A real estate investor understands that you generally make money when you purchase a property, not when you sell. This simply means that your future profits are determined by the purchase price of your real estate investment property. Experts say that the best deals are when you purchase a property capable of generating substantial appreciation and positive cash flow with minor upgrades at a reasonable price.
Unfortunately, finding real estate at a reasonable price can be difficult, especially in today’s market. Properties are either listed over a decent price or have various offers. While some might believe the most effective way to find investment properties is to go through a realtor, there are many other ways you can do so.
This article will highlight the most effective ways how to find investment properties without a realtor. Let’s begin!
Create a Bird Dog Program
A bird dog program is an investment strategy that enables you to leverage your available network for business purposes. All you need to do is provide a bonus to any individual that brings a lead to you regarding a good investment opportunity.
When creating this program, you need to consider the individuals with eyes on a lot of property. These individuals are the ones you commonly interact with. They can be cable installers, mailmen, roofers, plumbers, and other general contractors. These individuals can be a wonderful information resource to add to your bird dog program.
Driving for Dollars
This strategy for finding investment property opportunities is as exactly as it sounds. It is time-honored and known to provide results. The key to this is that if you find your own properties, you are unlikely to have other real estate investors competing with you. The strategy is quite simple; all you have to do is get into your car and drive around the neighborhoods in your vicinity.
The key to this investment opportunity is searching for properties that appear to be in disrepair. These signs include peeling paint, overgrown grass, drooping gutters, broken windows, window AC units, and boarded-up doors. All the aforementioned signs show that the property owner hasn’t updated their property and might be willing to sell it off.
When you locate one of these properties, you can send the landlord or property management company a letter or search for their number and give them a call to express your desire to purchase the property. This strategy is a useful way to locate a landlord or property manager that might be interested in seller financing—this means that they get their payments over a longer period.
Search for Craigslist Listings and Rent Signs
This method on how to find investment properties is quite easy. For example, if you happen to be driving around and you see a property with a “for rent” sign, you can park and try to ding the house on a real estate site. If the property doesn’t appear to be listed, you have a lead. This strategy works great when you are looking for residential real estate.
Landlords that don’t use the most widely used listing sites to rent their residential property are typically less tech-savvy or older. This means that there is a chance that the landlord might be willing to sell their property for cash flow to avoid the headache of managing a rental property.
Alternatively, you could head to Craigslist and search for the properties listed for rent, then call the owners or posters up, asking them if they are interested in selling their property. Who knows, you may find a good deal!
Network With Top Agents
While you might believe every property sold is advertised, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Sometimes, certain individuals are interested in selling their homes without the added publicity. When this happens, they turn to top agents or real estate professionals that can find buyers for them without going through the regular channels.
For this situation to work, you must first set clear expectations concerning your buy-box and develop trust with top local agents. A real estate agent that works with investors is typically afraid to go under contract with a real estate investor who either gets scared by an inspection or doesn’t have enough capital to close on the right property.
To avoid this, you need to project confidence and let the agents know about the deals you have made before. This helps you build trust with the real estate agent that you are an investor capable of closing. This is the only way you can get the work done. That being said, you should also let agents know the property type you are searching for.
For instance, if your agent knows that you are searching for a multiplex, then they can be on the lookout for properties that suit your preferences.
Let You Relatives Know You Are Searching
One of the simplest ways to find investment properties is by simply letting those around you know that you are a real estate investor on the hunt for the right property. This method can be useful if you use social media. All you need to do is post a tweet or thread about real estate every month till you are known for this niche.
While this strategy might seem a bit odd, it is quite effective. Before you know it, you will have people sending you properties in the real estate market that someone they know is interested in selling for a good deal. From there on, the referrals begin to pour in, and you can make your pick on multiple properties.
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How to Find Investment Properties: Conclusion
Purchasing an investment property that makes financial sense requires a lot of work. However, one this is sure: you have to act if you want the deal to happen. It doesn’t matter if the property has a “for rent” sign in the yard; you can make it happen by simply taking action towards your aim every day.
Purchasing your first investment property is difficult, much less buying it without the aid of a realtor. Nevertheless, you should know that it gets easier; you must remain persistent.
