What Exactly Does Off-Market Mean?
Off-market properties are ones that you find that are NOT listed in the MLS database. These are typically harder to find and require hard work and marketing. BUT have no fear – I am here today to show you the secrets of finding these hidden gems.
The Fundamentals
If you are a real estate investor, you are also a direct marketer. Always send your message directly to customers and ALWAYS have a call to action.
Do NOT follower what the big advertisers do – such as Nike, Coke, etc. They are brand building and you can lose a lot of money if you try doing it that way.
The #1 rule is don’t be boring and set yourself apart from the competition in your market.
Marketing is the Lifeblood
Remember, consistent leads make consistent deals which means more money.
Sending out 2,000 letters or postcards to targeted areas consistently should result in $5,000 to $10,000 monthly gross income. If this is NOT the outcome, you need to reevaluate who and where you are mailing to.
Why Direct Mail?
Direct mail is one of the BEST marketing strategies when it comes to real estate investing.
Why? Because you are sending the message DIRECTLY to your customer. It has proven results by myself and many other real estate investors.
Most motivated sellers will respond best to direct mail, plus it can be easily tracked.
Who Am I Marketing To?
It’s easy to find an audience to market to. One way is to pull a list from a software like Realeflow or another list building software.
To compile your list, you first pick the area that you want to target (two to five top zip codes) and then pick your lead source (we will cover these later).
The sellers who will contact you on behalf of your direct mail are usually motivated to sell because of one of two things:
1. Financial Reasons (Bills, foreclosure, divorce, medical expenses, etc.)
2. Property Reasons (Needs work & they don’t want to do it)
Truthfully, we are helping these people by taking the property off their hands in exchange for money that they desperately need or want.
Absentee Owners
Absentee owners are people who own the property, but do not live in it. They are probably motivated to sell because they no longer want to manage the property. Maybe they live in a different state or have recently moved and can no longer look after the property.
A way to find absentee owners is by purchasing the High Equity Free and Clear list from a place like ListSource.com. If a person owns a piece of property that has no liens attached, this means that he has "free and clear equity." These are what you want to find.
Vacant Houses
A vacant house is not doing the owner any good and is probably costing them A LOT of money. Every day, it’s getting worse and worse for them and they want out more and more.
Similar to absentee owners, compile a list of vacant houses in your area. Then use a skip tracing service to try and find the owner and discuss selling the property.
This is a GREAT method for virtual flips.
To learn the additional methods we use to find smoking hot off-market properties and our EXACT direct marketing plan, click here. You will be able to gain access to other secret ‘Insider’s Playbook’ of Real Estate Investing Checklists, “cheat sheets,” reports, systems and standard operating procedures that I use in my business EVERY DAY!
Be Daring,
Josh
CEO Strategic Real Estate Coach
CEO Freeland Ventures and Freeland Lending
CEO Yellow Jacket Properties