My advice to new investors is to start wholesaling properties. This is the quickest and best way to get started with the least cost.
First pick a neighborhood that you are either in or close to. Driver around all the streets and look for vacant houses. There should be some. Then look in the county assessors website to find the owners. it should give their name and mailing address. Send them a letter telling them you found their house to be apparently vacant. But if it is obviously abandoned, say so in the letter. Tell them you will pay them cash for a quick close.
Many times the owners don’t update their mailing address with the county so you may get the letters returned. I use beenverified.com to get the most updated info. It costs me $49.95 a month but it is well worth it because it also gives me email addresses and phone numbers.
If you are going to buy the property, fix it up and then either sell it or rent it then you are through.
But if you want to wholesale the property to another investor, then contact a local RE Agent to give you a list of all the houses in that neighborhood that have sold in the last 5 years with all cash. This typically is investors. Then again go to the assessors website and find their name and mailing address. And again use beenverified.com to get the best and latest contact info.
Once you get a response from the seller of the vacant house, negotiate a deal to buy it for all cash. Then immediately contact all the cash buyers you just found that buy properties in that neighborhood and tell them about the house and would they be interested in buying it.
Once you have done all that with that neighborhood, go to the next one and 'rinse and repeat.'
I hope this helps.
Steve Anderson
