Wholesaling houses is much easier when you have a list of active buyers lined up ready to purchase your deals. I personally spend just as much time looking for deals as I do looking for buyers. I am always on the hunt for new buyers, and as a result, I am usually able to unload my wholesale deals within hours of putting them under contract.
The following is a list of my three favorite methods for locating new buyers. If you implement one or more of these strategies and follow through on a consistent basis, you will have yourself a nice, healthy buyers list in no time.
Here we go…
1) Handwritten Bandit Signs
This is, by far, the most effective strategy I use to find buyers. I use 12×18 blank, white, corrugated plastic signs, and then write on them with black or red permanent marker. A typical sign reads like this:
CHEAP HOUSE
MUST SELL!
39k
CASH ONLY
123-4567
When I have a property under contract, I place between 10-20 signs in and around the neighborhood of the property I am selling. This always gets my phone ringing, and I usually pick up at least one new buyer every time I put a batch of signs out. If I don’t have any properties of my own to market, I will call a few of the other wholesalers in my area and ask them if I can market one of their deals.
If you don’t feel like putting the signs out yourself, it isn’t hard to find people looking to make a few extra bucks who will put them out for you. I am currently paying a high school kid $1 per sign to put mine out for me.
If you’re going to be using signs, make sure to check your local ordinances, as some areas have restrictions on where signs can be placed.
2) Search for recent cash sales in the MLS
If you want to know who the active cash buyers are in a particular neighborhood, do a search on the MLS (or have someone do it for you) for recent cash sales.
When I do my searches, I usually only go back 2 weeks, and I’m looking for the lowest cash sales in the neighborhoods that I am working in.
Once I get a list of the houses that have recently sold for cash, I take a drive out to each of the properties. Nine times out of ten there is either a rehab crew on site, or a “For Sale” or “For Rent” sign in the front yard.
If there are people working on the house, I will stop in and introduce myself, and leave a business card. If there is a “For Rent” or “For Sale” sign in the yard, I will call the number and strike up a conversation with the investor to see if they are looking for more homes in the area, and if so, what type of deals are they looking for?
I try and do this at least once every month, and I usually end up adding one or two quality buyers each time I do it.
3) Call “For Rent” signs in your target neighborhoods
When I am driving around looking at properties, I always have a pad of paper and pen on the seat next to me so I can jot down the numbers on any “For Rent” signs that I see.
Most of the investors I sell to are landlords, and calling “For Rent” signs is one of the best ways I know of to find more landlord buyers.
One of the first buyers I ever added to my list was found by calling a sign he had in front of one of his rental properties. That was over two years ago, and he has since bought 7 properties from me, and is still looking for more!
I have been using the previously mentioned strategies consistently for the last 2 years, and have thus built up a strong buyers list of active investors to sell my deals to. If you begin implementing one or all of these strategies starting today, and remain consistent with your efforts, you will have a list of active buyers in a very short period of time.
Article Author:
Stephani DavisStephani has written 15 articles for us.
Visit Stephani's Website: http://www.flipthiswholesaler.net/
Joshua Dorkin
Charles Feldman
Ted Karsch.
{ 2 trackbacks }
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Good ideas. I have never tried or thought of any of these. Though I do not really prefer the signs sitting outside, I think they are an eyesore in my neighborhood so I would never add more to the existing ones.
great info.will you write a article on generating leads on a shoestring budget?
Hey Derron, I think this article does explain how to generate leads with little to no budget . . . the only think that would cost much at all would be the signs, and those are quite cheap to make.
Hi Derron,
Like Josh said, these are pretty cheap ways to find buyers. If you put the signs out yourself, it only costs about $1/sign. The other two will just cost you gas money and time.
If you are talking about finding seller leads, I recommend the mls. You will need money for a deposit, but other than that, it won’t cost you anything to make an offer, and you don’t need to cough up the deposit until your offer is accepted.
HTH,
Steph
Steph´s last blog ..The Fast Track to Getting Private Money (Guest post by Patrick Riddle)
Very good information. I have herd this before from an individual in Florida that does it in a very similar way and has been very successful.
Thanks for sharing the information.
I used “ugly yellow signs” to generate mortgage business and to sell and buy houses. I’d get the bright yellow ones and write the message with a thick black Sharpie, and not very neatly. Sometimes the signs would generate more calls than I could handle, particularly in certain areas.
I had to pay some fines for nailing them to telephone poles but it was worth it.
This is why I love Reading Steph’s content…Because that’s exactly what it is…Pure Content that you can use now! Thanks Steph!
I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of seeing ugly signs throughout my neighborhood, but it certainly catches the eye… Very interesting way of generating business though in calling current landlords.
Justin´s last blog ..Mortgage Loan Modification Myths and Facts
Good post! I hadn’t quite thought of generating leads in this way before, but a new approach is always helping when wanting to expand avenues.
Thanks for posting, and I look forward to your updates!
Warren
Hey Steph! Great post, question what exactly do you say or(pitch) to these landlord to get them as a new buyer?
Thanks hon!
Daneel~
Hey Daneel,
I just tell them them I saw their sign and was wondering if they were looking for any more rentals in the area. If they say yes, I ask them what type of properties they are looking for, and how much (ballpark), they are willing to pay.
Then I head to the mls and start making offers on properties that fit their criteria..
Hope that helps,
Steph
Steph´s last blog ..The Flip VIPs Trip
i wrote you because i have a site that can help me make short sales and they told me i need a end buyer to complete the deal so i’m looking for investors i know a good site for fourclosure so i was going to send you some properties and see if you like them maybe we can make some money
Stephani,
Learning about what works and what doesn’t is a godsend. Thank you.
Anthony
Steph, thanks so much for writing this. This is one of the best, most helpful articles I’ve read on this site so far (not that they aren’t all great). I’m going to put these into practice tomorrow! Two questions though. 1)At any point in talking to the landords/renovators, do you mention that you’re a wholesaler or explain the whole assigning rights/not selling the property thing? And 2) when you advertise for another wholesaler like that are you getting a piece of their action, or just helping them to help yourself? Thanks again, great stuff!
Joe Ziolkowski
Homestead Property Solutions
708-476-3290
Hi Joe,
Glad you liked the article..
Yes, I always tell the landlords/buyers that I am a wholesaler. Most of them know the drill so I usually don’t have to explain much. I just tell them I’ve been getting some great deals in the area and am looking for more buyers.
When I work with other wholesalers I get part of the profit if I find a buyer. I have 2 or 3 guys that I work with quite often and we are always partnering on deals. If you aren’t licensed you need to be sure to have the properties under contract or option so you don’t get in trouble for brokering without a license. If you’re licensed, you can just get paid a commission on the HUD..
HTH,
Steph
Stephani Davis´s last blog ..Home Sweet Home
Thanks again Steph. Sorry to be asking a hundred questions here, but when you say have it under contract or option, doesn’t the other wholesaler already have it under contract? So would you have a seperate contract, or get in on the original contract somehow? Sorry if it’s a stupid question, but I’ve never seen that type of deal done before
Thanks!
Joe Ziolkowski
Homestead Property Solutions
708-476-3290
Hi Joe,
Yes, the other wholesaler has it under contract, so you can do a double assignment (they assign their contract to you, and then you assign it to your buyer), or, if it’s a bank deal that can’t be assigned, you would put it under contract with the wholesaler and then assign that contract to your end buyer…
I’ve been involved in deals before where the contract was assigned 3 times. It can get messy when there’s that many people involved, but it’s possible to pull off if you know what you’re doing.
Steph
Stephani Davis´s last blog ..Home Sweet Home
I think this is a great way to find buyers, and I thank you for your help.
Well it is really a great way to find more buyers but by doing this we expect that there are lot of frank callers that we receive everyday. Do you have any tips on how to make sure or to figure out if they are really a good buyer?