Dialing & Driving for Dollars.. Get that 1st Deal/Buyer

I am not sure if anyone has posted about this yet, so I wanted to throw it out there for all the newer DG members trying to get their first deal or build their buyer's list.

One of the best and least expensive ways (gas money, cell phone) to find sellers and buyers is driving and dialing for dollars. They kind of work together when you use them, because the goal is to go out driving around looking for vacant properties, FSBO signs, and For Rent signs.

Vacant Properties:
You want to look for houses that have long grass, mail and yellow books laying on the ground or hanging out of the mailbox, boarded up windows, houses with notes on the door/window (foreclosure notices), etc. Basically ugly houses that look like no one could live there. Once you find one of these houses, take a picture with your camera if you have one and jot down the address. The goal is to then look up that address in your public records and find the owner's mailing address and send them a letter. You can also skip trace them if need be. A yellow letter like Jason describes in his post here will work fine:

http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/marketing-buyers-and-sell...

FSBO Signs:
Anytime you pass a fsbo sign you definitely want to jot down the address and number on the sign. Any house that looks run down that has a For sale sign in the yard (FSBO) is one you definitely want to call or send a letter. I understand starting out you may have a fear of calling sellers, so in these cases send them a letter. It may take a couple letters before they respond, but a lot of times even if your afraid you can send a couple letters then call. When you call them, just tell them you tried reaching them through the mail with no response and wanted to get more information about the house. The deals I'll get off FSBO signs include sandwich lease options, wholesale deals (properties that need work I can negotiate down), or short sales.

For Rent Signs:
These are signs that could go either way (Sellers/Buyers). It's definitely worth calling every for rent sign to see if they are interested in selling. Depending on what strategies you are looking to do, you could pick up some lease options or wholesale deals from for rent signs. Sometimes you can catch tired landlords right after they have evicted a very problem tenant or maybe they just evicted their 4th tenant in a row and don't want to deal with it anymore. These are the types of sellers you are looking for to give you the property at a very low price or are able to negotiate terms to do a sandwich lease option, because they are motivated.

If the owner says he wasn't thinking about selling or you sense no motivation from them, than start up a little conversation with them. Just tell them that you are also an investor and are looking to pick up some properties pretty cheap that need work that you can fix up and sell/rent for a profit/cash flow. They will probably say that they are not looking to sell their house for cheap, but they will understand where you are coming from, because they are probably doing the same thing or have done the same thing. Most investors like talking to other investors if they enjoy what they do. These are the people you want to deal with anyway, not someone who is moody on the phone and doesn't want to talk. In this case you now want to explain to them that you do come across a lot of really good deals that you just can't take on with all the marketing you do, and ask him if he would be interested in buying any more property way below market value (depending on your area 50-70% off ARV). You can ask him if he is looking to buy more houses in that area or if he likes any other areas. Do they use cash or financing? What type of homes do they buy.. fixer uppers? turn key? Then just finish off by saying, "So is it ok/cool if I contact you if I come across any really good deals in the areas you like?" Then take down their info (cell phone, email).

If you get out there and start taking action on this, I guarantee you will start learning the ropes quickly and building a buyer's list and possibly even finding some deals. You may even find some really good contacts that can help you further your business! Real Estate Investing is a complete numbers game, so it may take 15 FSBO calls before you get a deal that makes sense for you. Just don't give up and gain the confidence to start making those phone calls and talking to sellers and buyers! I promise you it's not as bad as you think and you will kick yourself for waiting so long to get going!

To everyone's success!!