Start with the decisions you have already made
A useful property brief describes what you can act on today. Separate decisions from preferences: where you can buy, which property types you understand and how much work you are prepared to oversee. A clear brief gives a sourcing team a basis for asking the next question. It does not need to sound sophisticated.
Explain your location preferences
Name the areas you know and why they suit your plans. Distinguish a firm geographic boundary from somewhere you would consider with more research. If travel time, local support or a particular property type matters, write that down. Avoid treating an entire city as one market.
Describe funding and timing honestly
State whether funding is in place, being explored or dependent on another event. Keep supporting personal documents out of an initial enquiry. Your advisers can help confirm what is feasible; a sourcing conversation should not be a substitute for that work. Timing is more useful when it includes dependencies, such as the sale of another property.
Set practical limits
Record the condition you will consider, the work you are prepared to arrange and the circumstances you would avoid. Think about ongoing responsibilities as well as the purchase. A team cannot infer these preferences from a headline budget alone.
Keep the brief current
A brief is a working document. Revisit it when your circumstances change, and mark the date of the change. When you share a brief with L&M, say what has changed since you last wrote, so the conversation starts from the current version.
Put it into practice
A one-page brief
Copy these headings into a document and fill in what is true today. Leave a heading blank rather than guessing.
| Heading | What to write |
|---|---|
| Decided | The choices you would act on now: strategy, property type, the work you will oversee. |
| Still testing | Preferences you are researching, kept apart from decisions. |
| Locations | Firm areas, and areas you would consider after more research, with the reason for each. |
| Funding position | In place, being explored, or dependent on another event. No documents. |
| Timing | When you expect to be ready, and what that depends on. |
| Would avoid | Conditions, responsibilities or circumstances you will not take on. |
| Last updated | The date of this version. |
Invented example. Adapt it to your own situation.
This is a practical preparation guide. Decisions about a particular property should be made with relevant qualified advisers and current information.