Tips to Finding Distressed Properties: Help a Rookie Out

[Ricky Nunez]

Hey everyone! 

I am new to real estate and I would love to hear your favorite strategies for finding distressed properties. Do you mainly rely on driving for dollars, online platforms, or networking with other investors? 

I hope to hear about your success stories and any challenges you've encountered along the way.

Thank you!

[Henrry Novas]

Hey Ricky, I mainly use Propstream for distressed properties. I also use Zillow and even Facebook marketplace. Propstream does cost $99/mo, but its well worth it. 

I am currently working on a website so that the real motivated sellers contact me, so i dont have to spend as much time contacting property owners who aren't motivated at all. 

[Ricky Nunez]

Quote from @Henrry Novas:

Hey Ricky, I mainly use Propstream for distressed properties. I also use Zillow and even Facebook marketplace. Propstream does cost $99/mo, but its well worth it. 

I am currently working on a website so that the real motivated sellers contact me, so i dont have to spend as much time contacting property owners who aren't motivated at all. 

Hey Henrry, I appreciate your response and I think setting up a website sounds like a great strategy that I never really thought about. I have heard of Propstream and I'm glad you think its well worth the monthly charge, this is something that I will consider moving forward. 

As for Facebook, I have joined multiple groups and spend time searching marketplace but I have always wondered if I should be hesitant about reaching out to those people who are posting these homes. I am just curious if its worth messaging these people and if I do should be worried about potential scams? 

As mentioned in the initial post, I am still new to all this so any insights help!

[Katlynn Teague]

Hey Ricky, welcome to BP!

I would highly recommend going to local meet-ups in your area. That way you can meet all types of connections to get your foot in the door. I think a handshake conversation goes a lot farther than a phone call (old school).  Propstream is great, you can get a lot of data off of there as well as driving for dollars which I believe is also around $99/month. 

Propstream can also pull call lists, I would get a script together and practice, practice, practice, and hop on those phones! Try to do at least 100 calls a day. You will be surprised... 

However, to really get going in wholesaling you gotta do it all every day. This business is tough, it takes time compounding to really see results. But, as long as you keep doing the work it will come. I've been in the industry for 2 years and I've documented a lot of the challenges I've faced on BP!

[Max Yuan]

This is going to be a long journey - so make sure not to get discouraged. Some get their first deal in a week, others in a month or two. But unless you are making calls, you are not moving forward. Once you have closed a couple of deals, start thinking about developing your own playbook. Propstream is a great way to start, but the list is shared among hundreds of people, it will unlikely that you will be the first to reach out. Find your own advantage.

Always here as a resource - welcome to BP

[David Ramirez]

Hey @Ricky Nunez, 

There are many ways to get leads. If you are just starting you might be looking at outbound (cold outreach) marketing instead of inbound because of the cost.

Keep in mind that when you are doing cold outreach (sms/cold calling) it's all about volume because you reaching out to a list of homeowners without knowing the real motivation so the conversion is less than 0.5%. 

You might not be aware of the amount of money invested in marketing for a wholesaling operation. To give you an example, I currently spend $11,000 a month and average about 2.5 deals monthly.

Feel free to reach out with any questions. 

[Sean Burke]

The best way I know how is to drive for dollars, places close to you. Look for clearly distressed places then find out their contact info. Those places are more likely not to be on some of the servers that have been mentioned. As @Max Yuan stated, this is a numbers game. If you aren't making calls, the chances you will get a deal are quite low.

[Jerryll Noorden]

You are not looking for properties. You are looking for motivated sellers.

Finding distressed properties doesn't mean the owners are willing to sell at a discount. It doesn't even mean they are willing to sell PERIOD!

This is one of the biggest mistakes investors nationwide make. They devise all sorts of systems or software like "propstream" and they sell you on the idea that it "works based on data".

Tell me this.

How come you still need to send 3000 - 5000 mailers calls or texts to the "motivated seller leads" probstream is giving you to get ONE louse deal?

It is an illusion, You are all being brainwashed. Analysis, thinking, and analytics go out of the window.

People hear: "propstream uses data to [fill in the blank]".. and you are all SOLD!

But how many of you even dare ask WHAT data? How is it accumulated, and how is it used to achieve the WHAT goal exactly? Because, if the goal is to find motivated sellers, no amount data can find them!

Honestly. How many of you asked this question?

Not many. because if you DID ask these questions you would realize that motivation is not a logical thing. It is an emotional thing. You can't data-analyze who or who isn't motivated.

If you think that you get a higher chance of finding motivation targeting people in some sort of distress, then again, answer me this

Why does it take you 3000-5000 mailers calls or texts to RANDOM people to get 1 deal and it takes the exact same numbers to people on some targeted list or people propstream gets you to get a deal?

The answer is that this number 3000 - 5000 Is not some magic number that is the key.

5000 mailers to get one deal is a 0.02% success rate.  This is pretty much 0!

This 3000-5000K is not some magic number. This number simply means, your chances of success are pretty much 0!

"but why then are there so many people successful doing this?'"

Again, you are not listening to me.

0.02% of many people is still many people right?

I estimate over 500M people according to Facebook audiences. (doubt this is accurate)

Regardless

0.02% of 500,000,000 = 100,000 people are successful

So you see ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND success stories, people holding up checks, bragging about how many Lambos they buy... but what you will never see are the rest of the 499,900,000 people quietly crying in the fetal position on the floor that lost a fortune trying those tactics.

You don't hear from them, you don't see them and you only see extremely incomplete data.

Again,

I would stop telling others it is a numbers game. It is NOT a numbers game. A numbers game implies you will eventually get success guaranteed.

The fact of the matter is unless you target every single person in the USA, AND there is a guarantee that at least one person is motivated, AND there is a guarantee they get no other mailers, or temptation from competitors and they pick you... 

Key is, they have to pick you. No amount of mailers guarantee they will pick YOU. 

NONE of these "ands" is a guarantee so it mathematically is incorrect to call it a numbers game.

it is NOT a numbers game.

The harsh reality of the matter is you need to think, and stop accepting opinions from others just because you want them to be true. You'll feel better yes, but success will most likely not be attained.

Instead I entice you to start being smart, start thinking, start analytically dissecting theories and opinions and validate them with logic and proof. Then form your conclusions, then build your systems based on these findings and when you do it correctly...

All these leads come to me. I don't look for them, I don't lift a finger. My wholesaling checks are 6 figures!

I am not just talking crap.

Step up, and think on your own! Don't you think it is time to take success into your own hands instead of relying on others when they themselves haven't figured it out yet?

Stop listening to people on Biggerpockets that themselves are struggling getting leads and they brush it off with "oh it is normal". If you are struggling getting leads, GREAT, you are doing good because it is normal. Everyone is.

Do you not realize how silly this is?!

Good luck all... (although luck has not a dang thing to do with it)

[Peter Anderson]

How do you get your leads?

[Max Yuan]

Quote from @Peter Anderson:

How do you get your leads?

Public lists big dog. Tax delinquencies, Eviction notices, and just driving for dollars.

[Julia Lyrberg]

I'd recommend joining local Facebook Groups! 

[Eli Kantor]

Quote from @Ricky Nunez:

Hey everyone! 

I am new to real estate and I would love to hear your favorite strategies for finding distressed properties. Do you mainly rely on driving for dollars, online platforms, or networking with other investors? 

I hope to hear about your success stories and any challenges you've encountered along the way.

Thank you!

Hey Ricky! I would recommend driving for dollars and implementing methods of strategic cold outreach. Crafting the right pitch and doing something unique that all the other wholesalers/agents aren't doing. Think outside the box!

[Axel Garcia]

Quote from @Ricky Nunez:

Quote from @Henrry Novas:

Hey Ricky, I mainly use Propstream for distressed properties. I also use Zillow and even Facebook marketplace. Propstream does cost $99/mo, but its well worth it. 

I am currently working on a website so that the real motivated sellers contact me, so i dont have to spend as much time contacting property owners who aren't motivated at all. 

Hey Henrry, I appreciate your response and I think setting up a website sounds like a great strategy that I never really thought about. I have heard of Propstream and I'm glad you think its well worth the monthly charge, this is something that I will consider moving forward. 

As for Facebook, I have joined multiple groups and spend time searching marketplace but I have always wondered if I should be hesitant about reaching out to those people who are posting these homes. I am just curious if its worth messaging these people and if I do should be worried about potential scams? 

As mentioned in the initial post, I am still new to all this so any insights help!

Hey man, I get it, I'm still new too! But honestly, you have nothing to lose by reaching out. If it's a scam, you'll usually spot it quickly. And if it's not, great! Even if it doesn't work out, you'll learn from the experience and be better prepared for the next one. Closed mouths don't get fed, right? Just reach out and keep taking those shots! Let's connect and see if we can potentially do a JV together in the future.