Don’t Have Access to
the MLS? Here’s Your Solution...
As a real estate investor, you probably know that the
Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is where real estate agents list all their
inventory. You can find great real estate investments on the MLS. Realtors can also
manually pull lists of real estate investment properties for you on a daily
basis or multiple times a week. The MLS is constantly being updated and if you
regularly work with an agent, you know they probably send you an e-mail with
listings that fit your particular real estate investing criteria.
Using a buyer’s agent with access to the MLS is one of the
very basic and easy ways to start finding good deals. Its where everyone should
start.
But what if you don’t have a buyers agent or you’re new to
an area or you’re investing virtually.
If you do not have access to the MLS, the next best thing is
to use the Internet Data Exchange (IDX). The IDX is a contract or agreement between
the MLS and a local real estate agent who has a website. It allows the MLS to
feed all the properties directly onto their site. They are the same properties
that are on the MLS. The IDX is almost as up-to-date as the MLS - it is just about 15
minutes delayed.
So you can search by city, county, price range, beds, baths,
square footage, school district just like the MLS. You can review pictures and
see if the properties look like retail deals or investment deals. You can find
bank owned, HUD Homes, estate sales all from the IDX website just like the
MLS.
Finding IDX sites is simple – you just Google “Homes for
Sale in {insert city here}” and underneath the ads your search returns, you
will see your organic results. Anything that says “Find Homes” or “Find Listings
in This Area” will almost always be an IDX site.
Once you Google “Homes for Sale in {Insert Your City}, you
can see at the top the sponsored ads come up and below that are the organic
search results. Scroll through until you get to local realtor sites.
Once you open one of the sites, scroll to the bottom. If it
is an IDX site, you should find an IDX disclaimer and when the list was last
updated.
On these sites, you are able to refine your search by
location, price range, number of bed and baths, property type, etc. You can also
filter your search results.
IDX sites can be a great resource for new and virtual
investors who need MLS access and just can’t get it. IDX is a perfect
solution.
This “IDX training” is just one of 55 simple and powerful
strategies I teach to find great real estate investments. To get the other 54 strategies and start finding more
discounted deals download my free ebook now “55 Simple and Powerful Strategies
that find Great Real Estate Investments.
Be Daring,
Josh
CEO Strategic Real Estate Coach
CEO Freeland Ventures and Freeland Lending
CEO Yellow Jacket Properties
