If it hit the internet, theres no money to be made

I get this feeling that when I look at properties on the internet there is no way to close on a good deal. Its seems tho as there is some sort of hidden deal making that goes on between when a Realtor is asked to sell a home and when it actually hits an MLS. You know what I mean? Im going to bet that every Realtor has their investors business cards in their back pocket, when they are selling a home those investors get dibs first. If the deal is not worth it enough to make money then the investor pass on it and then you see it up on the internet.

Can anyone back me up on this theory? Essentially if a property makes it to the public then its not worth investing?

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:43PM

Jon Klaus

Real Estate Investor · Dallas, Texas

2432 posts
48429 Influence
14 Awards

Icon_minipost May 04 '10, 08:02 PM

I've heard this before and I completely disagree. My last 17 straight deals I have found on the Internet. If I were to doubt the source of deals, I might doubt referrals ( or bandit signs, and postcards) :D

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:43PM

Ali Samana

Real Estate Investor · Corpus Christi, Texas

389 posts
3707 Influence
8 Awards

Icon_minipost May 04 '10, 09:51 PM

Cliff,

I have heard this before. Though I am not sure if you are talking about the internet as a whole, or just the MLS. 2 our of 5 of my deals were found on the internet, though none on MLS. On one of them, I talked the seller down another 45k before we did anything else and she was motivated enough to do so. The other 3 were a realtor calling me and telling me that the deal was available and not yet on the MLS. That might prove your theory :)

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:43PM

Scott Williams

Residential Real Estate Agent · Northern, Wisconsin

85 posts
351 Influence

Icon_minipost May 05 '10, 11:38 AM

I would not agree..often I will be looking around on the mls and see a recently sold that went for way under the listing price and looks like something I would have been interested in(kinda gives you the "I could have had a v-8" feeling like in the old commercials).

Might be different in a better market, but right now I feel like there is alot of opportunity on the mls every day.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:44PM

J Scott

Real Estate Investor · Atlanta, Georgia

6088 posts
66749 Influence
13 Awards

Icon_minipost May 05 '10, 11:57 AM

I can't speak for other investors or other areas of the country, but I buy all my properties off the MLS (and which are also listed on the Internet).

I've bought about 20 in the past year and a half, and so far, every one of them have proven to be somewhere between decent and great deals...

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:44PM

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Jason Wheeler

Private Money Lender · Pleasant Hill, California

414 posts
951 Influence
4 Awards

Icon_minipost May 05 '10, 03:08 PM

All my most successful deals have been before MLS too.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:44PM

Brian P

Real Estate Investor · Salt Lake C[ty, Utah

228 posts
1228 Influence
1 Award

Icon_minipost May 08 '10, 01:52 AM

Recognizing the deal is the key. One of my most successful deals had been on the Internet and MLS for over 2 years.

I saw the listing and dismissed it. But one day I was with a friend getting his hair cut across the street.

As I looked out at the corner it was on, my mind started tearing things down and moving things, then adding a few of the neighboring properties to the mix, and bang, I got excited and had a new project.

A similar thing happen one day when I passed a commercial property that had been on the market for four years and the latest listing had just expired. Wham, the idea, I had passed that property and glanced at it at least once a week during those four years but this time an idea hit. Turned out to be my most profitable deal ever.

Both these deals were on the MLS and the Internet, I just wasn't recognizing the deals when I was first exposed to them.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:46PM

P NW

· OR

1467 posts
12410 Influence
7 Awards

Icon_minipost May 08 '10, 02:13 AM

Of course agents are going to take care of their steady, reliable customers.

If you want to hear as soon as the listing is signed, leave your contact information with some agents. Tell them what you are looking for and ask them to call you when they get it.

You have to be able to see the deal. I bought a house that had been listed for 3 years. Apparently, nobody else had bothered to take a good look at it, or realized that after 3 years, the seller would be getting a bit desperate to sell.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:46PM

Eddie Ziv

Real Estate Investor · Studio City, California

1803 posts
12555 Influence
9 Awards

Icon_minipost May 08 '10, 02:18 AM

I'm with those who believe that this theses is not true...
All my deals and those I found for other investors were found on the MLS (All, by the way are either HUD or REOs). You just have to know where and how to look.

Properties that have been on the market for a long time are great opportunities. Sometimes those properties have a flaw that seems to the average buyer as a no no. (Stolen plumbing, Localized mold, etc). Those flaws for the untrained eye may seem costly, but often they are not and at the same time, they are great bargaining chips.

Also, I found listing mistakes as a great source of deals, again especially with REOs. I found a great property for $13,500 3/1 that needed very little work and was sitting on the market because the lister put in the wrong zip code. That made the property "Disappear" from the listing map... I got it for $10,500, injected another $2,500 in rehab cost and the house is rented now for $500 a month...

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:46PM

Bienes Raices

· Orlando, Florida

1933 posts
12926 Influence
9 Awards

Icon_minipost May 08 '10, 03:39 AM

It seems with the REOs it's a numbers game, as other people have stated many times on this forum. So I think if you're willing to keep at it and deal with some disappointments you can find good REO deals on the internet.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:46PM by Bienes Raices

Bienes Raices

· Orlando, Florida

1933 posts
12926 Influence
9 Awards

Icon_minipost May 08 '10, 03:42 AM

Originally posted by Eddie Ziv

I got it for $10,500, injected another $2,500 in rehab cost and the house is rented now for $500 a month...

wow Eddie that is an insanely good deal

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:46PM

Cliff Rosa

Real Estate Investor · Junction City, Kansas

23 posts
188 Influence
1 Award

Icon_minipost May 08 '10, 10:28 PM

I guess that different areas differ greatly. Just gotta look a little harder or expand the search area.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:46PM

Jon Klaus

Real Estate Investor · Dallas, Texas

2432 posts
48429 Influence
14 Awards

Icon_minipost May 08 '10, 10:58 PM

Eddie sets his own rules -- the 4% rule -- rent your properties for 4% of what you paid for them. And find the deal on the Internet from 3000 miles away.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:46PM

Eddie Ziv

Real Estate Investor · Studio City, California

1803 posts
12555 Influence
9 Awards

Icon_minipost May 09 '10, 12:10 AM

You guys can go to my photo gallery and see my houses.
The most expensive house I bought cost me $16,500 but it was also my most extensive rehab (Currently rented for $685)
I paid $7,500 for the most recent one and spent $6,700 in rehab. I still have to add HVAC which will cost about $3,000, bringing it to a total of $17,200.
The house is up for rent now at $650.00

http://www.biggerpockets.com/galleries/my

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:46PM by Eddie Ziv

Bill Gulley

Real Estate Investor · Springfield, Missouri

4889 posts
43266 Influence
12 Awards

Icon_minipost May 09 '10, 01:12 AM

Hi, Cliff, from your picture, it looks to me like you're looking for a conspiracy, LOL! Like Eddie said, check out expired listings, there are sometimes some good deals, good deals can be what you make them. Bill

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:46PM

Rich Weese

Real Estate Investor · sioux falls, South Dakota

4293 posts
43789 Influence
15 Awards

Icon_minipost May 09 '10, 01:50 AM

I also disagree with the original post in this thread.
When I was challenged to go repeat what I had done in the 70's (because everyone said my methods wouldn't work today) I selected Texas, mostly SO. TX. The results in detail are on here somewhere. I wanted to buy a house a day for 30 days. I failed. I bought 26 homes in 35 days.
The FIRST one, I found on craigslist, pretty scientific, huh? I purchased it for 5K down, from the PRES of the Rio Grand Valley investors assn. Isold it for a 20K profit in less than a year.
I think sometimes, the local people are too close to the situation and really don't know what can be done. I can't count the number of times a realtor from an area has brought a deal to me, which I've bought and done very well. They just didn't see the potential. I've repeated this a lot and other posts explain in detail of other areas where it was possible.
I actually found nearly 20 homes on craigslist I bought, met pres and sec of the local REIA club (good friends now) a mgmt compny and numerous buyers. All of these contacts came from checking ads on Craigslist.
I've also bought properties from MLS and done well. I strongly disagree with the thought you can't find properties right under the noses of other agents and buyers. Rich

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:46PM

Brandon Schlichter

Residential Real Estate Agent · Circleville, Ohio

206 posts
167 Influence
1 Award

Icon_minipost May 09 '10, 10:15 AM

It all has to do with supply and demand.

Just because it's online or listed doesn't mean you can't get a deal, you just have to remember to do the math like anything else.

I still see MANY properties listed in areas on the wrong MLS system. If you're a realtor ,and someone lists a property using the wrong or a bad MLS , you just can't find it. For instance , in Ohio we have around 25 MLS systems, each is a geographic region that you belong to in order to list properties online so people can see them on realtor.com and the MLS you subscribe to. I regularly see homes in my area listed on the Cinci MLS or Cleveland MLS even though those markets are hundreds of miles away! There are plenty of REO agencies that for one reason or another have decided to list properties anywhere in the state , regardless of whether they're a MLS member. In cases like this , some times you end up with a property that no one knows about , and then can be bought at a HUGE bargain because no one knows it's there.

I've got a SFD property my brother and I bought that was listed on the wrong MLS , bought it and got $30k right off the bat in equity.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:46PM

Charles Perkins

Landlord · Seattle, Washington

2845 posts
47278 Influence
18 Awards

Icon_minipost May 09 '10, 12:24 PM

I have bought all of my properties on the MLS. Regardless of the source, I still do the same analysis, if it makes sense then I dig deeper.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:46PM

Dale Osborn

Mobile Home Investor · Spanaway, Washington

1285 posts
14057 Influence
16 Awards

Icon_minipost May 10 '10, 11:09 PM

You are right on the money as to listings posted on the internet by realtors. However, with the Mobile Home Park listings you can find some quality listings placed by Owners. Pocket listings make the realtors look good by selling it with only a few days on the market. To them it is a statistic game.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 12:47PM

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