I would like to develop my buyers list before putting a property under contract.
Can I begin marketing for buyers even though I do not have a house for sale?
Are there any precautions/recommendations that you might have for doing so?
Can I a fake “house for sale” ad to develop a buyers list? Something like 3 bedroom/ 2 bath with 1519 sq ft on half an acre. 2 car garage, fireplace, granite counter tops. Flexible financing. 888-888-8888
I bought the book, "Real Estate Prospecting: The Ultimate Resource Guide: and it had some good information. However, the author is a real estate agent so I want to make sure that I am not going to be doing anything that will get me in trouble. Speaking of…if there is in fact an issue with marketing the fact that you will be selling affordable houses and/or providing flexible financing on houses, what would actually happen? Would I be fined or would a get a cease and desist letter?
As a Realtor marketing fake property is a violation of the ethics code of conduct… As an individual I am not certain there is a law against it… Probably is somewhere… Although I am thinking we have enough trouble with violent criminals to spend tax dollars hunting down real estate investors looking to build a buyers list…
Cant see the issue with an ad that reads “I buy and Sell Houses” Or “If youre looking for a 3bed 2 bath home call me”
And at the end of the day you’ll want to make certain you don’t break the real estate license laws governing assignments…
Good luck
Michael
Marketing fake property isn’t a good idea. You never know what your clients may actually be in demand for. If you can’t list a house yet then don’t offer one.
Advertise yourself by using things such as your license and low financing etc. In the long run your clients are looking for a Realtor they can trust and they know will give them a fair deal.
You will slowly gain a client list and notoriety as long as you market yourself in the right ways. Good luck!
Cindy Wilson
If you are going to market for buyers. Be generic in your advertising not specific. Something like
“Investors call for listing of handyman specials”.
In the advertising, I didn’t mention any specific address or details about a property. So when a buyers calls, you can say that you have no houses in inventory at this time, can you take your info and you will contact you when you get something in that you make be in the market for. It’s much cleaner.
you could try having a realtor, or if you have a license, run MLS searches for all the sales made to cash buyers in the areas you want to invest in…it may take some work, but you can cross reference this information to find out who they were…generally these “cash buyers” will be investors…contact them directly and find out what their criteria are for buying…another way to build the list is simply go to your local REIA groups…I agree with the others, marketing a non-existent property is not a good idea…from both an ethical and business standpoint…
Mike
I looked into joining the Navy again as an officer now that I have my bachelors degree and I will be getting my masters here in about the next 6-7 months. I spent 6 years as a nuke electrician (enlisted), so I would go in as an O1E which would pay about $5000/month including housing allowance.
I’m too old to go out to sea…which could be considered a good thing or a bad thing. Ultimately, I was given 2-3 choices that would fit my interests: physician, health care administration, and teacher for nuclear power school. I actually like the idea of being a teacher for the nuclear power school program…which would provide the easiest transition for me. Over 1/3 of the people who enter the program fail fail or go crazy in the form of a nervous breakdown. I think I am good teacher, and that my perspective as someone who has gone through the program will help out students a lot.
So, I may just list my house for sale as a means to get a buyers list together. Afterall, it doesn’t mean that I have to accept an offer if I don’t want to sell at the time.
Find another wholesaler that is marketing a property.
Make a quick, one-page option on the property for what they are asking.
… problem solved.
Now you can run ads for a property that you actually have under contract.
Where to find a deal? Try craigslist.org