets.
Having a commercial and property finance specialist in the room each month gives our community an opportunity to keep up with what’s happening in the lending market and understand how those changes could affect future projects.
More Than Just the Speakers
Of course, Crawley Property Meet isn’t only about sitting down and listening to presentations.
A big part of every event is simply meeting other people involved in property.
Our events attract a broad mix of investors, landlords, developers, property businesses, professional service providers and people who are still at the beginning of their property journey.
That mix creates opportunities to exchange experiences, ask questions, find professional contacts, discuss potential projects and sometimes simply have a conversation with someone who understands the challenges you’re currently facing.
There’s no requirement to be an experienced investor or have a huge portfolio. If you’re interested in property and want to meet others working in and around the industry, you’re welcome.
Hosted by Property People, for the Property Community
Crawley Property Meet is hosted by Simon Pither of PaTMa and Rachael Bosanquet of My Freelance Admin.
PaTMa provides property and tenant management software, while My Freelance Admin provides outsourced business support for property professionals.
Together, Simon and Rachael host the monthly events with a focus on building an active, supportive local property community where people can make genuine connections and learn from one another.
Looking for Property Networking in Crawley?
Crawley Property Meet runs regular in-person property networking events in Crawley, bringing together people from Crawley and the surrounding areas who work in, invest in or simply have an interest in property.
Each event combines:
- informal property networking;
- a guest speaker covering a relevant property topic;
- updates and advice from our Resident Experts;
- opportunities to meet local property professionals and businesses.
Whether you’re an experienced property investor, landlord or developer, run a business supporting the property industry, or you’re just starting to explore property, we’d love to welcome you to a future event.
View our upcoming Crawley Property Meet events and come along to the next one.