Although there are thousands of homes for sale in most real estate markets, it still seems that the good REOs sell quickly (often with multiple offers) and the short sales might make a good value for an owner occupant that is willing to wait, but are often a real challenge for investors to make any money. So where can someone that truly wants a great investment property find the deals?
Well below is a long list of ideas to put into place. These ideas are also a great place for Realtors looking to obtain new listings. Not all these ideas will work in every market and some may be out of date for certain marketplaces, but hopefully they will at least get your brain thinking.
Most of these ideas boil down to 2 types of properties - (1) properties with motivated owners that nobody knows are for sale, and (2) properties that others have passed over or that nobody wants for whatever reason. If you have any ideas you care to share, feel free to post them so we can all learn.
1. Place a daily/weekly newspaper ad
2. Place weekly/monthly ads in Pennysaver, local weekly city paper, HOA newsletter, church bulletin, school newsletter, magazines, etc.
3. Place an ad in the local Yellow pages - they even have targeted books just for certain cities
3. Place an ad in online classifieds - Craigslist, Kijiji, MerchantCircle, etc.
4. Create an internet website or blog
5. Search the MLS for junker properties
6. Search the MLS for expired and withdrawn listings
7. Search the MLS for old stale listings - listed for 90 days +
8. Bandit signs (little cheapo signs by the side of the road or nailed to a phone pole)
9. Drive neighborhoods looking for For Sale By Owners / FSBO's
10. Call for sale by owner ads in newspapers, Craigslist, other classifieds
11. Search / network on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Activerain for people looking to sell / buy
12. Contact landlords who are evicting a tenant
13. Contact landlords with properties for rent
14. Contact multi-family property owners - there are lots of tired landlords
15. Contact commercial property owners - there are lots of people looking to sell or close their business if they got the right offer
16. Pre-foreclosures, lis pendens lists
17. Foreclosure auctions and sheriff sales
18. HUD home auctions
19. Tax deed auctions
20. Ebay auctions, other private auctions
21. Contact probate properties and estate sales
22. Contact divorce forced sales
23. Properties with outstanding building, health code, or code enforcement violations
24. Fire, sinkhole, hurricane, earthquake damaged, or a similar niche properties
25. Absentee landlords and out of state owners
26. Networking with professional people - Realtors(r), attorneys, CPAs, surveyors, etc.
27. Networking with service providers - lawnmower service, mailman, pool service, pizza deliverers, contractors, etc.
28. Networking with your sphere of influence - hand out your business cards to everyone you know
29. Join a local networking group - investor association, chamber of commerce, Kiwanis club, garden club, etc.
30. Post ads with large employers, military bases, hospitals, relocation companies
31. Bird dogs (paying a bird dog fee to unlicensed people may be illegal in some states, so make sure to obey the law)
32. Property wholesalers, other investors
33. Outdoor ads - magnetic car sign, bus stop benches, shopping cart ads, billboards, taxi cabs
34. Clothing and accessories - I have embroidered shirts, baseball hats, magnetic calendars, ball point pens, etc. with my logo on them
35. Canvassing a neighborhood, talk to neighbors, door hangers/fliers
36. Radio and TV ads
37. Direct mail / postcards
38. Private money lenders or people holding seller financing that might consider selling their mortgage at a discount in lieu of avoiding foreclosure
39. People who have done a mortgage modification or had a foreclosure dismissed within the recent past - odds are they are still struggling
40. Property owners in bankruptcy
41. Property owners with tax liens, judgments, or construction liens recorded against them
42. The individual/company that owns the judgment or construction lien that might sell at a discount instead of trying to foreclose
43. Property owners with HOA or condo liens recorded against them
44. Drive neighborhoods looking for vacant homes, high weeds, etc.
45. Properties with title problems
46. Properties on state/county government lands available for sale list, government surplus
47. Properties that can be combined with others to make the whole parcel more valuable
48. Properties that can have the zoning or land use changed to make the parcel more valuable
49. Builders with excess inventory - homes and vacant lots for sale
50. Government entities like FDIC, SBA, USDA, VA, GSA, RICO, the IRS, U.S. Customs, your local state's department of revenue - all have properties for sale
51. Plenty more ideas ... be creative.
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