If you want to build a successful real estate portfolio, you need to find motivated sellers. People often assume that it’s access to capital or a certain personality type that makes the difference between a successful real estate investor and an unsuccessful one, but that isn’t the case. Although those things are important, having a specific system in place for finding motivated sellers is perhaps the most crucial thing.
A motivated seller is somebody that is in a hurry to sell their property and will do so at a reasonable price. So many new property investors waste time dealing with cautious sellers, trying to convince them to sell and negotiating on the price. The longer you invest in a single property deal, the less your time is worth. If you want to be successful, you need to push deals through quickly, and finding motivated sellers is the best way to do that. These are some of the best strategies for finding the right sellers.
Use Your Website For Lead Generation
If you don’t already have a website for your real estate investment business, you need one. A good website can help you generate a lot of leads so the motivated sellers come straight to you, instead of you having to waste time finding them. A good real estate investor website that is designed and optimized by professionals will bring in a lot of traffic from people that are looking to sell their homes. When you have a large number of people contacting you, it’s easy to go through the list and determine which of them are the most eager to sell, so you can focus on them. Take a look at Your Trusted Home Buyer to see an example of this.
Create A List Of Potential Candidates
Although your website can do a lot of the hard work for you, you still need to be proactive about finding sellers. The best way to do this is to purchase lists of potential candidates from companies like ListSource. They can offer lists that focus on different areas, like absentee owners that no longer reside in the property, attorneys with lots of clients that are going through life events and may want to sell, or foreclosure properties. These are all groups that are likely to be motivated sellers and once you have your list, you can start sending out marketing materials to generate some interest.
Utilize Direct Mail
Direct mail is a tried and tested method for generating leads from motivated sellers. Once you have your list prepared, you should start creating direct mail marketing materials that give information about your business and express your interest in buying properties. Make sure that you stress that you are interested in pushing the sale through quickly and you will work hard to avoid any holdups. Finally, include your contact information and your website so people can get in touch. As long as you create an eye-catching design and give all of the right information, you will generate a lot of leads.
Using this strategy for finding motivated sellers is the best way to grow your real estate investment business.