What's the best way to build your Cash Buyers list?

[Account Closed]

Hi Bigger Pockets Community!

I'm looking to start wholesaling properties and am currently working on my cash buyers list. I've been trying to reach out to rehabbers, put ads on craigslist, send out e-mails/business cards, etc. but I feel like I'm doing something wrong because I'm not getting many responses even though I have amazing deals. Any tips?

Thanks!

[Tim Herndon]

@Account Closed I see from your posts that you really want to break into wholesaling. I know a lot of investors down there and can tell you that Miami is very competitive. Don't let that discourage you! There are deals everywhere and even more cash buyers...

I think you are on the right track in regard building your cash buyers list. There are obviously paid and non paid way to get cash buyers, and here are a few tips that may help you.

If you want to build you list fast then you can send postcards to the cash buyers and set up a simple squeeze page to capture their email address. First you have to find the cash buyers. Everything comes from public records! If your budget is low then you can get these records from a real estate agent or a title company. You will probably need to have a relationship with these two in order to ask for the list but it's free. The two paid ways to get the cash buyers in order of cost are ListSource and FindCashBuyersNow. (disclaimer: I have no affiliation with either of these. I am just a user of both).

Once you get the list of names you can mail them a postcard and direct them to your squeeze page. You will need an autoresponder to capture their name and email address. Later you can send them an email when you have a property for sale.

Let's assume you can't send postcards or pay for records - no worries! Here are some free ways to get cash buyers but it will just take longer. I recommend doing the postcards simutaneosly with everything listed below if you can afford it. As a matter of fact, you should be marketing to cash buyers everyday in conjunction with marketing to motivated sellers! I call this parallel marketing. 

Think of this like the ticket scalper who has a sign that says "NEED TICKETS" one one side and the other side of the sign that says "GOT TICKETS" ... LOL. A weird analogy I know, but it's true. If you are wholesaling you are the middleman. I even have cash buyers that become private lenders for my rehabs! 

1) Craigslist: Go to Craigslist and look under the “apartment/housing” category. This is the section that shows rentals. Anyone who has a home for rent, rent to own or “lease purchase is an investor. Contact them. If they have homes for rent, they may need other rental properties to add to their portfolio. Look for terms like “completely renovated” You can also place ads for properties you have for sale to build your buyers list.

2) Google Search: Google is my secret weapon. Really. If I can’t figure it out or just need more information, I always search Google and I often find buyers for my wholesale houses. You can just type in, “we buy houses” or “cash for houses” in your area or city and you’ll find plenty of A+ buyers. I’ve flipped many houses to buyers in under 24 hours using this simple search alone.

3) Other Wholesalers: Many wholesalers list the homes they’ve recently sold. Guess what, many of these homes are sold to investors. So simply copy and paste the address and then see who bought it. And you’ve got a new investor you can contact. And you know how much this investor paid for the property and where he’s buying. You can also get on their lists too and buy and sell the properties to your list!

4) Bandit Signs: Put up bandit signs in the neighborhood’s you want to sell homes in. And here’s the key, don’t make them all fancy. I use black magic marker and hand write all my signs or order signs that look handwritten. Make it look like you’re an individual, not a company. Buyers pay attention to these signs. Do this every time you have a property for sale. If you don’t have properties just do it with a “ghost” property: " Investor Special 3/2 Needs Work, Cheap- Cash! xxx-xxx-xxxx. Trust me this works! You phone will be ringing off the hook. I would use a tracking number for this campaign.

5) HUD Landlords (Section 8): Get a list of Section 8 properties for rent from HUD. This list will have the property addresses, bedrooms and more importantly the investors name and phone number. You can then call them or mail a postcard to these investors letting them know that you have discounted properties for sale in the area near where they already have a house. Ask them if they would mind if you contacted them when you had a great deal. Most will say "YES". Then add them to your list of lower end houses. You can also send them a voice blast using SlyDial. This will only cost .10 per message versus .50 for a postcard.

6 ) HUD Foreclosures: The HUDHomeStore.com is a great source of investors. All you have to do is go there and look at previous bid results. Record each sale in a spreadsheet, then cross reference the property address in public records to get the investor name and mailing address. We use the property appraiser website in our area. You can also record the agents name in the transaction as many times they specialize in HUD Foreclosures and have cash buyers they work with.

7) Local County Auction: You can go to the local county auction and meet cash buyers. Introduce yourself and pick up some business cards. These are all investors! Another little dirty strategy is to go to the houses that are up for auction before the sale and put signs in the yard and stickers on the front door that say “Want to get more properties like this one? We sell deeply discounted properties in “Miami” visit www.YourSite.com to get the hottest deals in town”. There are online sites like www.StickerGiant.com that can produce these stickers for less than .50 ea.

8 ) Landlords: Local “Penny Saver”, “Thrifty Nickel” papers is a great little strategy that nobody ever thinks about doing. Just go down to your local corner “mini-mart” near the areas you want to flip houses and pick up a copy of the current (even old) local papers. Landlords galore.

9) Hard Money Lenders: Hard money lenders are great. They make money when their clients buy rehabs. So, if you can help them make more money by bringing great deals that their clients buy…. you just got access to their entire client base.

I think you get the idea here! I hope this helps you and if you have any questions please fell free to ask. Good luck!