How do you find Off Market Deals?

Question

Hi Everyone,

How do you you find off market deals or deals in general before they hit MLS.

If you do drive by's how do you communicate with the owner of the potential home?

What do you think I should do to find good deals.

Thank you in advance for answering! I look forward to reading your responses.

Lyndal McMurphy · Answer

And let everyone know you're interested in buying real estate!  I bring it up every chance I get without being annoying.  2 of my last 4 purchases have started with someone pulling me aside and saying "I know you buy houses..."   One at church and another while she was cutting my hair!  And another lady in there cutting hair the same day wants me to talk to her about maybe buying her parent's house.

There was very similar talk on a recent BP podcast about making sure everyone knows you are in the business. I can't remember if it was suggested in that episode or if my mind was going afterward and got the idea, but I'm going to even get some business cards made that I can give to people to let me know if they run across any deals and I can share a .5% or so finders fee. Hopefully I'm not breaking any laws there since I'm not accredited or licensed agent or anything... hmmmm....

But lastly, another good point they made on the podcast... you need to be someone known for following-through and making deals happen!

Patrick Menefee · Answer

@Lyndal McMurphy i love your point about follow through and it made me mentally work through one of my self created road blocks...that said i would like to add one thing to it.

When you start telling everyone you’re investing in real estate you need to be known for making deals happen or people are going to stop sending them to you. But that doesn’t mean YOU need to make every one of those deals. If you have a solid network of other investors you can go to if you can’t personally make the deal happen, you’ll continue filling your lead funnel and also strengthen your connection with other investors you’ve helped out.

If you have a problem of TOO many deals coming in, that’s a hell of a problem to have!

Bob Okenwa · Answer

1. Wholesalers, drive for dollars, probate, pre-foreclosures, REO, real estate meetups, and auctions are just a few ways to find off-market deals. You can get a lot of info from sites like ListSource or PropertyRadar as well.

2. You can walk up to their door and ring the doorbell, but most people prefer direct mail as it is less invasive.

3. See #1.

Julia Fair · Answer

Do you just call and ask them if they're interested in selling?

Felix Torres · Answer

@Patrick Menefee I think I live an upcoming hot spot. Should I put a sign in front of my house saying I by houses and will help you find your new home too? I'm being  serious.

When it comes to deals, I feel like every deal is a good deal, only if you do your numbers right. There's always an investor willing to go all in on a place.

I need to create that problem! Thanks for reminding me that it's ok to set back only if you come back!

Felix Torres · Answer

@May Emery Thank you May for your advice!  I also read your blog! One word! CLUTCH! I only say that because I live in an area where there majority of the population is entering or in retirement.  I naturally want to help people and even help them find a new home so they don't have to go through that struggle.

If you have any information please let me know. I really appreciate your response and I'm sure every one else

May Emery · Answer

@Felix Torres The letter you send should be informative and benefits driven. I don't think you need hand written, but you also don't want to sound too slick.

If you are sending to owner occupied - either seniors or people with low Financial Stability Scores, the emphasis is on "selling your house is easier than you think" and list how you make it easy. Here's a link to a blog I wrote on letters for seniors - but basically it applies to all owner occupied.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/11806/84376-your-letter-to-seniors-offer-them-something-they-care-about

If you are sending to absentee owners, they will have different pain points. You need to address these because chances are they are getting plenty of offers from other investors.  Mention reasons why absentee owners might want to sell - Tired of tennents, ready to cash out on investment, easy sales process.

May Emery · Answer

@Felix Torres  Mailing is probably the best way to find your own off-market deals. These are people who share motivational characteristics of people ready to sell, but haven't yet done all the work they think they need to list property. The best way to find them is to send out mailers.

Some good lists to target are Absentee Owners with Equity, Seniors with Long-time Ownership and Homeowners with Low Financial Stability Scores.

You can work with a list broker to optimize your list for your area. From there, there are a lot of companies that can help with the printing and mailing. Be sure that you highlight that "selling your house can be easier than you think" with the advantages of working directly with you instead of the more traditional route.

Philip L. · Answer

Hey @Felix Torres setting up facebook ads and getting quality leads is the easy part for me as I do social media marketing for a living - if you can convert the leads into sales this would work well for you, if your still trying to find your first few deals then it might be cheaper to drive for dollars to get started.

Cody Ruff · Answer

@Felix Torres You can do the drive and deal strategy. Where you look around for owners of houses that are doing for sale by owners that are trying to save money on fees by using a real estate agent. You can also have a real estate agent send you weekly email alerts with brand new listings that might fit your criteria that they may have not put on the MLS yet.

How do you find Off Market Deals?

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