No really, how do you guys find your deals?

Question

I know everyone and their mom asks this...but really I am struggling. I have been researching, reading, talking to people, saving and generally kicking the REI can around for a good 9 months now. And I just cannot pull the trigger on anything. No deal in particular looks that great to me..am I looking in the wrong place? Maybe I am waiting for a good deal instead of MAKING a good deal? How do you guys find your deals and what makes you pull the trigger?

Kris Wong · Answer

Tina,

I recommend you go back through old podcast episodes, you'll hear this discussed frequently. Direct mail marketing, driving for dollars, county auctions, wholesalers, perhaps even working with a realtor depending on the kind of deal you're looking for and your goals.

Anthony Dooley · Answer

The more you look, the smarter you get. I look on realtor.com, homepath.com, SPREO, MLS, etc. These are listed online. I am a buy and hold guy, so I'm looking for property in certain areas where I know it will rent well at a good rate. If I see one that meets that, I investigate further. Make your offer based on your expected rate of return. Disregard the listed price. Sellers are happy if you make an offer, regardless of how low it may be. It gets the conversation started.

Other ways is to drive the area that I want to buy. There you will see for rent by owner signs. Call them and see if they may want to sell. Post on a local FB page that you will pay cash for houses. Forget bandit signs.

Other ways is to drive the area that I want to buy.  There you will see for rent by owner signs.  Call them and see if they may want to sell.  Post on a local FB page that you will pay cash for houses.  Forget bandit signs.

Anthony Dooley · Answer

The advsntages, to me, are the ability to access properties listed on the MLS and the ability to write my own offers on state approved forms, and list my own property.

Disadvantages include; board of realtor dues, continuing education requirements, regulations, etc.

Having a license is not required to be an investor. The pre-license training does not make you a smarter investor either.

George Emmons · Answer

Maybe I'm a bit biased because I'm an agent but I think working with a realtors who specializes in investment properties is a good way to find deals.  You can't just utilize an agent that surfs the MLS and has no idea what a Cap rate is and is used to selling to first time home buyer...But rather find the one that has experience in investing. Either because they work with investors on a regular basis or they are investors themselves.   I find more deals off market for my clients than I do from the MLS. But I think having a real estate professional that has the time to hunt down properties and do the networking is important to find the right deals.

Good Luck

George

James Folsom · Answer

would be great to hear from more local Cincinnati investors who have experience finding deals in THIS market..... I'm a new local investor as well and am having the same struggles...

Dennis Jones · Answer

@Anthony Dooley

Thank you for your reply, BP is really great place with great community!

Dennis Jones · Answer

Anthony, what advantage does agent license gives as an investor over investor without one? Also if you work in several states do you need separate license in each?

Sean Cole · Answer

My customers look for deals all over and I encourage them to do so.  Some of my competition gets their panties in a wad if a customer buys a deal from anyone but them.  To me, if I don't have a deal that matches what you're looking for when you need it, then go buy it where you can.I won't share my sources to find deals in Cincinnati since I'm in the business of selling them to investors like you guys, but there's value in having relationships with a few wholesalers and agents.  As @Anthony Dooley said, lots of agents claim to be experts dealing with investors and lots of wholesalers claim to have great deal flow, but the proof is in the pudding.  As a 2 man shop last year, we sold 65 houses to real estate investors in Cincinnati and the median resale price of all houses resold since I started in the business is over 105% of my going in ARV.Without a face-to-face conversation, I couldn't begin to guess why you haven't been able to pull the trigger on a deal yet.  If you'd like to have that conversation (even if it doesn't lead to buying a house from me), please call or email me.

George Emmons · Answer

haha it is a rare beast I will admit. But they are out there.

Anthony Dooley · Answer

@George Emmons If only the agent that you describe actually existed.  I have yet to find any that resemble what you describe.  That is one of the main reasons that I became an agent. I couldn't get one to answer the phone, show me a property, or find anything that I couldn't find on realtor.com.

If you find this agent, please capture them so we can study them closely.

No really, how do you guys find your deals?

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