Using your InvestorCompsOnline account to search for real estate comps information is a smart move in today’s RE market. We’ve discussed several sources for finding foreclosures, the MLS, foreclosure auctions, and wholesaling. Today I would like to talk about the fourth source for finding foreclosure deals, farming. 
Farming basically goes like this: you pick a neighborhood containing your ideal prospect properties. You then proceed to become intimately familiar with the people living there. Send them a card, go to their community meetings, knock on doors, get to know everybody; all this, with the intention of being the first to find a distressed seller to offer a solution to. If you did a good job building relationships, then you will be the first to know about the distressed property.
Hopefully, this gives you somewhat of a feel of what’s out there. In principal, no one avenue is better that another. Quite a bit depends on market conditions and your personality, experience, and financial strength. I hope the breakdown of these four foreclosure real estate sources will benefit you in your search for properties and your next great deal!
There quite a few avenues to purchasing foreclosed properties. Many times buyers and investors use real estate comps to make sure they make good deals. One way in particular to find good properties for sale is by working with a wholesaler. Well what exactly is a wholesaler? Glad you asked, because today we will be discussing that way to obtain foreclosure real estate.
Wholesalers, are actually professional auction buyers. They will buy the property at auction and then resell it for a premium. They then market to investors and home buyers alike to make a deal. When working with a wholesaler you will have more time to look at listings and most of the time you can see the inside of the property. The main draw back to this method is that they sometimes charge such a high premium that the property becomes a non-deal. Those are things to consider should you decide to work with a wholesaler to find your investment properties.
Be sure to check back for my post tomorrow when I will be talking about my last style of foreclosure property finding, farming. Learning these different ways to find foreclosed property leads will guarantee many many deals in your future!
Real estate agents are often the main avenue that investors have to locate prime real estate. Your InvestorCompsOnline account gains you access to the most current real estate comps for your local area. Knowing the comps information enables you to make competitive offers on any foreclosure deal, including auctions, you may come across. Foreclosure auctions is the next topic I want us to discuss.
The main positives when buying a foreclosed property is 1) You will own a property within 24hrs. 2) Providing you do your homework and are a disciplined bidder, you can get good deals. Like I told you before, the goal of investing is to make a good profit, foreclosures definitely provide that to prepared investors.
One main thing to be aware of is that you must be prepared to pay cash once your bid is accepted. Another area of concern, is you typically only given 24hrs to prepare your bid. Given that time frame, alot of times you won’t have an opportunity to see the inside of the property.
Now, all that being said, those who choose to dive into the sea of the current foreclosure market stand to make substantial profits. Just be mindful that the key is being prepared to move once the opportunity comes around. Best of luck to you all!!
In the market for a real estate deal? Do you know where to you go? A successful real estate deal starts with buying right….Taking advantage of your InvestorCompsOnline access will give you real estate comps information to determine how much properties should sell for. Remember guys, the purchasing side of a deal is the only side you can control. If you don’t agree with the price or terms, then you aren’t under obligation to buy. Let’s take a look at the four most common sources for discounted real estate along with their pros and cons:
Of course the first source that comes to mind is the multiple listing service or MLS. This is a data bank that lists current property for sale and pertinent information about them.
Pros: 1) You are given the time to fully inspect what you are going to buy. 2) You are given the luxury of changing your mind if you don’t want it anymore – within the inspection period. 3) You can obtain conventional financing. 4) Many times, bank-owned properties are for sale at a lower price than the opening bid was at their foreclosure auction.
Cons: 1) Since the MLS is the most common place where buyers look for deals, you are not alone; once you identify a good deal you must act quickly and decisively. 2) If the property has been listed on the MLS, a detailed history of the property and the sale is available to anyone with access. Making a fix and flip buy harder to sell, generally a buyers lender would have questions in your price mark-up. Many investors do not use the MLS for this reason.
Making successful deals happen start with good information. The MLS system provides current up to date information on properties in many areas. But everything has ups and downs and I feel it’s important to walk in with your eyes open so to speak…
Tomorrow, I want to discuss foreclosure auctions as my second source of property deals. Learning the basics about these types of deals could be the rise or fall of a RE business success!
