Real estate investment markets have never been more active, which is why successful investors know how to find properties that have not hit the MLS yet. By looking past the conventional retail market, it is possible to find deals that bring down your overhead, making your exit returns easier to accomplish and speeding up your portfolio growth. So, where do you find properties when you do not want to cruise the MLS?
For Sale by Owner Listings
A healthy number of owners decide to sell their properties, either for cash or on land contract. There are a variety of reasons for doing this. Sometimes it is to avoid the slow closing times caused by traditional real estate financing. Other times it is because the property has unusual features. You can find these listings via local classified ads online and off. They are also frequently listed on community bulletin boards and websites catering to owners who want to sell the property directly without involving realtors.
Contact Real Estate Agents
Private listings are allowed as long as they follow specific industry rules. Private listing networks help property owners connect with interested parties outside of the traditional MLS listing process. Local real estate agents often have the professional connections needed to get into these private listing venues or connect to wholesalers and others operating via private sales networks.
Contact Homeowner Directly
Finding a way to reach out directly to motivated sellers means bypassing all the networking and becoming the one with the ability to self-generate leads. That makes your position powerful because you will be the one other investors need to know when seeking leads. Finding the owners who are inclined to sell requires you to have the proper research tools, though. You need to be able to find homes owned by motivated sellers, meaning you need:
- Information on the seller’s specific situation concerning probate, pre-foreclosure, or tax debt
- Methods for seeking out distressed properties in need of physical rehabilitation
- Skip tracing resources to locate the owner’s contact information
- Communication tools to put you in touch with owners so you can demonstrate the value of the deal you’re looking to close
This can be a lot to take on if you have to seek out a whole new set of tools for each step in the process. Luckily, you don’t have to do that. BatchLeads brings together all the research data, map search features, and outreach tools you need to make contact. From there, it’s a matter of how you follow up with interested sellers.
- Search properties by neighborhood with filters for features like pre-foreclosure status, property type, or tax defaults
- Identify owners from information contained in public records
- Trace owner information so you can reach out to start a conversation
- Send direct mail pitches for home sales and automate follow-ups with interested parties via SMS
- Manage your entire process from a single app
The key to success when you seek off-market deals is always better information. More efficient processes allow you to move on that information faster than the competition. BatchLeads gives you access to both.
Key Takeaways
There are a lot of paths to take when you are looking for off-market deals, including quite a few that were not even discussed here. Contacting homeowners directly is often the best way to get your best price, though, because it gives you a chance to negotiate directly with the person who benefits most from the sale.
Every other avenue from auctions to wholesalers in your professional network involves working with someone looking to take a little slice of your possible returns. Those people provide necessary services, but if you can get leads that do not rely on them, you’re going to make a little more.
