Creative ways for looking for Multi-family Properties??

Question

So I live in the Saint Louis area, and I am looking for a Multi-family home (Duplex or Triplex) to buy in the Western, Southwestern, or Southern Suburbs of Saint Louis.  I'm looking to "house-hack" with this first property, by living in one side and renting out the other.

The problem is there are virtually none available.  I look through Zillow on a daily basis, and my agent has a blanket area search set through her MLS that automatically sends me multi-family homes in that area once they come available.  By using this strategy I'm getting about one result a week, and of these results, only 1/4 of these are contenders.

I'm thinking about starting Direct Mail to the owners of these properties in the area of interest.

My question: Are there other methods I could use to help quicken this search for a good fit within the area I'm looking?

Josh Oaten · Answer

@Dylan Legg

You can also do a "Drive For Dollars" approach with your direct mailing. Drive around different neighborhoods you desire to find properties and incorporate your direct mailing this way. The best ones are run down properties that look in need of TLC in a real nice area.

Jaysen Medhurst · Answer

@Dylan Legg, you can look through the local property records. Depending on their system this could be fruitful...or incredibly frustrating.

Another option is to use a "List Service" and pay for the information. The upside here is that you can really drill down to specific criteria.

Theo Hicks · Answer

Door knocking, driving for dollars, direct mail, creating a thought leadership platform and a landing page, "we buy houses" flyers, bandit signs, etc., calling rental listings on Zillow, Craigslist, etc., wholesalers, meetup groups (either attending or creating your own).

Dylan Legg · Answer

@Jaysen Medhurst , @Josh Oaten, @Justin Kane Thank you for the advice.  It's funny, as soon as I posted this thread, I was listening to a BiggerPockets podcast and the guest of the show was in the same position I'm in and said how he ended up doing all of things you've listed. Thanks again guys!

@Vlad Denisov I had not thought about this approach yet. Thank you for the advice.

Vlad Denisov · Answer

Google 'wholesaling'

Justin Kane · Answer

brokers, handshake deals, direct mail, cold calling list goes on

Creative ways for looking for Multi-family Properties??

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