So, now you’re a real estate investor.

You’ve spent months marketing.  Then, you get your first deal.  You now have a project to work on.  If everything goes well, you’re doing your part in helping someone move on with their life by purchasing their home, then hiring contractors to help the local economy.  You look forward to turning this old house into a new home for another family to come and make a lifetime of memories.  You have done your part in improving the neighborhood and added value not only to your project home, but all the other homes in the neighborhood.  Then, when it’s all over, hopefully, you have made a small profit and you do it all over again.  So, how did you market to get that first project?

Forget Marketing, What about the MLS?

One of the first things we do as a real estate investor is spend a lot of time marketing for deals to make offers on.  Working from the MLS isn’t where the best deals can be found.  While there will certainly be properties on the MLS that will need some “TLC” or might be a “contractors special” or for “real estate investors only,” it is likely they will be very competitive.  You will be competing with both professionals and amateurs.

Once, I bid $75,000.00 over asking price and still lost out to a higher bid.  It turns out, I was 16th from the highest bid.  Based on my calculations, I don’t know how they could afford to make that offer, but maybe, they had a different strategy than mine.  In this example, the realtor knew they could get more money then what they asked.  With experience, you can tell exactly which properties on the MLS that the realtor is trying to strike a bidding war with.  You still want to put in your offer, it’s great practice.  If you want to win, you have to play. But the MLS isn’t our ideal location for profitable projects.  You have to market elsewhere.

Where else can I market for deals?

You probably have spent several hours building an inbound and outbound marketing plan or campaign.  You have purchased bandit signs, made Craigslist Ads, joined the local REI, why?  Because the best deals are the ones that don’t make it to market.  If you’re not an investor, you may wonder, why would someone sell a house off the MLS?  One, the seller won’t have to pay realtor commissions (usually around 5%), but that’s a pretty savvy home owner.  Houses in disrepair do not qualify for a mortgaged.  A bank will not loan against a house that is unlivable.  For example, if the house has a bad roof, or major plumbing or structural issues, the banks won’t touch it.   This is the kind of house we love.

You can also find houses for sale due to court mandate, such as a divorce settlement or probate.  We find that many properties left to heirs fall into this category.  Sometimes, the house may still have a mortgage.  I have found that people who inherit property, especially when there’s more than one benefactor, tend to prefer to sell an inherited property rather than keep it.  A property in probate must be sold before the heirs will get any of the inheritance.  If one or more properties is in the estate, heirs will tend to sell those properties rather than to take on the existing mortgage, upkeep, property management, etc.

For additional ideas, here’s a great article, https://fitsmallbusiness.com/real-estate-marketing-ideas.

How can I help?

My first deal came off market, but through a realtor.  He had a pocket listing and I had built relationships with realtors.  My realtor learned about this and through their own networking, they helped me to find my first deal.  We also work with Short Sales and can negotiate with the bank for you.  We will keep you out of foreclosure, if you need a fresh start, give me a call.  I went through a short sale before.  It can be a breathe of fresh air.

If you have a house that is not in the best condition, you can find an investor who will buy it as is.  Please contact me at https://www.lgpropllc.com, if you would like to get a free estimate on what your house is worth in its current condition.  We buy AS-IS, flexible closing (11 days minimum), and all cash.