Driving for dollars?

Question

Answer

You wont find the rough stuff by buying online. Who wants to put their shame up for the world to see?

Answer

Ok, so say you're driving for dollars, you see a house that is a 2 in a neighborhood of 7's.What do you do? Mail them, knock on the door, do some research first? Do you ask if they are thinking about selling? How does the rest of it go down?

Answer

Driving neighborhoods was how I began getting into this business. I would drive around from neighborhood to neighborhood with my wife and kids they almost made a game of seeing if they could find a FSBO or house that had a HUD sticker on the front door/window or looked unkept. We would write down the address or phone number and then when we got home, I would call on the numbers or look on the local GIS to find out the owner. From there I would set up appointments if it appeared to be a good prospect on paper. I called on one sign and ended up buying four properties with 12 units spread out in them on contract from one person. This would not have happened unless I had been keeping my eyes out while driving around.I have also been told to drive a different route home from work everyday even if it takes a little while longer (as mentioned by @Brian P.) to get a feel for which are good/bad neighborhoods. Also can tell where there are a lot of For Rent signs vs For Sale signs or no signs at all (fairly stable neighborhood). You can tell so much (as has already been mentioned by @Paige Clarke about the area, the residents/tenants and whether you would want to own there or not. Once you find some potential neighborhoods, look online and find out recent comps and other info about the house and neighborhood. Our local GIS shows previous "sold" prices of the houses listed. There is a wealth of knowledge to pull in on a neighborhood today.

Answer

Real quickly- Is this still profitable/necessary in the connected world? I would say yes- you definitely don't want to buy into a neighborhood until you have driven it. There are times when a map can't explain why one area of a subdivision sells for $X compared to $Y in another area except for when you drive it and see it. Look for- overrun lawn, piled up mail/trash, blinds up/stickers in the windowHow can you tell? Usually there's a neighborhood norm, and the ones that don't fit the norm are most likely to be distressed. All the other homes in the neighborhood are well maintained except for one? I'd look into that one.

Answer

@Ali Kassam Kinda sorta not really...I usually leave a flyer

Answer

@Matt Gee did you ever find a response to this question?

Answer

I recently checked out a property that looked like a great deal on paper. I couldn't figure out why it wasn't snatched up quickly. It is in a transitioning neighborhood and the house was a 3 wood away from a new $8m mixed use project. When I drove the neighborhood and realized it was across the street from a methadone clinic with dope zombies wondering all over the place, the low asking price and lasting for several days before going pending suddenly made sense. I am sure some Bay Area investor will bite on it soon because it looks like a great deal from every possible online reference point.

Answer

@Brad Carrier Wow...this is a powerful quote, "Who wants to put their shame up for the world to see?". I am going to take a bit to chew on this one. I think there is quite a bit to digest in this sentence.

Answer

The "connected world" means the sellers need to be somewhat tech savvy enough to find you. That also means they can connect to zillow, 100 different realtors, craigslist and probably a bunch of other wholesalers. Sometimes, if you are looking for great wholesale deals, wouldn't it pay to connect with sellers that are less sophisticated? I am not saying you should take advantage of anybody... but your as-is cash offer on a heavy fixer is going to be much different than the zillow retail price to a buyer putting 3.5% down. After listening to several top wholesalers speak in person and on podcasts, it destroyed my notion that all sellers think like I/We do. Some people are driven by different emotions and the bottom line isn't their main focus. There are other problems they need fixed. The better way to meet some of those people and learn what problems you can solve may be face to face.

Answer

I recently started Driving for Dollars because I'm new to the area. I was amazed how quickly the "scenary" changed in a 1 square mile radius. Also- noting for possible devaluations like train tracks, factories, construction, shelters, etc being near the property can be instrumental when analyzing market value.