Posted by B.L.Renfrow on August 09, 2000 at 10:22:03:
I BUY HOUSES (bold)
Purchase, lease or take over
payments. Any price/condition.
123-4567
Finding Owners In Financial Need - Posted by SueC
Posted by SueC on August 07, 2000 at 20:54:03:
What is the best way to find owners who are in a downward financial spiral, who may be motivated to sell for financial reasons, but before they go to bankruptcy or foreclosure? County tax records for arrears? Does anyone advertise to accountants or lawyers? What other methods work?
Re: Finding Owners In Financial Need - Posted by B.L.Renfrow
Posted by B.L.Renfrow on August 08, 2000 at 08:46:43:
Jim L.'s advice is right on the mark. I use a very similar ad. It costs me $9 per week to run it in the local Pennysaver. That ad gets me more calls from these types of sellers than anything else. I don’t run it every week. For some reason, I get better results when I stop in now and then, then restart it after a week or two.
When motivated sellers are scarce, as they are from time to time, I also call on FSBO ads and drive around looking for FSBO signs. Most of these are not deals, but occasionally you do come across a good one.
Another idea which doesn’t cost anything is to post a flyer on the bulletin boards at laundromats and grocery stores. I’ve gotten only a few calls from those, but the price is right.
It certainly wouldn’t hurt to target attornies and lawyers also, although you’ll find they will probably ignore you until you become established and have completed some deals. Likewise with RE agents. Ask them if they will refer folks to you who need to sell, but have no equity or cash to pay a commission. Again, 99.9% of them will ignore you at first, but it does get your name out and about.
If you are in a mortgage state, you can check in the county clerk’s office for lis pendens, which is a notice filed before a foreclosure lawsuit commences. I forget what it’s called in a trust state…a notice of default, I think.
Brian (NY)
Some Suggestions - Posted by Jim L (AZ)
Posted by Jim L (AZ) on August 07, 2000 at 21:16:01:
Sue.
You are basically on the right track here. The part about motivated sellers, downward financial spiral, bankruptcy, foreclosure etc. That’s the people that will do buisness with you fast and cooperatively. What you need to concentrate on Sue, is how to make yourself available and easy to find to those people. Let them call you! That’s right, you can sit back and have them call you!
Depending on your financial situation you can run an ad such as this:
I BUY HOUSES
CASH
Any Area, Any Condition, Any price range
Behind on payments? (No Problem)
Call (xxx)xxx-xxxx
You’ll be surprised at the calls you’ll get! Somtimes you won’t get any calls for weeks and other times the phone will ring off the hook. It all depends on who reads the ads and when I suppose. If you can’t just yet afford to run an ad like that in the newspaper or anywhere else, then make up signs on your computer and print them out. Buy some wooden stakes at Home Depot and attach the signs to the stakes and pound them in the ground at street intersections (Where there is a lot of eyes) The calls will come in!. Make the sign simple just like the ad above, but make it in BIG LETTERS so people can read it easily.
Best of Luck & Success Sue
Hope this helped.
Jim L (AZ)
Re: Finding Owners In Financial Need - Posted by scott in va
Posted by scott in va on August 09, 2000 at 10:16:19:
Brian can you give an example of what your ad might say.Thanks in advance