What are successful REI doing to get off-market properties!?

[David Cook]

I have recently decided to step back into the realm of REI. I was involved for about 4 months after first moving to Saint Petersburg, FL from York, PA in March 2015. However, due to a lack of faith in REI working I got a job that brought me steady income. I am now at a point where I NEED to make real estate investing work because I no longer want to work for someone else.

I saved up some money & have 5 months of expenses handy. At the moment I am looking to wholesale properties in the area & build up capital so that one day I can do some of my own rehabs. (Also, I would love to do some rehabs before I have a lot of cash on hand. So if someone has private money & is open to JV please let me know.)

Anyways, enough about me. I am writing because I want to know what the successful investors are doing TODAY to get off-market properties? What marketing technique have you seen the biggest ROI from? Another question. Is wholesaling still the best/only way for someone with little money/not-so-great credit to start making money through unlicensed real estate activities?

When I was in the business a couple years ago I was only putting out bandit signs & driving around looking for abandoned/distressed properties. Never did any deals! I am hoping to change the story around though. :D

Last thing, I am looking to grow my network & so if you are in the Tampa Bay Area please reach out to me!

Thank you

- David Cook III

[Ethan Summers]

@David Cook I take a target zip code/street in my investment area and begin to use google maps to walk up the street using my mouse to zoom in on any property that may look distressed. Google always has pretty up to date images on the maps app/feature.I then take these addresses and put them in an excel spreadsheet and I typically do some research on the county tax assessor site. Once i locate owner names i skip trace the owner find their current address and phone number, I usually like to just give them a ring but often times ill follow the phone call up with a yellow letter or postcard if i cant get them on the phone. Hope this helps! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Also I have had great success with using listsource.com to pull my list and then having a direct mail service send out my mailers for me!