All Forum Posts by: Marvin McTaw

@Frank W. - congrats in getting in the game! While not ideal, the tax records can definitely give you information about the transactions in the area. Another source that I use when looking in areas outside my normal territory is RedFin. I like RedFin more than Zillow or Trulia because it allows me to see the distance from the subject property and pertinent details in a fashion that works a little bit better for me than Zillow or Trulia's comps. RedFin also has a maps feature similar to Zillow's that you can use as well to look at what's sold in a particular area/neighborhood. The comps aren't as solid as you would find on your typical MLS but at least it's a strong starting point.

I've attached an image below of what I mean. I hope it helps!

Welcome back @Larina Hall! If you'd like to connect with other investors here in the Atlanta metro area, please feel free to reach out to me.

Congrats on your first deals @Jared Christian! I highly recommend you throw direct mail into your marketing arsenal. You can get a good a good size postcard mailing campaign off for about what you spent on the door hangers. Keep it up!

@Helen Kolton - Stone Mountain is one of the areas where I do a good amount of business. I currently have a property in the area available for sale right now that might would make an ideal rental.  In any scenario, feel free to me shoot me a message about what you're looking for. I'm sure I can help you. 

Hey @Alvin Grier vacant properties are a great way to find deals. You can use bird dogs to find vacant properties for you. Just post ads on Craigslist, Ebay Classifieds, Oodle, and Backpage that you're looking for bird dogs. You might even be able to find some in the "Real Estate Services Offered section". That being said, I really like @Todd Plambeck's idea as that is a one shot stop to get loads of leads quickly.

@Avery Gilmer is definitely right that driving for dollars works but I still prefer to use bird dogs who you can either pay per lead, based on the information they submit and/or upon closing a deal. There are a lot of people interested in real estate investing and this is a way for them to get their feet on the ground. 

There is also software out there that can find these vacant houses as well. It's not 100% perfect but works pretty well. Depending on your state, mailing list companies have lists of vacant houses too in some cases. 

Hello @Michael Nabors and welcome to Bigger Pockets. This place is a great resource to learn about investing and do deals. I'd encourage you to just get started. Check out the wholesaling sub-forums here on the site. Lots of info here. 

Hey @Scott Stephens! I'm here in Dunwoody as well! Welcome to Bigger Pockets. Maybe we can meet up sometime. 

Congrats @Corey Owen. What are you looking to do with the property? Fix and flip? Buy & Hold? Wholesale it? If you're wholesaling it, you can really just do that in your direct name or assign your agreement to someone else. If you're going to be holding on to it for any amount of time, you should definitely talk to an attorney and accountants to help mitigate your risks and manage taxes. I would recommend the attorneys at Shafritz & Dean. My attorney's name is Matt Schuurman.

I started writing a response to someone who I thought was essentially asking, "How can I sell a house?" but in reality he was looking to get inventory. Instead of letting that post go to waste, I decided to paste my ways I've marketed properties for sale before. 

Can you let me know if there's anything I'm missing or that you think should be added? What has worked best for you?

• Buyer's List: I typically email and text message my buyer's list about the properties I have available. I also make sure to give a call to people that I think the property is ideal for (based on their buying criteria).
• Co-wholesalers: I will work with other wholesalers to get my properties sold. They are generally
• Postlets: I use Postlets to market my properties online. The great part about postlets is that it syndicates the property to a number of other websites including Zillow and Trulia
• MyHouseDeals: I usually post my properties on MyHouseDeals.com too. It's free to post but you should be aware only their premium members can see the property for the first two weeks and then they open it up to everyone. There's another competitor called o
• Bandit Signs: I place handwritten signs at and around the properties I am looking to sell. Great source of calls. I actually found did my first few deals off of call ins from bandit signs
• Craigslist, Backpage, Ebay Classifieds: I post FSBO on these sites. The best people typically post up to three or four times a day every day. You
• Social Media Marketing: I've gotten buyer leads from doing Facebook promoted posts for properties. To be frank, this is usually for "Pretty Houses" that I am lease optioning or selling via seller financing. You can also market the property on Twitter using certain hashtags however I have no idea how effective that might be for you. Same for Google+.
• Cash Buyer Research: you can ask an agent to look for all the properties that were recently bought around your subject property for cash. You can then either contact the agents or look up the buyers and try to contact them about your property.
• Listing on MLS: if you have you an agent you work with, you could also do a contingent listing where you will list the property on the MLS but the agent only makes money if they sell it (as opposed to you). There are also some agencies like New Western Acquisitions you can work with but I haven't worked with them so can't really comment one way or another.

I'll be honest and tell you this: my team doesn't do everything every time to sell my properties (even though I should). The minimum I do is send to my targeted buyers and post on Postlets (for the syndication effect). Usually that's enough to get the property sold. If anyone is looking for some local help in Atlanta selling their properties I'm happy to help!

I'm a big fan of direct mail to targeted lists. Absentee owners are usually a good place to start but there are plenty of other lists you can try out as well e.g. probate, divorce, bankruptcy, vacant houses, pre-foreclosure, expired listings, etc.