Using Bandit Signs

[Eric B.]

I am a new real estate investor; haven't bought or sold my first house yet. But I do have a mentor, and one of the techniques he advises for the selling side of wholesaling single family houses is bandit signs. He says there is no better way to find buyers.

But here's the thing: does anybody know how well bandit signs work in wholesaling houses on the south and southwest sides of Chicago? I am a Premium Elite Member of MyHouseDeals.com, and have access to tons of buyers, but as far as Chicago is concerned, most of them are interested in Chicago's north side, Chicago suburbs and northwest Indiana.

Keep in mind I haven't tried bandit signs yet. But I do have a hundred of them ready to go in my living room. I guess I'm a little hesitant because if my virtually unlimited list of MyHouseDeals buyers showed very little interest in wholesale deals on the south and southwest sides of Chicago, do I really have good reason to believe bandit signs will work better?

Anyone who can offer me input on the subject will be extremely helpful to me!

[Joshua Dorkin]

As @Chris Feltus said, there are plenty of LEGAL methods for finding buyers; in most cases, bandit signs are not legal. Do you care about your reputation? Do you care about establishing a credible business? If so, does starting your investing by advertising illegally help you attain that?

As for buyers . . . if you're paying some website for a list of unlimited buyers, but they aren't coming through with buyers that you need, well, perhaps you need to consider other means of getting those buyers. Local investor meetups are one of the most effective ways to build your buyers, so is Craigslist and building personal connections here on BP is also a great way to put together your list.

That said, most successful investors I know work with 5-10 repeat buyers . . . putting together a list of hundreds of investors may feel good, but I think you just need to focus on figuring out who that 5-10 are and you'll be in business. Frankly, if you find a great deal, you'll have yourself a buyers list waiting to scoop it up -- I'd focus on that.

Good luck!