Quote from @Nicholas A.:
I am trying to expand my list of strategies to find deals.
I did some research and narrowed down my search, spoke to a few quality realtors and nothing came to fruition. Even after trying to pick the better ones.
Now I know I can search online, I can use a realtor, I can send out a mail campaign, I can cold call, I can go to auctions.
Are there any other strategies you would recommend to find deals?
Also I am going to be looking in northwest Indiana, Chicagoland illinois, and Racine area Wisconsin.
You can buy all the real property you want, or can afford - at market prices.
If you’re looking to buy at BELOW market price, in all likelihood the property won’t be offered for sale at that below market price. The information as to market pricing is too readily available to every seller, so that the advice of 25 years ago - target long term property owners who live out of town and haven’t kept up with the value of their property - is no longer a viable approach.
So, what is left? What is left isn’t necessarily a marketing method, but an approach that can put the buyer in a position to recognize, negotiate, and “manufacture” a “deal”.
First, the buyer must have the knowledge of real estate in general, local market in particular, and property type specifically to recognize when SOMETHING is likely to happen in a particular area that will cause the subject property to become more valuable in the future. This could be gentrification, changes in land use, nearby development, or anything else that has not been “baked into” the current price of subject property.
Second, the buyer needs SUPERIOR negotiating skills, whether in direct negotiation with a seller, or through an intermediary. Many gurus teach learning what the sellers needs are and finding a way to satisfy those needs while still buying the property at advantageous price and terms to you. This is a small part of negotiation, and successful negotiations can be concluded without ever knowing the buyers “psyche”. How you develop negotiating skills and how you apply these is totally dependent on your comfort zone, your personality, your time allotment, etc. I assure you I have concluded a number of almost u believable “deals” (I purchased a property For $5k that I sold for $125k in 2 days) and never dwelled into the sellers motivations, needs or desires.
Third, is the capital, knowledge and ability to “reposition” the property. This can be anything involving extensive rehab to merely obtaining a tenant willing to pay more. Years ago I owned an auto repair facility leased to a general auto repair at $2500 monthly. I approached the owner who wanted out of the business and was having financial problems offering to let him out of the lease if he signed ownership of his equipment, lifts, etc over to me. He agreed. I then contacted a brake repair specialty company expanding rapidly and looking for good locations and willing to pay a premium for them. The company had a better than decent credit rating. We negotiated a lease beginning at $4500 per month, and increasing by $500 per month every two years, over 10 years. The equipment the brake outfit didn’t want I sold for about $6k. The result was that I had almost doubled the value of the property merely by increasing the lease rate.
You won’t “find” good deals, you have to “make” them.