Ok Guys - Im funded and ready to go ! How can I get the house before everyone else gets it ? I believe that there is a well oiled system out there but I keep hitting walls.I hear of other investors that have up to twenty a month and I cant get one!!Learning curve but I need some knowledge here!! :banghead
We’ve found that by always watching the neighborhoods we have been able to stay on values and new properties for sale. Learning how to ‘see’ the opportunities is one of the talents that is critical to an investors longterm success.
Some ideas: Take your time driving through neighborhoods - repeatedly. Focus on a particular part of town so you know it. You know prices, you know inventory that’s for sale. You know the houses that are vacant and those that seem to be neglected. You see the hidden ‘for sale’ signs. You see the new listings and FSBO’s. And you look at them as soon as they become available. Some people find empty or run down houses and look up the owner (city/county records) and contact them about selling. Some people advertise ‘we buy houses’, call rent ads and ask if they want to sell, chase obituaries, network with other investors, locate bird dogs, yes some people help find houses for a living).
There are many good resources on how to prospect for motivated sellers. You may want to look into those resources.
Remember, when you find the right deal, you need to move immediately. Contract it right away. Good deals don’t last long.
Just know that it is work, so hopefully you will enjoy it. If you can get into it, you CAN make some really good money.
A word of caution: Don’t be stupid and buy a bad deal because you are desperate to do something.
Have you done any marketing yet? How about prospecting?
What are you doing to find deals?
I like to tell people “There is no such thing as a secret agent investor”. You have to get your name out there or you have to come accross the deals yourself.
A good marketing campaign can get you rolling rather quickly. You could use bandit signs (if they are allowed in your area) mailers, classified ads etc. to get your name out there. You could also try to find deals on your own. You could take a trip down to the courthouse and have more deals to chase than you can handle.
You can also do what was suggested by chrisl and dominate your area by canvasing it and learning all the comings and goings of your target neighboorhoods.
It just depends on what you feel comfortable doing.
Good Luck
Rick
Hey Rick,
Great advice. My only request is clerification on the courthouse trip. I’m doing plenty of driving through neighborhoods and finding a fair amt of vacants to research, but other than foreclosure properties, are there other kinds of leads you’re referring to from the courthouse?
Most appriciated
Tommy
Also, I have one investor that pays $5.00 a lead and wants address, owner name & number. Is there any other method of tracking down #'s besides 411 & white pages? Roughly 25%-30% of these leads have unlisted #'s. Thanks again for any input whatsoever.