How To Acquire Motivated Sellers and Buyers in Any Market And Why You Should – Part 1

One of the first things you will discover as a Real Estate Investor is that there are many motivated sellers out there just waiting to “give you” their property if you know how to find them. What I mean by this is that there are a lot of great deals to be had and big profits to be made if you are proficient at finding the truly motivated sellers. I have spent several years perfecting systems to locate all of the qualified motivated sellers I need regardless of what my real estate market is doing and regardless of what my competitors are doing.

For the many Real Estate Investors who have figured out the formula to getting the truly motivated sellers contacting them with potentially profitable deals, the problem then becomes the difficulties they encounter when trying to find enough motivated buyers for their real estate deals.

By implementing successful marketing systems Real Estate Investors are finding all the qualified motivated sellers they need, including sellers who will hold the mortgage for them or who will simply deed them the property subject to the existing mortgage, so these investors very quickly recognize that they need to acquire the resources and techniques to locate more motivated buyers for their Real Estate Investing business.

In order to become a successful Real Estate Investor you must reach the truly motivated sellers and then amass motivated buyers for your properties so you can turn your deals quickly for the big check. This creates for you, the investor, a true sense of confidence when you are actively pursuing deals. After all that’s why you became a Real Estate Investor, right?

There are several ways to accomplish this and I am going to discuss primarily how to acquire and create a list of ready buyers for your properties once you have them under contract. The methods I am going to cover will make the whole process a lot easier and a lot more profitable for you.

One of the techniques I use to reach specific types of buyers in my market is to utilize a targeted approach to finding them, primarily by using post cards, internet ads and websites with property photos to get their attention.

I mix in with that other types of more typical marketing tools including business cards, signage, ads, and flyers which I distribute to the places you might find up and coming buyers. Since the buyers market is changing drastically, especially in our current economy, the way we find and qualify buyers’ needs to change right along with it. I will be discussing several techniques for you to implement in this special report. You can also check out my website at www.marketingmagiclady.com for information on all the tools you need for your real estate investing business.

Today’s market is changing and today’s buyer is changing right along with it. Think about it, we have gone from the baby boomers being the primary target of real estate buyers to a new market of buyers, primarily made up of much younger and more versatile consumers who expect more for their dollar. So let’s take just a second to look at today’s typical home buyer.

Almost all own computers and cell phones. And by the same token the needs and desires of these younger buyers of today are different than they were say…. ten years ago. For example, previous generations would buy a smaller home early on and then as they begin their families they would purchase a larger home as they needed it. In today’s market, today’s buyer is willing to wait a little longer and buyer a larger home at the onset. Previous generations would typically have used a Realtor to find their home, where as today’s buyer is using the internet and referrals from friends a lot more to find the things they need, including their home.  So we as Real Estate Investors need to be cognizant of this new era and adjust our marketing accordingly.

It is important to integrate a specific plan in your business to find not only motivated sellers, but motivated buyers for your properties, whether you are wholesaling, lease/optioning, holding a mortgage or retailing your properties. In this way you will be able to determine the exit strategy for any property you are buying even before you put it under contract. This is the very best way I know for you to get from the deal to the paycheck very quickly.

One technique that I use to locate motivated buyers for my real estate deals is to simply create a direct mail campaign which lets prospective buyers know that I have properties for sale with special terms. The way I prefer to contact these prospective buyers is by using post cards. They are simple to use, quick and easy to prepare and inexpensive to mail. I send these post cards to areas where I know there are a high number of multi-family units such as duplexes and apartments where people are renting. I also send them to areas where I know there are a lot of rental houses. A qualified list broker can help you with this.

One way to accomplish this is to create a zip code range mailing to areas where you know there are a large number of rental properties. Or you can simply work with qualified list brokers who can provide a listing of rental apartment complexes with individual addresses, duplexes, triplexes, and so forth for you to mail to.

In fact, some of these list companies will help you create the post cards and do the mailings for you. Make sure you are actively involved in the creation of your post card or use a post card that is already proven.

Your post card needs to have a grabber headline like “Tired of Paying Your Landlord’s Mortgage” in order to be effective. It also needs to have several pertinent bullet points showing the prospective buyer why they should choose to work with you to find their dream home. I would also suggest bright colors that stand out from the rest of their mail. Within the body of the message I also let them know specifically how to contact me to get more information and I give them choices. These can be a website, your office number or an answering service you choose to use to collect their information. In this market websites are very effective since you have a lot more room to explain your message and use photos to show properties you might have available. Plus the computer pre-screens them for you without any involvement from you or your staff.

Post Cards are an excellent source of inexpensive leads for the Real Estate Investor to implement to begin building a strong buyers list, no matter what your real estate market is doing. Once you begin to build your funnel of potential buyers, the whole deal making process becomes a lot easier and a lot more profitable. If you send these post cards out on a regular basis, building your buyers list becomes automated, and you will constantly be getting leads for potential buyers for your properties.

Another method that I have just recently begun to employ to acquire potential buyers for my properties is Craigslist. I am simply amazed at how effective this marketing tool has been for me, and it’s free! You can post an ad for a specific property you have for sale including photos or you can post an ad looking for potential buyers outlaying whatever parameters you are looking for such as “Lease/Options Available” or “Owner Financing”. Using Craigslist is also an amazing tool to use to find a lot of wholesale buyers for your properties. I have created a huge buyers list for my wholesale properties just from using Craigslist ads. I re-list my ad once a week using different headers in the ad to draw in new buyers and the response has been incredible. Just think about it, using the internet to find buyers is part of the new marketing era.

While we are on the subject of building a list of wholesale buyers to sell properties to, let me share a couple of other effective techniques to use to build your buyers list. You can run an ad in your local newspaper or Shoppers Guide to find wholesale buyers, or you can simply bring your deals to your local real estate club. There are almost always investors there looking for properties to buy.

Here is another easy, free technique you can use to find wholesale buyers. When you see signs as you are driving around that say “We Buy Houses” or “Investor Special” or something to that effect, call those phone numbers and create relationships with these investors. You can also check ads in the yellow pages and the newspaper for “We Buy Houses” ads and call those investors as well.

Obviously these investors are looking for good deals. Find out what types of properties they are looking for and where they are interested in buying and add them to your buyers list. Here is an important point I need to make. Find out from each investor you are working with where their funding for their deals is coming from and how quickly they can close. This is a simple pre-screening tool you can use to find out how able and how quickly they are able to close on deals. Once you have a deal you need to sell, just send out a blanket e-mail to all of them at once and let the offer making begin.

Be sure and read next month’s Profit Newsletter for part two of how to find all the buyers you need for your real estate investing business. In the meantime be sure and visit my website at www.marketingmagiclady.com for the information you need on finding sellers, buyers and lenders for your real estate investing business.