Driving For Dollars in Your Market - Part 1
For new investors who are just getting started in the world of wholesaling they always want to know if they should learn to find deals first or find buyers first. I will talk about how to find buyers in a later blog but today I wan to offer some tips on how new investors can go about finding property.
Though there are several ways to find property to sell, one of the first ways I learned was to go " driving for dollars ". This is a simple strategy where you go driving around and when you see a For Sale By Owner sign in someones front yard, you simply pull over to write down the address, phone number and take a picture with your camera of smart phone.
Most people sell FSBO bc they do not want to list the home with an agent as they are hoping to make as much profit as hey can or they dont have enough in the home to pay an agent. So now you have the information on the home, now what do you do? I would go back and get online to look up the home online. Search the assessors site or whatever information you can dig up and make a list. You want to write down how many beds/baths, SqFt, etc... the basic information because when you call the owner on the phone you want to verify your information of the home with what they actually tell you.
Also before you call the owner you also want to get an idea of what the home might be worth and what you could potentially offer the owner. You have to assume the home needs some renovations. Whenever I see a FSBO home and it looks amazing and needs no work and has great landscaping, I know they are most likely not going to be a motivated seller. Your most likely to have better luck with the home that looks like it needs a paint job, landscaping and the phone books are stacking up.
Now you have your info on the home that you researched online and your now about to make the first call to the owner. I will cover how to speak to the owner over the phone in part 2 of this blog and how to get the information your looking to to find out if they are serious and if you will be making an actual visit to the home to meet with the owner. Stay tuned!!
Comments (7)
Part #2 of this blog has just been posted. Please read and let me know what you all think!!! Thank you for reading.
Curt Davis, about 10 years ago
Excellent post curt!!
I recently went with a friend of mine driving for dollars and I passed by a couple of FSBOs and I just skipped them and just focused on vacant properties.. Now I know I should've stopped and at least taken down the info on the property.. I will remember that the next time I go doing my driving for dollars..
Saul Urena, about 10 years ago
Cant wait for part 2!
Ethan Bowen, about 10 years ago
Andrew, I would say your very close on the ratio. I would say about 1 in every 15 or so turns to be a deal.
Curt Davis, about 10 years ago
From my experience, about 90% of FSBO's or listed too high (I think they often are just above the mortgage and the owners don't feel they have enough equity for an agent) and the other 10% can be really good deals. What's the ratio been in your experience?
Andrew Syrios, about 10 years ago
Thanks Jerry, I know everyone will have their own opinions of a general area and mine were formed by seeing what happens to investors when owning in those types of areas. Unless your local, owning in lower income D grade areas as an out of state investor will be a loser long term.
Curt Davis, about 10 years ago
Curt, nice article. I also wanted to comment how I like your posts on Bigger Pockets. I actually saw a property listed on there in Memphis, and you posted about how bad the neighborhood was and the realities of owning a rental in that area. I appreciate the honesty even though it surely mad someone unhappy with you.
Jerry W., about 10 years ago