How do you guys find the deals ?

[21elnegocio]

Hello Real Estate Investors,

How do you guys find your real estate deals ? How do you find the homes that have equity ? Any good tips, I will soon be looking into this, and I want to be prepared.

Much help would be appreciated !

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Mrs. BRKb]

Hello Real Estate Investors,

How do you guys find your real estate deals ? How do you find the homes that have equity ? Any good tips, I will soon be looking into this, and I want to be prepared.

Much help would be appreciated !

Please let us know your thinking on this topic. That way forum members can add to your existing knowledge.

 

[EvanOkanagan]

Hello Real Estate Investors,

How do you guys find your real estate deals ? How do you find the homes that have equity ? Any good tips, I will soon be looking into this, and I want to be prepared.

Much help would be appreciated !

Become friends with an active Real Estate agent who has investments himself and let him know your intentions and price range you're looking for. He'll know when he sees the deals and if you've shown him you're serious, you'll be the first one to know.

I have the advantage of actually being a Real Estate agent in an office that has many Real Estate investors and that's how I've acquired my properties.

 

[supermannpc]

I started looking on Auction sites. Working with a Realtor friend of mine.
Then actually got my license. Then I figured out how to buy Tax sale properties.
You have to look from every angle

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Windsurfer]

Network, Network, Network.

Go to your local REIA meetings and let everyone know you are looking.

Talk to as many realtors as you can for the area you are interested in.

Talk to lots of contractors and tell them you are looking (also think about using them if they bring you a good deal)

Call all the 'We Buy Houses' numbers you see and tell them you want to be on their buyers list

Send letters to probate executors

Put ads on Craigslist and other sites saying you will pay people $500 if they bring you a house you can buy.

"Real Estate is a contact sport - the more contacts you have, the better you do"

Just be careful out there. Some markets are getting pretty weird. The great deals are few and far between.

 

[G_Alexander]

How do you guys find your real estate deals ? How do you find the homes that have equity ? Any good tips, I will soon be looking into this, and I want to be prepared.

Don't use Zillow.

Follow the hipsters.

Your question is far too broad based and general. Normally I wouldn't respond because your question could have literally THOUSANDS of answers depending on who you ask. It's like asking "What is a good business to start?".

Are you looking at commercial NNN props? Single Family? Multi Family? Industrial? You can find equity in any property class if you take the time to learn how to spot opportunities.

How much capital do you have for this deal? Do you have any capital? Do you have access to capital using OPM (other people's money)? (Need a track record for OPM).

I'd suggest reading some of the classic threads in the real estate section here of the Fastlane...you will start to piece together how to value an asset. Then you can ask targeted questions that anyone here who has experience would be happy to answer.

 

[CashFlowDepot]

"deals" only happen when there is a very motivated seller.

What makes a motivated seller?

lost job
death in the family
divorce
new job in another area
foreclosure
back taxes
code violations
problem tenant/eviction
going to jail/prison
business failure
etc
etc
etc

what else can you think of???

many of these lists are available in public records

Sorry, but I disagree that a realtor is a good source for leads. They are not. They want you to buy at the highest price so they can get the biggers commission (conflict of interest) and they are very reluctant to present any offer which is not cash or you getting financing. They don't understand a creative offer or creative financing.

You'd do better and get more deals hanging out at the UHaul place to find people who are moving -than to contact realtors. BTW - I always keep flyers at UHaul and Ryder truck rentals advertising that I will pay for their move if I buy their house. It works!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[EvanOkanagan]

"deals" only happen when there is a very motivated seller.

What makes a motivated seller?

lost job
death in the family
divorce
new job in another area
foreclosure
back taxes
code violations
problem tenant/eviction
going to jail/prison
business failure
etc
etc
etc

what else can you think of???

many of these lists are available in public records

Sorry, but I disagree that a realtor is a good source for leads. They are not. They want you to buy at the highest price so they can get the biggers commission (conflict of interest) and they are very reluctant to present any offer which is not cash or you getting financing. They don't understand a creative offer or creative financing.

You'd do better and get more deals hanging out at the UHaul place to find people who are moving -than to contact realtors. BTW - I always keep flyers at UHaul and Ryder truck rentals advertising that I will pay for their move if I buy their house. It works!

I assume you're talking about Realtors who have zero investment experience? My first investment property was through a very experienced investor who was also my Realtor and I see returns of over 60% annually on that property. My next two investment properties after that were brought up to me by fellow Realtors/investors and see very similar returns.

I agree that "some" Realtors don't make a good source for leads (especially ones with no investments themselves), but in my opinion you're wrong to generalize Realtors are not a good source for leads.

Also, every $10,000 increase in a home, at full commission (at least where I live) would result in only 75 bucks extra. I haven't come across any Realtors yet who would risk losing a quick sale to get their clients to buy a bit higher priced home.

I do like your list though. My first investment property (the one that was brought to me by a Realtor) was an Estate Sale. I got it for a great price with a motivated seller.

 

[MattCour]

Have you ever considered talking to homeowners in your area? Or walking the neighborhood and looking for houses that are clearly not being maintained or are run down? Knock on some doors and strike up a conversation. You may find older homeowners that never considered selling before and would be happy to accept a cash offer to move on. It could be a great way to find deals that are not listed anywhere else.

 

[bruynjustin]

Finding great deals is the most important things for successful investors to do.

1. Find and create a list of real estate agents who REOs and are good with investors. Give them your requirements. They will work for you.
   
   
2. Wholesalers are experts at finding great deals.
   

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[bruynjustin]

Finding great deals is one of the most important things for successful investors. There are many ways to find good deals.

1. Find agents who have lots of real estate ownership.
   
   
2. Wholesalers.
   
   
3. Respond to advertisements in newspapers, publications, online and social media. There are a lot of great deals and motivated sellers posted on ads.
   

 

[Jakawan]

Hello Real Estate Investors,

How do you guys find your real estate deals ? How do you find the homes that have equity ? Any good tips, I will soon be looking into this, and I want to be prepared.

Much help would be appreciated !

A little old thread, but I found it, so I'm sure someone else will.
The way you find real estate deals depends a little on what kind of deal you want to find.
Do you want to find large equity homes that may be very distressed and need repair that can be fixed and flipped or wholesaled?
Or are you looking for a property that perhaps has less equity, but needs little or no repairs which can be sold on a lease option or taken over subject 2 or wholetaled?

The way I find properties and my friends and associates find them is mainly through local budget marketing. Anywhere from $250-$2000 per month. There are some free methods. But the best are usually around $500 per month. More money just produces more results.
We want the sellers of properties calling us.

When we started we bought a list of names and addresses from Listsource.com it was like... 30 cents a name or something, don't remember. But we bought 800 names and addresses of people who own property in our market, but their mailing address in public records was out of state. (Out of state absentee owners)
We had my friend HAND WRITE letters to every one of these people. We got a lot of phone calls if you could imagine. We told them we want to buy their house and if nothing else we could give them a cash offer for them to think about. Had a LOT of calls to screen and spent HOURS on the phone. But we signed up 3 deals and turned around and sold them all in 2 weeks. Made $3900 on one... $6800 on another, and $150 on the last due to some issues and heavy closing costs. (Learning experiences are fun)

Market to your targeted seller.
Direct mail is my weapon of choice, there's lots of articles on direct mail for real estate.
My old partner is still making $10K+ per month net and his weapon of choice is bandit signs. Those little signs on street corners that say "We Buy Houses" he puts out 400 per month, but is about to ramp it up to 1600 per month since has hired an assistant and got an office and bought his first rental property.

You can also target probates. Look up public records for a property, search old obituaries. Lis pendins. Delinquent property tax and notices, weed violations.

Another one I like to do is just DRIVE older neighborhoods and look for overgrown lawns and trees. Find vacant properties. Look it up in public records, mail them a letter. About to make $7k-$8k on a deal, was a boarded up house that the grandparents passed away and left him the house. Good luck!