Posted by Steve B (MA) on January 26, 1999 at 17:07:36:
Lynn,
The first thing I ask the owner in our conversation is to simply tell me a little about the property. I am listening for key points such as: (1) we inherited the property and want to get rid of it because its too much trouble for us; (2) we are looking to move and need to sell asap; (3) we just got a divorce and need to split up the proceeds asap; (4) we are falling behind on payments and need to move to a more affordable property; (5) we want out of the property and don’t care about making money on it.
The above are all signs to me of motivated sellers. The unmotivated ones will get around to saying they are in no rush to sell it and want to get as close to market value for their property. These owners are better off putting it on the retail market because their is no profit for me in even meeting with them.
Ask a lot of questions; don’t waste your time on the unmotivated sellers; and don’t worry about getting a lot of calls that don’t sound profitable – the good ones will come.
I have been mailing postcards to owners of vacant/boarded up properties, asking them to contact me if they want to sell. I haven’t heard from any of these people.
Should I call them up or try to go knock on their door if they don’t respond to my postcards? If so, is it better to knock on their door or just call them on the phone?
Also, how did you guys locate your first few deals when you got started in the wholesaling business? Was it by placing ads, or was it by sending postcards, or was it by calling owners of vacant/boarded up properties and thus negotiating a deal?
I will really appreciate any suggestions.
Thank you!
Tarun
Re: LOCATING DEALS for flipping - Posted by Steve B (MA)
Posted by Steve B (MA) on January 26, 1999 at 16:39:34:
Tarun,
I just started my ‘flipping’ career and decided to run an ad in the real estate wanted section of the main newspaper in my area.
The amount of calls I have received in the past two weeks has been beyond my expectations. Their are some calls I received which I knew would be a waste of time; thus I quickly learned the art of screening the motivated sellers from the unmotivated.
Clearly, their are great deals to be found; now I am concentrating on getting my investors lined up for these deals.
Re: LOCATING DEALS for flipping - Posted by Steve B (MA)
Posted by Steve B (MA) on January 26, 1999 at 21:22:48:
Vic,
The ad I ran was very basic and simple:
'Private investor seeks properties to purchase. Any condition, any area. Call Steve at XXX-XXX-XXXX.
The keys to why I believe its been successful is:
(1) the ad is in 2 newspapers (not the largest) in the area that I want to create deals;
(2) both papers have no other private investor ads;
(3) I understand that it takes persistence and know I can’t run the ads for a couple of days and expect great results.
The followup to getting calls from the ads are crucial: (1) distinguish between motivated sellers and curiousity seekers; (2) act professional; (3) ask a lot of questions; (4) don’t procrastinate.