As a real estate investor, finding seller leads can be an expensive and time consuming task. There are many ways to go about it, some are old, tried and true, while some are new and exciting.
Let’s first discuss the old, tried and true methods. The very first method we will review is “Driving for Dollars”. This is when an investor or agent will pick an area and start driving around, looking for properties that show signs of neglect. No tire tracks in snowy driveways, jam packed mail boxes, tall weeds up to your knees, boarded up windows, etc are all easy signs to spot that will show when a property might be a good candidate to reach out to the owner and see if they might want to sell. A word of caution when employing this method: Wear a uniform with your company info and/or have advertising/ marketing material on your vehicle, so that neighbors know you are there to help improve the neighborhood and NOT case the joint for robberies. Funny story- I made the mistake of driving for dollars without any signage to show I meant no harm… the neighbors quickly came out with their phones and dirty looks. I let them know who I was and what I was doing, but having signage would have helped to avoid this snaffu.
The next old school method is scraping real estate sites for properties that aren’t selling. This is an easy one because it provides you with the location, county data, photos, various map views and, some info from the seller. One down side to this method is that you must go through the seller’s agent to get a deal done; this might not be too bad, since some seller’s agents can be helpful in explaining why selling to you is their best option and they can be a great resource for future deals. One other down side to this method is that other investor buyers have more than likely already picked through these listings and may have even put a sour taste in some sellers’ mouths, if the investor buyers conducted themselves poorly. It’s not easy to establish a new first impression with a peeved seller who’s already been treated poorly by another investor buyer. Don’t be that investor buyer, please.
Another old school method is to buy lists. This is a fairly common method and can be the easiest to start with. Nowadays, list builders have access to everything you need to make good deals; from MLS and county data to photos and phone numbers. The down side to this method is that you’re not the only one with this list, many others have bought the same info and you will be competing with them to close deals first. It’s basically the same as scraping real estate listing sites, but more narrowed and curated per your requested parameters. The other down side to this method is, so much of the data could be incorrect or outdated. County records might say there is a structure, but in real life the structure was demolished a few months ago, for instance. These lists could also be missing info, like collapsed roof or foundation issues, so be sure to get eyes on the property before signing any agreements to buy.
One of the new methods of finding seller leads is advertising online. There are classified ads, such as Craigslist ads, ebay classifieds, Amazon classifieds, local ads, etc. There are PPC ads, pay per click, such as Nextdoor app ads, FB ads, Google ads, etc. Either way, it’s going to get a little pricey, depending on the rate for your target market. Make sure to budget for this expenditure as it will be nearly impossible to get your name out there otherwise. Leads that come from these ads are usually ready to make a deal and want to work with you, based on whatever web presence you’ve established.
Once they get to your site, you’re going to want to “capture” every single lead that comes to your site. How do we do that? Good copy is the first element that is in your control, so make sure your website copy is dialed in and helpful content for your leads. Another important tool are web forms/ contact forms; with these, you can capture contact info and property info- giving you a starting point in making sure the deal will work for how you work. The most effective tool, however, is the Instant Offer Engine tool; with this tool, leads that land on your page will get exactly what they came for… a no hassle fair offer on their property, in under two minutes. Yes, you read that right. If you sign up below, you will receive this amazing, deal grabbing tool to install on your website for your leads to use. Your leads will love the fact that they don’t have to waste time with back and forth emails and calls, they don’t have to share their personal background, they don’t have to wait for you to do any research… they just get their instant offer and you get a qualified lead in your sales funnel to follow up with and close the deal. Sign up here.