generating leads

[Devan McClish]

My partner and I have done a lot of research, and I know how to find leads by looking for blue tarps, beat up houses, tall grass, etc. We have found more than 10 abandoned homes, and we have tried to contact the homeowners but had no luck. Most of the homes are still in the homeowners name (CRS system is where I got this info and from talking to banks). We have called the banks to try and buy the property, and they either say you cannot buy it before it hits the market, which I know is not right because I have seen other investors do it, or they tell us it is still in the homeowners name and they cannot do anything. I have sent letters to the home with address service requested and had no luck. Basically there is over 100k in profit just sitting there and we cannot do anything about it. Does anyone have any ideas or know what to do?

[Rick H.]

@Devin McClish - I may be oversimplifying your situation but I'll offer my seventy five cents (adjusted for inflation).

You've create a list of properties with common issues. You have not been able to monetize that list. So, what are some good choices?

For starters, you ought to remember that you are either trying to buy equity at a discount, or future cash flow at a discount. If so, have you roughly qualified each property for equity so that your list consists of just prospects?

Of those, which ones have owners that are reachable by you? None? Then, using the principles of Deal Flow, you ought to recognize your value in the process is as a lead generator and give the equity-qualified prospects to a company that can monetize them and be prepared to accept a referral fee, since they made the deal happen.

Alternatively, learn how to skiptrace the owners (or heirs) or hire someone to do that for you. One of my strategies is to be willing to spend more on finding missing owners that the next guy. Even when I've spent $1K per house and only get one out of five deals, my cost is still only $5K to make $100K+ profit deal.

Also, consider learning how to reverse engineer property title for opportunities that others don't see or know how to work. For example, buying a private party mortgage with the intent of foreclosing in order to clear title and hopefully create equity. If done smartly, you might never have to own the property and just move paper around.

Argue all you want with my logic, but the numbers tell the real story.