All Forum Posts by: Sean OToole

@James she already has the tax record within PropertyRadar, it shows both the situs address and the mailing address, and I believe she is saying it is the same in this case.

@Rita Temple sounds like a great potential opportunity. The next step is to start "skip tracing" these folks. Lots of possible ways to do that. There are lots of sites online - I'd usually start with stuff like Facebook and LinkedIn (free), then move to sites like Zaba, PIPL, Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified (all of which you can access from the  Owner Search dropdown in PR). Finally you could look to use tools like TLO.com and Accurint, which are what professionals use (or hire a pro to do it for you). Also, sometimes something like a simple google search will show something like an obituary which may explain why an owner occupied home is vacant. Lot's more from that point, but finding them is the next step.

Hi Phil,

Two ideas for finding cash buyers for you:

1. Go to the trustee sale auctions. While there are a lot of bidding services in AZ, you should still find some actual buyers there as well.

2. Since you have PropertyRadar already, note that you can also use it to find cash buyers. Three ways - 1) use Property Search select non-owner occupied, purchased within last 6 months (transfer date), with 100% down payment - good for finding long term rental owners that are still buying, 2) use Transfer search, select flips, look at the sellers (all the flippers in your area), 3) use Transfer search, select cash transfer = yes, look at buyer name. Feel free to PM me with questions.

Hope that helps.

Sean

I agree with @Franklin Romine, you are really looking just to start a conversation, so just a hand written note to call, or something else that will leave them curious is better. Your idea of mailing offers can work at volume, but I think it turns a lot of folks off that may still be potential deals. I like to find some information I can give them that will be useful to them if possible - whether about their situation, or something in their neighborhood. Starting off by giving can be a lot more productive then by asking.

@Jim Keller I totally think you are on the right track with doing FARMing in addition to your other acquisition efforts.

I find VERY few investors who consider doing both, or even understand the difference. The key in my mind is that FARMing is a long term investment focused on a group of folks who may not need or want to sell right now, but are likely to at some point in the future. The obvious FARM is absentee owners, but most people treat that as a list to mail to once to find people that want to sell right now. Instead a FARM should be treated as an opportunity to build a relationship over an extended period of time, so that when they do decide to sell, you are the obvious call.

One thing that I'm researching a lot of time on right now is ways to bring the cost of long term FARMing down vs a direct mail only strategy while being as impactful over time. I'll likely share more on that research here on BP at some point, but as a long term customer I'd be happy to hop on a call with you if you want to discuss before then. Just PM me.

@Garrick Oconnell - what don't you find accurate enough? We are always looking to improve, and I'd appreciate any feedback you may have. If you are just referring to the estimated value - then of course, you should never use those for anything but a rough estimate - there just isn't enough info in public records (or the MLS) to do accurate valuation estimates. Even appraisers get in their car vs. just relying on the MLS or any other data source.

@Gabriel Romero be sure to read my take on determining market value here: http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/67/topics/1670.... Especially the section on Online vs. In-Person. I really think that is the key to doing it right.

Hi Gilbert,

A couple of things to note:

1. Be sure to use the "Property Search" feature, unless you are looking for a recent list of buyers, in which case you'd use "Transfer Search".

2. For criteria, define your location, then for starters just set Owner Occupied = No. Once you have that list, you can refine further, like out of county, or out of state.

3. I'm a little confused by your note above because at the end it sounds like you are looking for "sales", but that is kind of at odds with what an absentee owner list is, a list of "owners". If you want to find absentee owners who bought during a certain period of time, then use the Transfer Date criteria under the More tab in search options.

My support team is available during business hours to help, and if you click on support on the website you'll even see a button to schedule a demo where they can walk you through it. If I can be of help feel free to PM me, but note that I'm going to be offline for a couple of days.

Best,
Sean

This is a strategy our customers have been using with great success in CA, AZ, NV, OR and WA. Snow hasn't been great this year, but still fun, come up and visit again sometime.

In addition to Loopnet / Costar / MLS and commercial broker websites, you can also leverage public records to find all the properties that meet your criteria and then reach out to those owners directly. That is the best way to find off-market opportunities, outside of networking with agents/brokers who may have pocket listings.

Yes. Use transfer search. You can also use transfer search to find all the flips to check out what your competition is doing. :-)

Thank you @MICHAEL YBARRA @Rick Harmon @Bernie Germani @Frank R. , I appreciate the support!

@Gilbert Gomez If I can help with any questions, please feel free to Connect and / or Message me.

Best,
Sean