Deals and Due Diliegance

Cedar Rapids, Iowa
General Real Estate Investing
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Deals and Due Diliegance

Coy Messer
Member since 2026 · 10 posts · 6 votes

Without giving away anyones tops secrets... where is the best place to start to find deals? Is it Crexi and LoopNet?

Also, when analyzing a deal, do you enter the info into a spreadsheet, calculator, etc? Where can I find the best one?

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Andrew Caranto
Investor · Pacific Northwest · Member since 2026 · 65 posts · 16 votes
6mo

Hey Coy, hopefully you've had more time to investigate some of the answers here. There are a lot of different sources you could find your first small to mid-sized multi-family deal on. On-market properties and the acquisition process are going to work very differently from off-market and direct outreach to sellers. Wholesalers can bring you a lot of potential off-market deals, but just because something is off-market doesn't make it any better of a deal than on-market. You still need to go through your due diligence and underwriting.

Then, after that, there are some pretty large branches as far as the financial piece, whether you're intending to obtain a traditional bank loan or utilize a creative financing strategy to obtain the property. Very different calculators and methods to analyze those ones as well.

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  • Caleb Brown
    Real Estate Agent · Kansas City · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    7mo

    What type of asset/properties are you looking for? 

    0Reply
  • Coy Messer
    OP
    Member since 2026 · 10 posts · 6 votes
    6mo

    5+ unit multi-family is the route I think I want to go for my first deal

    0Reply
    • Caleb Brown
      Real Estate Agent · Kansas City · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
      6mo
      Quote from @Coy Messer:

      5+ unit multi-family is the route I think I want to go for my first deal

      I'd network with brokers within that space. Often they have deals in the pipeline or that never hit the open market. You can try reaching out to owners directly but you'd pay for lists and spend the time to do so

      0Reply
  • Richard F.
    Honolulu, HI · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    6mo

    Drive for Dollars! Cruise through the areas that interest you, look for the tired or run-down properties, contact the Owners directly by looking up on Property Tax records or talking with neighbors, caretaker, PM or site manager. Also check your area for RE companies that specialize in PM, they may also list multi-fams for sale. They may also be listed with Commercial RE specialists, depending on the region.

    0Reply
  • Arman AhmedPro Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus Cleveland Dayton, OH · Member since 2024 · 2k+ posts · 968 votes
    6mo
    Quote from @Coy Messer:

    Without giving away anyones tops secrets... where is the best place to start to find deals? Is it Crexi and LoopNet?

    Also, when analyzing a deal, do you enter the info into a spreadsheet, calculator, etc? Where can I find the best one?


    Crexi and LoopNet are fine for browsing, but most of the real deals never hit those sites, especially if you’re looking for 5+ unit properties. The strongest opportunities usually come from local brokers, off-market wholesalers, and market-specific investor networks, which is why a lot of people end up buying out-of-state in Midwest markets like Ohio, where the inventory is better, and the numbers actually pencil out. For analysis, a simple spreadsheet works great as long as it covers rents, expenses, vacancy, and financing; once you understand the fundamentals, any calculator becomes plug-and-play. If you want, I can point you toward some real off-market options and a clean underwriting sheet to get started.
    [email protected]614-418-6081
    0Reply
  • Remington LymanBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    6mo
    Quote from @Coy Messer:

    Without giving away anyones tops secrets... where is the best place to start to find deals? Is it Crexi and LoopNet?

    Also, when analyzing a deal, do you enter the info into a spreadsheet, calculator, etc? Where can I find the best one?


     cold call or work with someone that does

    [email protected]614-541-8475Podcast Guest on Show My Job Laid Me Off, So I Replaced My Salary with Rentals
    Reafco512 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • Jimmy LieuBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2019 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    6mo
    Quote from @Coy Messer:

    Without giving away anyones tops secrets... where is the best place to start to find deals? Is it Crexi and LoopNet?

    Also, when analyzing a deal, do you enter the info into a spreadsheet, calculator, etc? Where can I find the best one?

    Yeah so to expand a bit, LoopNet and Crexi can be useful for learning the market and spotting trends, but most experienced investors don’t rely on them for the best first-mover or high-cash-flow deals because a lot of listings there are either already priced in by brokers or geared toward commercial buyers rather than small rental investors. A lot of the “good stuff” tends to come from relationships and consistency, like staying in touch with investor-friendly agents who actually work rental-heavy areas, wholesalers who are moving discounted inventory, or even just consistently making offers on listed properties that have been sitting for a while. On the analysis side, most investors do end up in some kind of repeatable system—usually a spreadsheet they tweak over time or a simple underwriting template where they plug in rent, taxes, insurance, repairs, vacancy, and financing so they can compare deals quickly and stay disciplined. The biggest thing isn’t having the perfect calculator, it’s making sure you’re using realistic assumptions and not relying on best-case numbers, because that’s where most beginners get tripped up when a deal looks good on paper but doesn’t perform the same in real life.
    [email protected]614-300-7535
    Jimmy Lieu, Red 1 Realty4.9122 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • Andrew Caranto
    Investor · Pacific Northwest · Member since 2026 · 65 posts · 16 votes
    6mo

    Hey Coy, hopefully you've had more time to investigate some of the answers here. There are a lot of different sources you could find your first small to mid-sized multi-family deal on. On-market properties and the acquisition process are going to work very differently from off-market and direct outreach to sellers. Wholesalers can bring you a lot of potential off-market deals, but just because something is off-market doesn't make it any better of a deal than on-market. You still need to go through your due diligence and underwriting.

    Then, after that, there are some pretty large branches as far as the financial piece, whether you're intending to obtain a traditional bank loan or utilize a creative financing strategy to obtain the property. Very different calculators and methods to analyze those ones as well.

    1Reply
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