Free will often cost you money in real estate...especially when it comes to marketing properties. If you really want to keep it free, I'd suggest Craigslist and a sign in the yard.
But, if you really want to get maximum exposure and the most buyer competition, I would recommend listing on the MLS. It isn't free -- you'll pay at least one agent a commission and at least a couple hundred dollars -- but you'll give yourself the best opportunity to sell your property for the highest price.
Free will often cost you money in real estate...especially when it comes to marketing properties. If you really want to keep it free, I'd suggest Craigslist and a sign in the yard.
But, if you really want to get maximum exposure and the most buyer competition, I would recommend listing on the MLS. It isn't free -- you'll pay at least one agent a commission and at least a couple hundred dollars -- but you'll give yourself the best opportunity to sell your property for the highest price.
@Shaun Reilly I have 1 fix and flip and 2 investment homes for sale on MLS now.. I have a license but I am an investor trying to show my homes to as many people as possible.
I know a wholesaler who drives neighborhoods and writes down telephone numbers off of For Rent signs and then calls and asks if they want to buy more properties. He built a great buyers list that way.
Meeting investors here on BP is completely free...marketing properties requires Pro membership. It takes money to create and run a great product like BP... :)
Now, that said, if the properties are in Las Vegas, I'm going to guess that you're getting a ton of exposure on the MLS -- both investors and owner occupants. If you're not getting a lot of interest or traffic, I would guess that you're probably overpriced.
If this were in a smaller market with less investor presence, you could argue that the MLS isn't the best way to expose your properties to investors, but in Las Vegas, I would think it would be.
The other option is to find the agents who are representing large institutional investors and approach them directly. Though again, most of them are scouring the MLS for deals and will contact you if the numbers look good.
Door knocking to neighbors inviting them to a "pick your neighbor" open house, flyers on high traffic spots (church, pizza place, etc.) email and fax blasts to brokers, zillow.com, trulia.com, facebook page, video on youtube...
Yes, really. When I put a good investment property on the MLS in Atlanta (which I believe is similar to Las Vegas in terms of investors), I'll get a dozen offers in the first few days.
@ J. Scott.. Funny I was looking at your website and got very impressed with all your flips but one thing that took my attention was that your homes took average 4 months to sale.. Why is that? Do you take 4 months going through all your offers?
@J Scott Plus the margin for your profit are way different than what I am used to see here in Las Vegas? I guess in Atlanta the profits are not that high as properties are cheaper to buy...
@ J. Scott.. Funny I was looking at your website and got very impressed with all your flips but one thing that took my attention was that your homes took average 4 months to sale.. Why is that? Do you take 4 months going through all your offers?
Not sure where you're getting 4 months to sell...perhaps you're looking at total hold time from day of purchase to day of sale? Average time from purchase to sale across my first 50 properties has been 101 days.
I mostly do rehabs, so it's generally 4-6 weeks to rehab, 0-4 weeks to get under contract and about 4 weeks to close (most of my buyers are financed owner occupants with FHA loans).
Most of my deals aren't wholesales...maybe that's the confusion...
As for profit margin, I average 19% of the sale price and 23% of all-in costs. So, technically, my margins are 23%, which is pretty typical from what I can tell talking to other rehabbers around the country.
I did around 20 properties since 2010. My margin is way above 20% usually. I spend usually 1 month to rehab my homes and 2 to 3 weeks to sell it in average. Sometimes I buy the home and do a 2 days rehab and the home is sold before rehab is done. Its was kind of normal here in Las Vegas before the hedge funds started to buy everything. Now just to share some information with you the market here in Vegas is getting soft and hedge funds are leaving so it is taking a little longer , but nothing like 100 days to sell. If I keep a property that long and the rehab takes me that long I do not buy the home because it doesnt look like a deal. Similar to most of the experienced investors here in town. I guess its different for you in Atlanta.. Well, I use the MLS to sell my homes but I have sold many homes on craigslist. I love free and creative ways of selling my homes because good investors are creative and they do not only use the MLS.
...but nothing like 100 days to sell. If I keep a property that long and the rehab takes me that long I do not buy the home because it doesnt look like a deal.
Sounds like you're doing different deals than I am. Your typical rehab takes a few days; my typical rehab takes 4-6 weeks. You say your typical sale is 2 weeks, which I assume is typically cash buyers; I sell to owner occupants, so my average closing period (from contract signing to closing) is about 4-5 weeks.
The actual selling part (DOM) of our deals averages under 2 weeks, going all the way back to 2008. If you take 2008-2010 out of the equation (tougher to sell back then), my average DOM is about 6 days. We never get properties under contract before they're finished, as we don't start marketing them until they're done.
If your margins are greater than mine, you're clearly doing something better than I am! Perhaps you're negotiating better? Perhaps you're more cost efficient on your rehabs? Perhaps you're marketing better? Perhaps you've found a better niche than I have?
It's also possible that your margins are higher because you're more selective than I am, and doing fewer deals. We're going to do 30+ deals this year and our margins are certainly lower than they've been in years where we've done fewer deals (as we were more selective in the past).
Regardless, I'd love to figure out what your secret is and learn from it...I'd love higher margins!
No. Not doing nothing better or different than you.. I just try to find creative ways to sell my home..
That's perfectly reasonable. I'm guessing that Craigslist, For Sale signs and cold calling/emailing to potential investors are probably the best avenues to try to sell to investors without spending any money.
When I sold my own home last fall, I listed it on the MLS with professional photography, then scheduled an open house on the MLS and put up signs. Before the 2nd weekend I had a couple hundred postcards sent out to select homes in the neighborhood generating a lot of traffic again for the 2nd open house. I got a full price offer the evening of the 2nd open house 8 days into the listing. Open houses aren't fun and postcards aren't free, but the traffic it generated created an air of scarcity and sold that home when the market had just started to turn for higher end homes.
Pricing strategy is the most important part. Lot's of photos and realistic commentary are great too. Other ideas will depend on the property type, location, ect. Who are the likely buyers? Answering this question at the beginning, before you buy, will guide you through and determine your marketing strategy.