The first thing to understand is what sort of financing is out there, and what kind of lending is best suited to the type of property you'd like to develop.

Here are the four primary types of property development, to illustrate the diversity within the sector:

Our advice would always be to start with smaller-scale refurbishments and expand into more complex and challenging projects as your experience grows.

There are often delays and unexpected costs in developing properties, and so you are much better able to deal with them if you have been there before in lower-risk scenarios.

It is critical to invest in the right property to guarantee that your development will be profitable. There are lots of ways you can research the market, such as consulting:

• Property sales websites
• Local agents
• Visiting auctions
• Talking to property sourcing agents

The best way to explore the sort of development opportunities available is to get to know experienced developers or agents in the industry.

When deciding what property to invest in, consider:

• What sort of scope there is to build or convert the property
• Your budget, and the maximum you can invest
• How much the building work is going to cost
• What the market is like, and whether similar properties have sold for a reasonable price
• Who you would expect to sell the finished development to
• The stability and any critical issues with the existing structure
• Whether groundworks are required, and therefore if there are drains or cables on the property
• If there are any other developments in the area that you'd be competing with