Léon Jordan Talks - Paul Stapleton EPS 2: Derisking Property Deals Through Overage & Assisted Sales

In this episode of Léon Jordan Talks, Léon sits with Paul Stapleton — a UK property entrepreneur who has spent eight years building a business model that challenges conventional sourcing wisdom. Paul is a proud father of two, a deal-maker who refuses to become a landlord, and someone who has generated over £600,000 in commissions from LinkedIn alone by mastering relationships, overage deals, and assisted sales. What sets Paul apart is not the size of his portfolio — he doesn't own property — but his ability to structure deals that remove risk for buyers, create win-win scenarios for sellers, and generate returns that make traditional sourcing fees look modest. His approach is built on overage, a model where he agrees a net price with the seller and takes his fee only at completion, eliminating upfront risk for investors. He also specialises in assisted sales, a strategy that allows him to flip other people's properties without purchasing them, removing acquisition costs and delivering ROI in the hundreds of percent. Paul's philosophy is grounded in de-risking, niching, and swimming against the tide. While most investors compete for the same vacant stock as homeowner occupiers, Paul focuses exclusively on tenanted properties — ready-made businesses with proven income, visible tenants, andverifiable track records. This positioning removes him from 90% of the market competition and allows him to serve busy professionals in the South East who want to invest in the North without the time or expertise to do it themselves. Beyond deal-making, Paul has built the Property and Entrepreneur Summit — a no-pitch, high-energy event that has attracted 450+ attendees per session and become a cornerstone of his marketing strategy. He owns the stage, delivers one-to-many positioning, and creates an environment where investors, sourcers, developers, and service providers can connect without being sold to. His events are designed to build community, not extract upsells. This conversation explores Paul's early assumptions about property — believing you had to be a landlord, developer, or estate agent to succeed — and how discovering deal sourcing opened a different path. He shares why he walked away from the landlord model, why he believes portfolio size is a vanity metric, and why he structures his business around collaboration over competition. Paul also discusses the traits required to succeed in sourcing: problem-solving, relationship management, speed, and knowing whether you're better suited to finding deals or finding investors. Paul introduces his approach to LinkedIn — treating it as a business platform, not social media — and explains how he's built over 30,000 followers and sourced deals directly from vendors by being visible, consistent, and authentic. He talks about the power of touch points, the importance of trust before closing, and why asking for more than you expect is essential to negotiation. The episode also touches on the realities of sourcing income — from £5,000–£10,000 per deal for those treating it as a side hustle, to six-figure quarterly revenues for those running it as a full business. Paul shares his largest single commission of £56,000 and explains why building a pipeline is critical, as more deals fall through than complete. In a personal moment, Paul reflects on a serious health scare his daughter faced in March 2025, and how it reshaped his perspective on work, presence, and family. He talks about working hard to create experiences — not possessions — and why being present matters more than being the richest man in the cemetery. This episode is for anyone in property who wants to understand how to structure deals differently, build a business without owning assets, and create value through relationships, positioning, and strategic thinking. 🔔 Subscribe to *Léon Jordan Talks *for more honest conversations with property professionals sharing the real lessons behind the journey. 🔗 Connect with Paul Stapleton: Instagram:   / paulstapleton_official   00:00:00 Introduction: Meet Paul Stapleton 00:01:46 Paul's Property Specialties: Overage and Assisted Sales 00:03:11 The Power of Events: Building Community 00:06:11 De-Risking Property Deals: The Overage Model Explained 00:13:03 Why Tenanted Properties: Swimming Against the Tide 00:16:14 Early Property Assumptions: From Homes Under the Hammer to Reality 00:18:11 Portfolio Size vs. Real Success Metrics 00:31:24 LinkedIn: The 600K Commission Platform 00:33:49 Income Potential: What Property Sourcers Can Really Earn 00:39:48 Family First: Health Scares and Perspective 00:42:55 Final Wisdom: Social Media, Collaboration Over Competition