Listsource Scam
Now that I got your attention...
My purpose for using listsource is to buy my own first multifamily in a very small area in my state. After using listsource to refine my search for multifamily properties, I ended up with 37 properties. Then I proceeded to buy the list for a purchase price of $6.39 and guess what... Their minimum payment is $50 dollars and there is no way I can get that list if I don't expand my search to include properties and areas I am not interested in.
Is there an alternative similar to listsource that doesn't require a minimum amount?
It is not a scam they have a minimum payment.
Joe Gore
If you have an account set up with list source you can make purchases under $50. To have an account set up you need to speak with a representative. The account requires at least 1 transaction per month to stay active. There is no cost to set up an account although they probably want your commitment to more than one transaction.
Also if you can't spend $50 for a list you really need to reevaluate your business plan. I'm all for cutting costs or saving money when possible however $50 is extremely cheap for a list. You can't get a list from anyone (that I am aware of) for less than $50. List brokers are much more expensive than listsource.
Be careful with how you are refining your data within listsource especially for any commercial properties or multis with 5+ units. You can't get the same information for 5+ units from list source because of how they pull data. I.e. mortgage information for 1-4 units is generally available if it's under a conventional personal loan where it's recorded to the credit bureaus. Commercial loans don't record through credit bureaus so it is much harder to pull the data. I would discuss this over with a very knowledgable list source representative. Several people I spoke with had no clue what worked when you started to pull data from 5+ units. The main list available is just multi family in certain zips, counties, cities etc and number of units. There are several functions that relate to multi families so be careful you pick the right one. Good luck!
Have you tried AgentPro247? I think you can pay for one month (they work as a subscription service rather than pay for individual leads)
@Seth Williams uses it and could tell you more than I could.
@Chris Winterhalter , thank you for your response, you are very helpful.
I did call list source, and spoke with a rep. to ask if there was a way to buy this list and they didn't offer me any solutions, they just said there was no way to do it if I spend less than $50.
I have no problems spending $50. I am looking for a residential multifamily, so I can buy it and live in it, rent the rest of the units and get used to being a landlord before I continue buying more rental properties.
The inventory in my neighborhood is low. My next step after getting a realtor to help me find my first multifamily is to take action on my own and look for properties using list source. I am not looking to do wholesaling. After reading many bigger pockets posts about list source criteria, I ended up with 37 multifamilies. Unfortunately, it seems that for my first step, list source won't work for me.
Hopefully you have good liability insurance...
I have purchased listsource lists as low as $9; I don't think that I've ever paid $50+ for any list from them. Not sure what the deal is. I sometimes have trouble with my debit card on their site but otherwise my experience has been positive.
Ask to be set up with a Concierge account. Then the minimum order is $5.00.
@Gregory Montalto Thanks for your direct and simple solution. I will call them tomorrow to set up a concierge account and proceed to buy the list.
What kind of info did you need from list source that you can't get from a title company? It's free for them to pull all that info for you. The only thing they don't usually have is mortgage info.
Try the county tax records. If they offer an online search, you can probably find properties with two to four units that way.
I will provide more information so you can understand what I am looking for in list source.
This is how I defined my criteria in list source:
Zip codes: I selected the zip codes I am interested in investing/living in
Equity: 41% - 100%
Property Types: Residential multifamily, duplex, triplex
Options:
-Excluded trustee owned and corporation owned
-Selected absentee owned out-of-state
That's about it...
I have never tried a title company since this is the first investment I am doing. I am not sure how should I approach them to get them to pull this info for me. I have used the tax assessor, but it doesn't offer the options of "absentee owned out-of-state" or equity the owner has on the property.
Just spend the $50, bro.
I wouldn't exclude trust properties. I don't find trust owners to be more or less motivated. They just have better estate planning. I've bought from both corps and trusts. Lots of multi units and small commercial props will be owned by corps. Plenty of small corps are motivated sellers. Just saying.
Send me the city or zips and I'll run it through my title account and see how many I get. My account won't give me equity info, but depending on how big the list is, it might not be an issue. I'm happy to work with no equity and want those calls, so maybe I see it differently
IMO, you're really going to need a bigger list if you hope to buy something sooner rather than later.
My email is in my signature.
@Jose Figueroa - per the comment from @Joe Butcher - AgentPro247 is an alternative option you could try. It's a subscription service (I pay $18/mo) which you can use to pull up to 2,000 records per month.
It's the same data that a title company would have access to, the only difference is that YOU are the one who controls it and specifies the criteria (rather than working at the mercy of your title company).
Their system is relatively simple to figure out - here's a quick video tutorial I put together on it a while back:
Hope this helps!
Awesome video and thanks for the discount code!
Glad you found it helpful @Stephen Menches
just checked out pro 247 and their prices are increased to $20 and $30. but offer a free trial... I am interested.
Okay, so I'm seeing 325 dollars a month for 2000 records. Is that right?