Wholesaling.....what are your best ways for finding motivated sellers?

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Wholesaling.....what are your best ways for finding motivated sellers?

Tara Jackson
Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 31 posts · 0 votes

Hi, I'm a newbie and very eager and motivated! I attended a seminar about 3 weeks ago and I'm ready to get started!!! I want to get begin with wholesaling.

What are some ways that have gotten you the most results when searching for motivated sellers?

Thanks!
Tara

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  • Justin S.
    Residential Real Estate Agent · Chandler, AZ · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 928 votes
    17y

    Tara-

    Direct mailings - Preforeclosures, probates, absentee owners.
    Bandit Signs
    Craigslist

    I think direct mailing produce the best leads. Bandit signs will get the phone ringing but you will have to filter through the non-motivaed sellers. Craigslist but that is hit and miss.

    Good luck and welcome to the site.

    0Reply
  • Tara Jackson
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 31 posts · 0 votes
    17y

    Justin, thanks for that info.! I went out today and got started today with the bandit signs and am about to get started with direct mailing now.

    Thanks for my welcome and your help :)!

    0Reply
  • Curt DavisBusiness Member
    Flipper/Rehabber · Memphis, TN · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    17y

    Tara,

    There is a term called " Driving For Dollars" where you drive around and call on For Sale By Owner signs and only call the ones where the yard looks over grown or the phone books are stacked up, basically call on the ones that look neglected. They will be more motivated to sell.

    Or you can look into bank owned property but you will need to be a more seasoned investor and not a newbie. Hope that helps.

    Curt Davis - KAIZEN Realty538 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
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  • Justin S.
    Residential Real Estate Agent · Chandler, AZ · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 928 votes
    17y

    Curt-

    Why do you need to be a more seasoned investor to buy a banked owned property?

    0Reply
  • James Hiddle
    Altus, OK · Member since 2008 · 2k+ posts · 690 votes
    17y

    Edit

    0Reply
  • Tim Brandel
    Real Estate Consultant · Queen Creek, AZ · Member since 2008 · 9 posts · 0 votes
    17y

    I think the Banks (REOS) are the most motivated sellers out there now, with the possible exceptions of some probate cases (death, jilted spouse).

    Hook up with a hungry agent that is willing to put the time in to show you homes with drastic price reductions.

    The Banks will slash prices way below all other REO prices to start a bidding war. If you are quick or there are no other bids, you can get lucky.

    0Reply
  • Tara Jackson
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 31 posts · 0 votes
    17y

    Wholesaling REOs sounds like something I might be interested in, as a matter of fact yesterday while I was out driving I saw a bank owned house. I took down all the info. so that on Monday I can make the call.

    I feel more relieved now knowing that I don't have to be a seasoned investor to do this. I'm just a little nervous that's all!!!

    0Reply
  • Tara Jackson
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 31 posts · 0 votes
    17y

    Thanks for all of your input!!!

    0Reply
  • Michael Culler
    Real Estate Investor · Tampa Bay, FL · Member since 2009 · 180 posts · 17 votes
    17y

    If you want a list of REO's and an easy way to find REO brokers in your area, just google this phrase:

    worlds largest REO directory

    Warning:

    You could spend days looking at property in there!

    0Reply
  • Alex Joungblood
    Real Estate Investor · Chesapeake, VA · Member since 2009 · 20 posts · 10 votes
    17y

    I have had great succcess with Direct Mail. Absentee Owners in Particular. I have also had some great success with Probate Leads from the courthouse. I have found that click2mail is a great site to use to automate the entire process.

    0Reply
  • Tara Jackson
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 31 posts · 0 votes
    17y
    Originally posted by Michael Culler:
    If you want a list of REO's and an easy way to find REO brokers in your area, just google this phrase:

    worlds largest REO directory


    Warning:

    You could spend days looking at property in there!


    You weren't kidding! I was on there for hours looking at all that property! Thanks!!!
    0Reply
  • Tara Jackson
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 31 posts · 0 votes
    17y
    Originally posted by Alex Joungblood:
    I have had great succcess with Direct Mail. Absentee Owners in Particular. I have also had some great success with Probate Leads from the courthouse. I have found that click2mail is a great site to use to automate the entire process.

    What exactly is click2mail?

    0Reply
  • Michael Culler
    Real Estate Investor · Tampa Bay, FL · Member since 2009 · 180 posts · 17 votes
    17y
    Originally posted by Tara Jackson:
    Originally posted by Michael Culler:
    If you want a list of REO's and an easy way to find REO brokers in your area, just google this phrase:

    worlds largest REO directory


    Warning:

    You could spend days looking at property in there!


    You weren't kidding! I was on there for hours looking at all that property! Thanks!!!


    No problem. I like to help newbies, as I had some help from forums like this when starting out. So I guess its time to give back some.

    Good luck and happy investing!

    0Reply
  • Brian P.
    Wholesaler · Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 401 votes
    17y

    Tara

    There are no motivated sellers in Chicago.just ask your competitors, but in case you find one make sure one of your must do activities has been building a buyers list..

    The others have given you some good ideas, pick one and combine it with the driving for dollars activity. such as driving by the absentee owners properties and seeing whats going on, check the street for other prospective properties and hit the neighbors for info as well as asking if anyone they know of has mentioned maybe buying or selling..

    Call on for sale/rent/sold signs and get the info, and as you learn the area
    ideas will come to you for doing it better as you do it

    plus as Alex suggested go to the www.click2mail.com site and see what they offer you...

    0Reply
  • Chris T.
    Wholesaler · Amarillo, TX · Member since 2008 · 369 posts · 75 votes
    17y

    New marketing plan to find motivated sellers

    1. Mailers â€" AO, OO
    2. Handbills
    3. Business cards
    4. TV commercials
    5. American Classifieds Ad
    6. Phonebook Ad
    7. Bandit Signs
    8. Internet/Web Page
    9. Vehicle Graphics
    10. Referrals

    Additional ways to find motivated sellers

    1. Realtors
    2. REO
    3. HUD
    4. Condemned Buildings List
    5. Probate
    6. Foreclosure list
    7. Court Sales
    8. MLS
    9. Classifieds – look for deals in local ads
    10. FSBO’s â€" call FSBO’s and look at FSBO website

    0Reply
  • Tara Jackson
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 31 posts · 0 votes
    17y
    Originally posted by Brian P:
    Tara

    There are no motivated sellers in Chicago.just ask your competitors, but in case you find one make sure one of your must do activities has been building a buyers list..

    The others have given you some good ideas, pick one and combine it with the driving for dollars activity. such as driving by the absentee owners properties and seeing whats going on, check the street for other prospective properties and hit the neighbors for info as well as asking if anyone they know of has mentioned maybe buying or selling..

    Call on for sale/rent/sold signs and get the info, and as you learn the area
    ideas will come to you for doing it better as you do it

    plus as Alex suggested go to the www.click2mail.com site and see what they offer you...


    No motivated sellers? Well, I guess this will more challenging than I thought. The good thing is that I've been building my buyer's list.

    Thanks for the advice.
    Tara

    0Reply
  • Tara Jackson
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 31 posts · 0 votes
    17y

    Thanks Chris, those all sound like great marketing plans and I've been doing some of them already.

    0Reply
  • Jason Wheeler
    Pleasant Hill, CA · Member since 2008 · 428 posts · 43 votes
    17y

    A good relationship with a Divorce Attorney and an Estate Planning Attorney can yield a lot of referrals.

    Also there are people everywhere looking into loan modification services. These often don't work out and a Short Sale is the next best thing.

    You can try road signs too.

    0Reply
  • Tara Jackson
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 31 posts · 0 votes
    17y
    Originally posted by Jason Wheeler:
    A good relationship with a Divorce Attorney and an Estate Planning Attorney can yield a lot of referrals.

    Also there are people everywhere looking into loan modification services. These often don't work out and a Short Sale is the next best thing.

    You can try road signs too.


    Thanks!
    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Real Estate Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2009 · 93 posts · 26 votes
    17y

    Apart from knowing how to attract motivated sellers, investors must also find out the reasons why people become desperate or motivated to sell:

    DISTRESSED PROPERTY
    Sometimes the property becomes distressed or in need of repair and the seller does not have the funds to correct the issue. One time, I got a call from an old lady and when I was inspecting her property, I was shocked to find out there was a big hole on the ceiling of her house. And to think that she was living in that house! I could not imagine how cold it must have it been for her during the winter and when it rained, things at her house must be soaked and yet...because she did not have the money to solve the problem, she was forced to live with it.

    Unfortunately, I could not do anything either because based on the value of her home, she would have to pay me to buy her house.

    DISTRESSED FINANCES
    Another thing that makes a seller motivated is distressed finances. In America, unfortunately, some people get into a house that they can only afford on two incomes. If for some reason, one of those incomes is gone temporarily or permanently, then the disaster begins. It ends with the couple losing their home in foreclosure. This is what happened once with a seller named Kim. I got a call from her and she begged me to buy her house so that a foreclosure would not appear on her credit report. I inspected the property and worked out a deal with her and her bank. I sold the property, made $17,000 and she and her husband were happy and move on with their lives.

    DISTRESSED SITUATION
    Sometimes, the property is not distressed and neither the finances but the seller could be in a distressed situation such that he still needs to sell quickly. About a month and a haf ago, I closed on a deal in which the seller and his soon-to-be ex-wife are getting a divorce. The guy said that the wife was giving her a hard time and just to spite her- just so that she wouldn't get anything from the divorce, he decided to just let the payments on the duplex that he owned to slip and let the property go into foreclosure. The seller is also an investor and he bought this duplex as an investment. He told me that as soon as the divorce is over, he will start buying investment properties again!

    So there you have it. These are the three general things that motivate sellers.

    Dedicated to your financial success,
    Trace Trajano

    0Reply
  • Terrence Wright
    Investor · Ann Arbor, MI · Member since 2009 · 14 posts · 2 votes
    17y

    Hi Tara,

    DIrect mail is very effective but the response times are very slow. You will generally have to contact the owners several times before they deal with you.

    REO's are the best deals around, depending on which area you are in. The key is to find an agressive "ethical" agent and be sure you have the resources to close quickly.

    Hope that helps.

    [WEB SITE REMOVED]

    0Reply
  • Tara Jackson
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 31 posts · 0 votes
    17y

    Thanks Trace and Terrance.

    0Reply
  • Jason K.
    Involved In Real Estate · Houston, TX · Member since 2010 · 196 posts · 2 votes
    16y

    How do I find absentee owners? Is there a website?

    0Reply
  • Eddie Price
    Real Estate Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2008 · 15 posts · 0 votes
    16y
    Originally posted by Jason Koonce:
    How do I find absentee owners? Is there a website?


    You can buy a list from listsource.com or melissadata.com very quickly ..
    or
    you can get a list from a title company or tax accessor office.

    then you can mail'em out w/ click2mail.com

    0Reply
  • Kim Hawkinson
    Real Estate Investor · Member since 2010 · 61 posts · 12 votes
    16y

    What about getting a list from the city of homes with code violations or city violations. Things like 5 cars in the front yard, grass that's 2 feet high, or no front door on the house. OK, I wouldn't look at the last one either but you get the idea. I just wouldn't know where to find that info. I'm not very city offices friendly. Hope this helps and good luck!!!

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