Right-Brain Marketing: Finding and Comprehending Motivated Sellers

The human brain If you’ve read through a couple of Real Estate Investing books, purchased a course or two, and/or frequently read Real Estate websites, then you’re more than familiar with the typical life events that create motivated sellers of Real Estate.

Some of the events that create motivated sellers are:

Loss of a loved one
Job Transfer
Loss of a job
Two mortgages
Tenant troubles
House Vacant
Divorce
House won’t sell

There is nothing wrong with marketing directly to people who own property and are experiencing one or more of the above events. However, chances are you will be amongst many other Real Estate Investors doing the same. To stay ahead of the pack, you have to use some additional methods. Use the right side of your brain and let your imagination go.

Think like a motivated seller

Ask yourself:

“If I was ready to sell my house at a 40% (or more) discount, what would cause me to do so?”

One method of finding a cause is to utilize your local Circuit Clerk records to research who has received numerous ordinance violations, traffic tickets, criminal offenses, and etcetera. These public records will disclose the name and address of the individual with the offense. You can then cross-reference the address against your local county assessor website and determine if the individual is a homeowner.

Psychoanalyze the homeowner

Psychoanalyze the homeowner with the legal issues. At your local Circuit Clerk website you will be able to read the detail of each case. Is there anything that stands out to you? Google their full name with their city to gather a more comprehensive feel for the person (you may be surprised what a Google search tells you). Then ask yourself, if you were in their position might you be:

Flat broke after losing the Small Claims case?

Strapped financially after 3 speeding tickets in one summer?

Willing to get out of town and start a new life chapter?

Ready to move to a new neighborhood?

Ready to move closer to work as your license is suspended?

When you find individuals with numerous, recent infractions with the law whom are homeowners, mail them a letter conveying interest to buy their house. Personalize it a bit, say something specific about the house that you like. You don’t have to waste gas and drive by it, Google-Earth the property, or get on the MLS and if it has been listed before you can check out the exterior/interior photos. You may beat everyone else to the punch by doing this type of research and find a diamond in the rough. And when you make it as far as putting an offer on the property and beginning negotiations, you have a star-witness to put on the stand that they don’t know about. You “know what they did last summer” and that gives you a supreme advantage when striking up a deal.

You can do this detective work yourself or in the aims of maximizing your time, you can hire a virtual assistant to do this research for you (I would). This is just another way to get creative with your marketing.

Think outside the box and win big!

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Got questions about this or other real estate topics? Ask on the BiggerPockets Forums.