On-market real estate deals, or home-sellers who aren’t looking to sell house fast, are great if you’re new to real estate investing. But, relying solely on on-market deals severely limit how much opportunity you’ll have to get a good deal that will net you the most profit right now and in the years to come. Not to mention, not all of the deals, whether good or bad, are always found on the market.
This is why the best real estate investors know how to find opportunities for off-market real estate deals.
Below, we’ve outlined five different ways that you can turn to when you’re looking for an off-market seller.
1. Launch a direct mailing campaign
Sending letters to apartment owners with the goal of starting a conversion that eventually leads to them selling their property to you is an old tried-and-tested method of landing a good off-market deal.
The key here is persistence and volume.
Not all real estate property owners will respond to you. You might not even get a reply even after sending hundreds of letters. But, that’s okay. This is also an investment for you, because if you receive one reply and it’s positive, then you’ll be in for a much bigger payday anyway.
Just think of this as marketing cost.
2. Don’t underestimate the power of cold calling
Speaking of marketing costs, cold calling real estate owners, especially those with distressed properties, is a great way to snatch up a deal even before it goes up on the market.
This is a similar approach to direct mailing. The only difference is that this is cheaper and the conversation is more personal. Plus, you can send direct mails and cold call later on, using your previous mails as a reference point to spark up a conversation.
3. Build your own platform
Establishing yourself as someone who can say, “we buy houses NJ”, and people will be calling you for offers is a great way to find off-market deals.
Of course, that’s easier said than done. It doesn’t mean that it’s impossible though.
You can start by going on as many platforms as possible. Podcasts, interviews, blogs, YouTube channels, or whatever platform it is you can think of. Because the goal here is to reach out to as many people as possible and let them know that you’re in the real estate investment business.
It is by building this type of network that you can find off-market deals even when there’s none to be had.
4. Try calling rental houses
Similar to cold calling, you can try ringing up rental listings you find online to see if they’re interested in putting their property up for sale.
If the owner only has one unit available for rent, that’s most likely a sign that they’re losing money and aren’t really in the real estate business. That presents an opportunity for you to swoop in and let them know how you can help them financially by giving them fair compensation for their property.
Remember, struggling homeowners are motivated home-sellers.
5. Talk to apartment service providers
Anyone servicing apartments and houses, as well as other residential communities, are more likely to have insider information about which properties are struggling and might go up for sale soon.
A great way to tap into this network is to start hiring them to do work at your other properties, or on your own house, and let them know that you’re interested in investing in real estate properties. This way, they’ll know to contact you if ever any signs of distressed communications and owners pop up in any one of the areas that they are currently servicing.
Find Someone That Wants to Sell House Fast Today
The most successful real estate investors are those who are aggressive and relentless in their pursuit of a good deal.
If you follow the five tips we gave above, then there’s little reason for you to not find an off-market deal. Of course, there’s no assurance that you’ll be able to close the property just yet. However, since these tips will help you get your foot inside the door, it’s now up to you to drive the point home and get a reluctant home seller to agree to selling their property to you at a price that’s beneficial for both parties involved.
