I have been buying real estate for just a year now and I am not sure I am doing what I need to do to find potential properties. I have bought and sold two homes, the first was at a sherrif’s sale and the second was by a realtor contacting me about a house I had found just by driving around and about 3 months later the listing agent called me and said the bank would to a 30k reduction so I bought it. What are some of the ways you guys use to locate properties?
Using a realtor and buying at sheriff sales are effective techniques and it sounds to me like your off to a good start.
I’m a big believer in personal contacts and that is how I get most of my deals. In other words, just let EVERYONE that you know or meet know that you buy properties (tenants should be told that the company you work for buys properties, if you tell them anything at all). There are also a lot of deals to be had by knowing the right people at your local REIA.
Good Luck,
Mike
It might just be a matter of semantics, but it’s often best to look for the sellers who NEED your service as opposed to the property per se. Also, you successfully used two very good techniques, have you tried them again?
Here’s a list I posted a while back that may give you some ideas:
- Attending Your Local REIA to network with and see what other active investors are doing to find deals…don’t reinvent the wheel, just do what they’re doing!
- Putting Up Bandit Signs
- Driving for Dollars
- Sending Direct Mail - to out of state home owners
- Calling FRBOs (For Rent by Owner) ads/signs
- Calling FSBOs (For Sale by Owner)
- Contacting Bird-dogs
- Continually searching CraigsList
- Advertising on the web or in the newspapers
- Plastering Your “I Buy Houses” Business Cards EVERYWHERE
- Contacting Property Management Companies and asking them to refer their owners who are ready to sell to them
- Telling at least 10 new people every single day that you’re looking to buy houses…postal workers, exterminators, gas/electric residential meter readers, grocery store clerks, gas station attendants, everyone…
- Having a Realtor check the MLS for expired listings or keywords - DOM, vacant, estate, preforeclosure, must sell, fixer-upper, closing help, moving, relocated, divorce, etc…
- Checking Court Records for:
a. preforeclosures,
b. evictions,
c. pending divorces,
d. probate
e. bankruptcy - Launch your own website
Chris
There is no “best way” to find property. I’ve found deals all sorts of ways.
Networking is really good.
I buy the occassional FSBO, although FSBO are usually over-priced with unrealistic sellers. But I look at them all.
About half my purchases are off the mls. You have to dig hard and constantly and be ready to jump fast when a good one comes up.
I bought one house because I bought a travel trailer from the guy and told him I loved his property and he should contact me if he ever decided to sell it. Almost a year later, he got fired and came and knocked on my door. That’s my one “keeper” because I am going to retire on it when I get through moving around to take advantage of the homeowners capital gains excemption.
Repos have not been productive in my area, but who knows. If foreclosures increase and prices go down, maybe. I am watching them.