HELP! What routines / habits do you follow to source deals regularly?

Question

What are some daily/weekly habits or routines you follow when searching for deals?Stuff like:• Seeing 3 properties a week• Running the numbers on 5 deals per week• Setting up Redfin searches to email me new houses per my criteriaWould love to hear what you all do to stay consistent,To get a steady stream of possible deals,And to do so efficiently.I'd LOVE to get to a point where my "routine" is 45 mins per day.But right now, it's a lot longer than that (like 2 hours)Thanks in advance!-Hassan AliChicago, IL

Eric Fernwood · Answer

Hello @Hassan Ali,

You can narrow the list of potential properties by knowing what you are looking for.

You can narrow the list of properties to review by defining exactly what you are looking for. It starts by choosing a tenant segment you want to occupy your property and defining what they are willing and able to rent.

The Target Tenant Segment Defines the Property

The only way to have a reliable income is if your property is continuously occupied by a reliable tenant. A reliable tenant stays many years, always pays the rent on schedule, and takes good care of the property. Reliable tenants are the exception, not the norm. You will own the property for many years, so you will need several reliable tenants.

To have reliable tenants, purchase a property that attracts a tenant segment with a high concentration of reliable people, and work with a property manager with the skills to select reliable tenants.

You can identify such a segment through property manager interviews. If you would like sample interview questions, let me know.

Once you select a target tenant segment, identify where and what they rent today. Based on this, you can create what I call a property profile. A property profile has at least four elements:

• Location - The locations where significant percentages of the target segment are renting today.
• Property type - The type of properties they rent today. Condo, high rise, multi-family, single family?
• Rent range - What the segment is willing and able to pay.
• Configuration - Two bedrooms, three-car garage, large back yard, single-story, two stories?

You can give the property profile to your realtor, and they can find conforming properties. This should greatly reduce the number of properties you need to consider.

Hope this helps,

…Eric

Matthew Swanson · Answer

Hi Hassan!I hope you're doing well.  One of the most efficient things you can do is try and develop a strong rapport with some hungry brokers, they'll be one of the best sources to come across deals in the long term, although it will take some time to build rapport and trust, just like any relationship.

If you want to find the best deals, it's going to be a time commitment, no way around that.  Pairing your outreach with some automation that you set up in advance (email drip campaigns or mailers to current property owners for example) are also good things to implement that can streamline your outreach.