New Madison WI Investor How to Write an Off Market Deal

[Kaylyn Geiger]

Hi all,

Kaylyn here. I am coming up on my first year as a Realtor in the Madison WI area. My boyfriend house hacked the duplex we live in now and is looking to add more to his investment portfolio. We've been searching mainly on-market deals for the past 10 months and have had no luck. 1.) the numbers don't necessarily make sense for him and 2.) there is so much competition, it's nearly impossible to get a deal. 

I've been using Bigger Pockets to educate myself on real estate investing and have started to look into off market properties in our area. I understand how to analyze if a property will work for us but when it comes to actually writing and presenting an offer, I'm not sure where to start. I've written to a number of owners and in the event that someone actually gets back to me, I'm not entirely sure where to go from there. How do I come up with a purchase price to offer them? Would it be silly to ask for a tour of the inside? Basically, how do I not sound like a dumba**?  Obviously, as a Realtor, I can determine what the market value is but we're hoping to find something under market value. We aren't big fish that can come in with an all cash, no contingencies offer at this point. We could waive inspection but we would at least have financing, thus, an appraisal contingency. 

Any suggestions or investors in the Madison area that has experience with this?

[Keith Schulz]

As a real estate licensee I think you owe the owners an ethical duty to tell them what it would realistically sell for on the market too. I've bought several off market properties, and in each case, I actually tried to convince the seller to list the property with me for a higher price than what I've offered them. ...but these were all situations where someone just wanted out, and they didn't want to deal with prepping the house or allowing showings. 

...but yes, absolutely ask to look at the property, make an offer that makes sense for you, but don't lie to them that this is all it would bring on the retail market. Try to make a win win deal that saves them some headache and work and saves you some money. 

Also, review things with your broker to figure out company policies before getting too far.