hi guys,
One of the number one skills a new investor is going to have to learn is how to find motivated sellers. Finding good leads and then pull out the motivated sellers is the key to success!
For example, a seller might be in foreclosure, have a job transfer or some other life changing event. Sometimes when life changes the rules, so can a sellers motivation.
If you can provide solutions to the seller that helps them solve the problem by simply buying the house, everyone wins! When you provide a win-win scenario for everyone involved, you have provided a service to the seller, and the community.
The million dollar question (literally) is that how do you find these motivated sellers?
Classified ads in the paper, and sites such as craigslist
Drive the neighborhood and look for vacant houses
Find a birddog, they find houses for a flat fee
Work with a wholesaler who buys properties & and then sell them to investors
Search the “notice of default” list which identifies all the foreclosure listings
Check out the “notice to condemn” filings with the local building commissioners
Divorce filings
Probate filings can be a good lead especially if the beneficiaries live out of state
Houses which need a larger amount of repairs
Expired Listing are one of my favorites
Tax Sales
There are several great techniques that you can use to locate these sellers. Some of my favorites include:
Bandit signs along the roads in the neighborhoods where I want to buy, drive throughs, shopping centers, entrances and exits of my favorite sub-divisions, and busy intersections.
Direct mail campaigns to the people on the lists, the more pieces you mail, the better, this is called a drip campaign, like a dripping faucet, mail to them over a period of time.