Hello,
I am just getting started with finding properties to put offers on. BUT it is very difficult to find “Fixer Upper” homes, and I do not want to do any work in Detroit/Pontiac.
So are there any resources you guys can give me to better find properties to wholesale?
I talked to my local postman and had him send me addresses of houses he saw that looked abandoned. Same with Uber drivers. Do it on a commission basis where you only pay them if you close the deal. They’re basically bird dogging for you. Hope this helps
Use modern methods such as posting free ads in Craigslist and Facebook.
I suggest building a website, optimized with SEO best practices and incorporating a mix of YouTube promotion and Social Media ads. It will take time to build up but will be worth it eventually…
Pavel, Real Estate Investor & Marketing Consultant
Finding fixer properties is the biggest challenge wholesalers face, which means 98% - 99.9% of newbies that listened to all the guru’s promises after 3-4 months have bit the big one and gone back to washing dishes at Denny’s.
If you don’t have money for marketing as in Direct Mail, Bandit signs, Website, & ect.
you better have a never quit attitude and that my friend is ur biggest asset.
What worked for me was relentlessly placing I Buy Houses ads on Craig’s List and advertising for bird dogs and the back to basics fav, driving lower income areas and then sending out post cards to these addresses.
You can also print up brochures and leave them on doorsteps and car windows.
Along with the right attitude your gona need a high level of desperation,
There is no magic overnight formula and your gona have to put in effort and time.
Good luck.
I realize this post is from May however this is for knowledge for others reading as well.
When you say “getting started” - what does that mean exactly? Is it find and fix and hold? Fix and sell retail? Fix and flip wholesale with a tenant and cashflowing? Rehabbing is not quick money. Then to find the houses - some of the others posted advice. I think posting signs is great depending on location. Probate houses are motivated sellers.
Rehabbing is not easy but it CAN be done. I prefer not to rehab. I flip the contracts. It is not easy either to find the properties and sometimes I work with others who have the contracts and I have the buyers. Maybe 5K per deal. Closing in 30 days or less. Usually 21 days. Sometimes 10 days. I have a bird dog finding me properties and I get them under contract with the seller.
Set a goal and work backwards and to the little details. How much do you want to make and how fast? How much time do you have to rehab?
There are many ways to make money in REI. Pick what is appealing and define “getting started”. Good luck!
I think one of the better ways of finding properties is by placing ads on facebook and craig’s list.
As you know, all real estate investors are faced with finding properties to repair homes and sell them. This is a very big challenge for all real estate investors. You need to work at another job to get some extra money that can be used for advertising to find properties.
You can go with the latest real estate investment & property finding apps too. These apps will help you to find vacant properties easily along with automated owner details. They follow a driving for dollars strategy and it helps me to save my precious time and money while finding the properties and looking for owner information. Hope this helps you too.
PM me if you would like to talk more about the App that I am using.
Driving for dollars is a great place to start and you will learn the area. You could also pull a list of absentee owners to look for landlords who are tired of managing properties. I would recommend starting with out of state owners as they are generally more motivated. Also find out if your city has lists of code violations. Foreclosures are a good source of deals but if you are just starting out I would wait as if you fumble with them you are messing with peoples lives.
Door knocking pre-foreclosures and NTS’s was what worked for me when I was getting started. Takes a lot of persistence and grinding, but it works. Learn about the foreclosure process for your state and what options homeowners have, and offer free consultations. Be genuine, listen to their situation and if they have options to keep their house and that’s what they want to do, tell them. Talk to them about bankruptcy, loan mods, whatever they could use. If you help them save their home they’ll remember you forever and refer you business or reach out when they get in trouble again. If they can’t save it, you’re the guy in front of them that has treated them right and been straight with them, and they’re likely to sell to you.
Here’s a few things you can do
Hope these help. Good Luck!
there are deals everywhere. there are areas in detroit where you can make good money. there are people that buy in flint too! deals are everywhere. sometimes, its the buyer that is hard to find, but detroit has plenty!
I would suggest focusing your marketing in areas where there’s not a lot of competition, even if it’s more time consuming or expensive. It’s usually worth your while to do that instead of getting lost in the clutter. Good luck!
Lots of good nuggets in these comments. Whichever way you decide to market, consistency is a huge component of that. Make sure you do it harder, better, and faster than your competition, and you’ll end up on top! Good luck!
Any luck with Uber drivers specifically? Is there a certain comp plan that you use to incentivize?