There's no question that thanks to HGTV and other popular TV shows and social media that flipping houses has become trendy and cool. Whenever people I just meet ask me what I do and I tell them I'm a real estate investor, they immediately go on and on about their favorite TV show or how they've always to try it.
We are now in a market where too many people are suddenly competing with each other for the same deals. This probably leaves you asking - how do you find good investment properties in today's market?
What Makes a Seller Motivated?
Now let's take a step back for a minute - what exactly is a motivated seller? Why do you want them? A motivated seller is a person who is willing to do at least one of the following:
- Sell their property to you for a low price
- Sell their property to you with very flexible terms
This may seem odd - why would someone be willing to sell their property almost entirely on your terms? There are sellers out there like this who are willing to walk away from their properties with very little to show for it.
These motivated sellers usually have a few characteristics such as:
They live out of state - they are disconnected and disengaged with the property for whatever reason and are looking to unload it
They are an absentee owner - if it's an investment property they might be willing to sell to lighten their load
They have owned the property for 10 years or longer - when a property is owned free & clear, the owner has more equity to play with and more freedom to sell at a discounted rate
They have delinquent taxes - if the owner is financially at rock bottom and needs to sell the property or lose it, they will sell to you at a lower offer
Find Motivated Sellers Now
Over the last several years of investing in real estate, we have been doing more and more direct mail. One of the strategies we are using is acquiring lists and sending out letters and post cards. Over the last 10 years, it's been which list provider is the best and which list is the best.
The method I like best is utilizing Kent Clothier's Find Motivated Sellers Now software because it is LOADED with properties that are all vacant houses.
The top three motivated seller lists I would recommend that you use to find these motivated sellers are:
1. Vacant Houses
2. Out-of-Town Landlords/Absentee Owners
3. People with High Equity
The reason I like using Find Motivated Sellers Now is because it has the ability to overlay these three lists on top of each other so then you have a smaller, very targeted list that is chock full of homeowners who live out of the area, with high equity, that have a vacant property.
A Total Game Changer
If you think you know a lot about real estate investing, I can almost guarantee you don't know these motivated seller and vacant home strategies.
Back in the day, there was no technology and finding these hidden, off market deals so your process involved knocking door to door, putting up bandit signs and driving neighborhoods. All of these methods still work great, don't get me wrong, but over the years, technology and systems have been created to virtually eliminate the need for these things.
With this software, Find Motivated Sellers Now, we are able to find vacant properties that have at least 75% equity in them from all over the United States. The database shows that over 2.2 million vacant homes are available right now for you to grab.
That's no lie!
If you're looking for a simple, powerful way to acquire properties and you're in a competitive market, jump on the free master classes Kent and I are doing this weekend to learn more about this game changing software.
I'll see you there...
Be daring,
Josh
