Real Estate Acquisition
It’s no secret that real estate has provided financial freedom and generational wealth for most millionaires. The various real estate routes have attracted potential investors for decades, so it’s essential to be creative when contacting homeowners about a real estate acquisition. We live in a world where we adapt or get left behind; just like anything else, the real estate industry continues to grow and transform. Over the years, most industries and businesses have switched to the Internet rather than the previous standard methods of conducting leads, such as mailers, word of mouth, or posters. Although it’s essential to consider every route to attract sellers, some techniques produce more results than others! This blog post is dedicated to the different methods to acquire real estate.
Utilizing Online Real Estate Services
Within the last few years, most investors have changed their focus on the methods to acquire real estate. Different online real estate services and applications, such as prop-stream, generate leads for potential sellers. Nevertheless, prop-stream is becoming very popular, and it’s a service that allows you to initiate potential leads and accurately skip tracing the homeowner for a real estate acquisition. A system that covers every step in locating and acquiring real estate is highly beneficial, saving time and energy.
Prop-stream is a paid service that resembles MLS (multi-listing services) without the requirement of obtaining a license to be a real estate agent. A downside of prop-stream will be the “rehab costing” calculator; this service will not provide the most accurate construction costs, so be cautious using this aspect of the application! Nevertheless, prop-stream is a beneficial service that allows investors to participate in real estate without using a licensed realtor!
- Some real estate investors use lead generators like prop-stream to access potential property sellers.
- Prop-stream is similar to MLS but without the requirement of being a realtor. The only downside is that their “rehab calculator” does not precisely reflect the construction costs.
Dialer Services and Skip tracing
Another aspect of acquiring a property will be a dialer system/service to reach potential sellers. Once the leads are generated, it’ll be time to cover them by contacting each homeowner. A popular dialer service that most investors use is the Mojo dialer.
Mojo is a multi-line dialing system that allows users to reach up to 300 contacts per hour on the three-line system with automatic voice mail drop. In addition, the Mojo dialer has marketing options and an option to send a mailer/postcard to the potential seller directly. Still, most companies utilize their services simply for skip-tracing and dialers.
- With a three-line dialing system and automatic voice mail drops, you can use dialer systems like Mojo dialer to reach up to 300 homeowners per hour.
Marketing Using Social Media
Direct marketing, such as online advertising, is one of the most readily used methods for finding investment properties outside the MLS. One of the most popular ways investors acquire investment properties is to run Google ads or marketing campaigns through social media platforms. When you conduct paid ads and promotions, you can directly reach out to the homeowner through targeted ads.
Google ads seem to be the most productive, considering it’s linked to Google searches; this is beneficial because the potential client goes to the search bar on Google to find results. The potential seller will type in specific keywords or terms directly connected to your ad, allowing users to see what they searched for during their online session. This method also allows the investor to find a potential seller motivated to sell the house. Additionally, running ads through Google or other social media platforms increases website traffic, strengthening your website’s algorithm while earning your company more attention!
- If appropriately conducted, social media can provide many opportunities for real estate investors and realtors.
- It’s simple and effective to run social media promotions and Google ads. These paid ads provide website traffic and potential leads and strengthen your website.
Drive for Dollars
The term “drive for dollars” refers to driving or walking around your ideal investment area, collecting addresses for properties to market to fit your criteria. It’s a simple, cost-efficient method; you’ll gather addresses to place into an Excel spreadsheet to skip tracing the property address to determine the owner’s name and phone number. Some investors choose to record additional information beyond just the address, including the overall condition of the property and possibly even a photo of the home.
Driving for dollars can be time-consuming but may lead to a potential deal if a seller is contacted promptly. Some indicators to consider while searching for a distressed property to acquire would be overgrown grass and bushes, deteriorating exterior, code enforcement violations, boarded-up windows, or mail piled up at the front door. Another benefit to consider while driving for dollars is the tax deduction; you’ll be able to deduct the expense of mileage and gas costs from your yearly taxes.
- Driving for dollars is an effortless way to acquire real estate leads and properties; any investor can apply this concept. It’s a straightforward process; the investor will travel around the desired area, collecting addresses that fit their property buying criteria. These addresses will be added to a spreadsheet and properly skipped-traced; the investor will then reach out to these homeowners to see if there is interest in selling the property.
- Indicators of properties to contact are violations, boarded-up windows and doors, overgrown grass, and mail piled up at the front door.
For Rent Signs and Sale By Owner
A great way to locate and acquire investment properties is to contact homeowners with signs posted on the property that state for sale by owner or for rent signs. Usually, for sale by the owner, signs indicate that the homeowner wants to sell a house quickly to avoid the hassle of property of sale the traditional route on the market, which is time-consuming, requires repairs, and will cost six percent of the total sales price for the agent fees/commissions.
These properties are typically excellent for investors because they need renovations or room for profit. The theory behind focusing on properties that have for-rent signs; landlords who aren’t using the most popular listing sites to rent their properties, such as Zillow, Craigslist, or MLS, are probably older or less tech-savvy, which means there’s a decent chance they may be looking to sell and avoid managing rental properties and being a landlord. Like any other method applied for real estate acquisition, this way should be considered and at least attempted!
- For Sale By Owner are decent properties to target since they typically fit the requirements of investors.
Treat Referrals Like Gold
Using referrals for acquiring property is highly recommended and is an excellent method to generate leads. Over the last few years, Buying Property 215 has built relationships with homeowners, allowing us to gain extra leads. It’s a simple concept, conduct good business, and individuals will complete more business with you in the future.
We’ve had individuals we worked with in the past bring us friends or family members properties they desire to sell; the trust is already established, allowing for a smooth transaction from start to finish! Most investors offer a referral of five hundred dollars, and we believe in going above and beyond, so, at Buying Property 215, our referral consists of between two and four thousand dollars; this amount provides more of an incentive to conduct real estate transactions with our family-owned real estate company.
- Referrals are perfect for real estate acquisition and generating potential leads. Trust and familiarity are already established, typically allowing for an easy process.
Search Engine Optimization
Over the last couple of decades, as the internet grew, so did popularity and the need to utilize search engine optimization. SEO is the process of raising the quality of a website to generate more website traffic.
Essentially, SEO targets organic web page traffic naturally rather than paid advertisements. SEO requires choosing searched keywords and implementing the keywords into blog posts or web pages. Providing Google with tons of rich content that helps solve your targeted audience issues is essential.
Search engine optimization and website presence are excellent ways to generate traffic and potential leads. Most successful real estate investors use websites and SEO to acquire natural leads, typically offering the most profit potential!
The average individual may complicate SEO and become overwhelmed, but the process of SEO is much more straightforward than anticipated. Research how to correctly write website content to provide the best results; there’s unlimited content throughout Google and YouTube.
We recommend utilizing a webpage designer/provider such as carrot.com or WordPress! SEO is a straightforward process, but it typically takes four to six months to witness desired results! Therefore, patience is vital when building a website and writing content to perform on Google!
- “Search Engine Optimization – The procedure of increasing the number of website visitors by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine such as Google or Microsoft Bing.”
Utilize An Agent
Using a realtor is a proven method of acquiring real estate in any market. There are pros and cons to utilizing an agent to achieve properties.
Some investors avoid using real estate agencies to finalize a transaction because of the agent commissions and fees. If you’re not an experienced investor, we recommend using an agent simply because of their knowledge of the market and solid connections within the industry.
Another positive aspect when using an agent is that as a buyer, you’ll be provided a property disclosure of any possible issues and the ability to conduct inspections compared to an off-market-as-is sale. Not every agent has the same credentials and experience, so choose your agent wisely, or a simple mistake may cost you valuable time and money. A qualified agent can assist in ways to maximize profit on a home sale or help locate an investment property with a high return on investment!
- It’s recommended that newer investors use a licensed realtor for guidance in acquiring properties. The agent’s knowledge and connections allow for various property purchasing options. Although not agents are equivalent, choose wisely to save time and money.
Conclusion: Understand The Business
There are numerous methods to acquire real estate for rental properties and fix and flip opportunities. Still, nothing else matters if you cannot adequately run the real estate comps. Understanding your market and conducting the comps properly is essential; this skill is vital to conserve your efforts and not waste the seller’s time.
If you don’t understand the real estate industry properly, search for guidance; find a proven, experienced mentor or a licensed real estate agent. If you’re searching for a general contractor to finish the house repairs or home upgrades, verify that they’re licensed and insured and compare estimates from at least two companies. The real estate industry is not simple; daily, investors lose money if they don’t make the correct moves.
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