Determining Equity

[Alain Perez-Majul]

Hi all, question:

If I've put together a driving for dollars list, what is the best way of determining possible equity in the property? I have access to Realist, and there's SOME information you can gather from the tax records, but not all homes have it, and it has proven to be quite time consuming (for example, if it says it was bought/refi-ed at 27k in 2011, I can run it through a mortgage calculator to get an idea of what current equity might be). However, is there an easier and quicker way to do it, or is this as best as it's going to get?

For those who don't an idea what I'm talking about when I say Realist, what way do you use to figure out equity in a property?

Additional keywords: Indy, Indianapolis

[Ben G.]

@Alain Perez-Majul just send the letters you'll spend more time (money) trying to determine equity then you will by just sending out to the entire list.  Determine equity when they call in.

Right @Rodney Kuhl ?

[Makenzie Kelly]

@Alain Perez-Majul I agree with Ben.  I would focus more on getting motivated sellers than I would about equity.  Or, pull a high equity list from a list source then drive from that list.  Just a different way to  approach it.  And I still haven't found the lists to always be accurate regarding equity.  You can still solve for lack of equity.  I have had buyers come to closing with cash in the past.  So that's not out of the question. 

[Alain Perez-Majul]

@Ben G. @Makenzie Kelly Thanks for the thoughts, guys!

[Rodney Kuhl]

@Alain Perez-Majul Yeah, exactly what @Ben G. said. Just send them and return the calls and you'll likely find enough equity in one or two to do a deal. You'll have to sift through plenty that don't have equity, but it isn't worth the time to try to figure out which those are ahead of time.

[Account Closed]

I agree with @Ben G. When we first started our marketing campaign and calls started to come in,  we would over analyze. What I mean by that, We were trying to determine the equity %, comps in the area etc, by the time we called the owner back, they were not interested/motivated so it was a waste of time. Now, I wait for the calls to come in and focus on being a good listener. After the call if it seems like a potential deal, then at this time is when I would begin analyzing all the data to see if the #'s work. I hope that made sense. 

[Alain Perez-Majul]

Yep, makes sense @Account Closed