Residential Real Estate Agent · Somerville, MA · Member since 2009 · 195 posts · 32 votes
Hey Folks,
I've been building my buyers list pretty consistently these last two weeks and I'm looking for more ways to connect with rehabbers. So far my best investors (and most reliable/efficient colleagues) BY FAR on my list have been rehabbers. I want to actively hunt each and everyone of them down and offer my services to them. Two questions:
1) As a wholesaler how can I stand out amongst other wholesalers? Of course bringing great deals that have the numbers right on a consistent basis is key, but what else can I do? I try to keep my emails and conversations on the short side and to the point. Please, for all you experienced rehabbers, what else do you look for in a good rehabber??!!!
2. If you were a wholesaler, how would you track yourself down? I have a RE agent working on all cash sales in my area in the past 6 months. I've been reaching out to investors in my area on BP, Craigslist, LinkedIn, friends, family, google searches, investor directories, cold calls, etc. I plan to attend my next REIA meeting as well. I'm planning a bandit sign campaign shortly. Any outside the box suggestions? Is there a rehabbers bar where you all meet up after work? Please throw me some ideas here!!! I'm motivated and ready to help!!!!
1 bathroom houses dont do much for rehabbers, unless one can be added and the price is there for this improvement.
weird floorplans (normally additions and such) are a huge turn off for rehabbers
Neighbors, doesnt matter how nice you make that house if the neighbors houses are awful or neighborhoods arent the greatest.
You want the common house. Not too big for the area, not too small, not too weird looking ect.
You REALLY need to know the neighborhood as well, theres certain areas of a neighborhood that are way different then the other side of the neighborhood. Just cause its in the "whatever" neighborhood doesnt mean the sqft price is all the same.
Busy streets normally sell for minimum 10% less and are less attractive to rehabbers.
My last REIA they were talking about mistakes they made, and they were talking about price per sqft on houses too big for the area and how many newbes calculate price based off sqft but it doesnt mean much it if doesnt match the neighborhood.
your farm areas should have lots of OO sales as well as houses minimum 30+ years of equity
I think with most rehabbers its all about money, more money you can make them the better off everyone is. You want to have the cheapest houses. In my market, the NEWER wholesalers normally have the best prices, and those deals go the quickest, and often show up days later on other wholesalers sites for more $$$.
All depends on the deals and areas of town, Marketing to Rehabbers is way different than to landlords, Normally a rehabbers dream area isnt in a cash flowing area, therefore landlords arent as attracted to the property.
One of my local wholesalers and a big member of this site made a comment recently how his buyers list is huge, but the repeat buyers list is tiny. You can have a 1 person on your buyers list if there frequent buyers. Finding the deals is normally alot harder then the buyers.
Local REIAs are a great place to find rehabbers. Also, as you are driving around looking for properties drop in on renovations underway in homeowner areas.
The key is to find out what each rehabbers is looking for... beyound just the great price.
Things like geographic area, certain building styles, number of bedrooms, age, and others, could all be specific criterial of any rehabber.
As mentioned above you will find that there will be just a couple real buyers on your list... everyone else will just be foundation kickers.
Peter, the thing is even my real deal investors are keeping it vague on the things you would expect them to be specific on. Such as locations, bedrooms, school systems. A lot of them have such major operations going that they're literally open to 1/3 of the state and if the numbers fit they'll grab it.
1 bathroom houses dont do much for rehabbers, unless one can be added and the price is there for this improvement.
weird floorplans (normally additions and such) are a huge turn off for rehabbers
Neighbors, doesnt matter how nice you make that house if the neighbors houses are awful or neighborhoods arent the greatest.
You want the common house. Not too big for the area, not too small, not too weird looking ect.
You REALLY need to know the neighborhood as well, theres certain areas of a neighborhood that are way different then the other side of the neighborhood. Just cause its in the "whatever" neighborhood doesnt mean the sqft price is all the same.
Busy streets normally sell for minimum 10% less and are less attractive to rehabbers.
My last REIA they were talking about mistakes they made, and they were talking about price per sqft on houses too big for the area and how many newbes calculate price based off sqft but it doesnt mean much it if doesnt match the neighborhood.
your farm areas should have lots of OO sales as well as houses minimum 30+ years of equity
Along with Scott's great post I like finding opportunities for forced appreciation.
Adding a bath or bed are foremost (with the right floorplan and structure, of course). Can you convert the attic and add stairs?
Slab-built houses don't excite me. Neither do split levels. Nor shot gun dupes. Or anything with HOAs or where the owner pays ANY utilities.
Around here enclosing the garage and thereby adding heated square feet was popular once but I don't like those, primarily because I see a lot of people that want an actual garage.
The sweet spot here are 3/2s, though the spoiled college crowd demands a private bath with each bedroom.
Speaking of the spoiled set, I just rented a four-bed to three college girls who converted the fourth bedroom into a MAKEUP ROOM. Real college 'PhDs' (Parents Have Dough).
The college kids expect each bedroom to have their own bathroom down in north carolina? When I was in college we had one bathroom for an entire floor, what is that all about??!!! And I thought it was us northeasters that were the spoiled ones.
Rehabber preferences vary GREATLY depending on the area. It's really going to be a matter of getting properties that appear good under contract and asking a lot of questions from my buyers in the (hopefully) rare situations when they don't bite...
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Speaking of the spoiled set, I just rented a four-bed to three college girls who converted the fourth bedroom into a MAKEUP ROOM. Real college 'PhDs' (Parents Have Dough).
If your targeting rehabbers (fix and retail), another thing to keep in mind is targeting areas that are primarily owner occupied. A primary objective for rehabbers is to get out quick once we're done. Flipping houses in high rental areas is not all that conducive to that goal.
When it comes to "honest assessments of the repairs", wouldn't the rehabber be in a better position for this, than the wholesaler? If a wholesaler's figures are off, it probably isn't to mislead a potential buyer. If the numbers are off, it's probably because wholesalers usually aren't in the business of renovating houses.
The buyer should always do their own due diligence, even if the wholesaler is very good at repair estimates.
I agree Demos, but I think a great wholesaler is going to give you a more accurate number upfront. From the investors I spoke with they sounded sick and tired of wholesalers jerking them around with whacky repair estimates and very cautious to work with me at first.
I actually just started another thread on accurate repair estimate sheets bc I think from a wholesalers standpoint this is an extremely important issue that is often overlooked by most wholesalers I've spoken with.
I agree Demos, but I think a great wholesaler is going to give you a more accurate number upfront. From the investors I spoke with they sounded sick and tired of wholesalers jerking them around with whacky repair estimates and very cautious to work with me at first.
Many wholesaler don't really know what they are buying. I've been offered houses in areas that I would never touch. Some wholesaler buy just because it is cheap without really giving a thought of what they are buying. Their low-ball estimate derives from the fact that they are there to make a quick buck.
Eddie I completely agree. I've spoken with a ton of investors in the past few weeks as I gear up to take on my farm areas. I'm seeing a huge discrepancy between what investors are actually looking for from a wholesaler and what most wholesalers provide.
I believe this is where most wholesalers go wrong. They come from the mindset of "what will help me make a quick buck?", instead of asking themselves, "what will make my investors happy and have them coming back time and time again?"
I'm quickly realizing the success of your business is directly related to your relationships with other people. Only when you can provide for others in your network are they going to provide for you.