I have been looking at loopnet to search for apartment complexes and have found a few promising investments. But i am still a free user and was wondering if there are any other places to search that are better or if I decide to pay for thier service if it is really worth it.
Use loopnet to make contacts with agents that will have properties for sale that will NEVER show up on Loopnet. The only deals that you might scrape off Loopnet are stale ones …which coincidentally are the same ones Loopnet publishes for free. Who knew? Then makes offers on the stale listings and see if the sellers have gotten real yet. It could take months to wear these people down. :banghead
Otherwise, pick a farm, get a mailing list put together and start letting the apartment owners in your farm know that you’re interested in buying their projects. Start making friends with as many owners as you can. Send them useful information. Find out what there interests are. Be ready for an opportunity. This is exactly what agents do, and you’ll just bypass all the extraneous expense. If you spent $15,000 in marketing costs, before you bought your first deal, you’ll probably save $50,000 on your first transaction by dealing directly with the seller.
Does this take time? Yes. Does it require a thick skin? Yes. Does it require some negotiation skills? Yes. Does it mean being prepared to act quickly when necessary? Absolutely, yes.
So use Loopnet for what it’s worth; connecting to agents who’ll tell you what they’ve got that’s NOT on Loopnet. That’s the secret to Loopnet.
Who do you have it listed with right now, franchise or boutique? What are they doing to market your property for you? I don’t necessarily think that financing is the issue. Although funding is drying up, there are still quite a few sources for financing for income producing properties.
With the help of agent properties you can acquire information that is suitable for your plan of investing like that of a commercial one.
Have you tried looking at websites like Zillow, Redfin and Trulia?
Have you tried looking at websites like Zillow, Redfin and Trulia?
As javipa mentioned. These should be only be used for gaining contact info. The majority of good deals, if not all, are usually done by the time that they reach these services.
Really thoughtful anyway. Direct contacts with agents is really a good and better way of dealing with it.
Very well said!
You can try some other real estate websites like Trulia. Or you can contact any real estate broker he may can suggest you best listing for you.
There are other sites that have a more active database. Some of these website specialize in foreclosed properties which has been a cash cow for a lot of investors which specialize in rental properties. Even though you are looking for apartment complexes, have you ever considered purchasing and renting out deeply discounted SFR? Their end yield can be much higher as the real estate market rebounds.
Have you thought of dealing with agents directly?