In my experience, deals tend to chase money. So I started positioning myself as the money several years ago. Even if I'm raising capital, I control the money. Over time, I developed a reputation for getting projects done.
Brilliant approach, Victor. Let the deals chase you!
I got my first deal off mls and did well with it by negotiating down from 99k to 58k. It was an older owner occupant that just wanted out. She moved to a senior living apartment.
I am doing a minor rehab on it of about 5k. I plan to rent it out for $950/month. It wasn't trashed, but I am redoing 1 bathroom to make it more functional, painting, cleaning and repairing the laundry room floor.
We're still finding them on the MLS by making lots of offers on REO's, but the pickings are getting a bit slim. We also found one from an old contact who had a house he needed to get rid of and might get one from a wholesaler. With the market picking up like it has, we are probably going to start doing some mailings soon.
We continue to look but aren't finding anything meeting our criteria on the MLS here in DFW, with the exception of REO properties, which are getting bid up to ridiculous levels.
We've had a long dry-spell where we've found little meeting our criteria at anything resembling a descent price. We've been down the aisle a couple of times only to have looser money from away come overtop of our offers.
Folks continue to bring us off market and pre-listing opportunities and we continue to look at the spectrum of 16 - 50 unit properties, but given the quantity of new units just arrived on the market and those still in the pipeline, there will be increased vacancy and downward pressure on rent in our core areas. We are being very conservative in our underwriting as I would prefer to remain static with little to no vacancy (<2% forecast for the coming year based on present leases) than add 50 units which we might b struggling to carry when the market moves to a further increase in vacancy.
In our experience finding the deals are not hard. We source our properties from several places such as the MLS, Auction, Foreclosures, and Private Sellers. The trick is to get though the overpriced properties for their condition. We have had several investors tell us horror stories of a house that did not live up to an idea. Some time the unforeseen problem causes a investment to become a burden. This is why we started our company we want to help investors find the best deals without the headaches. To find the best deal you have to look hard at numbers and area factors. Just because a number looks good does not mean the property will up to that.
We always tell people to look around and if you need help ask. With over 10 years of experience in our company we have seen it all. the best place to find your next deal should depend on your experience.
1st time investors
Brokers - Turnkey Providers - MLS
This gives you time to really evaluate a property and make sure it will work for you.
Experienced investor
Auctions - Court house steps (foreclosures, Tax Sales, .....) - Brokers. Turnkey providers, and on
Just make sure that you find the direct seller and that you are not paying for someone else to market it to you.
Most of them are on the MLS, even the auctions are advertised on the MLS. Pocket listing are usually advertised that way to give the appearance of a good deal for the unsuspected buyer.
Preface: I am an agent who hasn't invested enought, but has helped plenty of buyers and sellers make loads of cash. The last 5 "investment" deals whether flips or buy and holds were from driving the areas I work and mailing to vacant properties I see, couple MLS flips with investors that I helped buy and list after renovation. The most recent and sweetest fastest deal was an investor buyer I work with ready to sell some of his portfolio and now unloading so the rest of you can make money off of what he has cash flowed in the past. Never forget the older investors you network with. They might all want to sell if their family can't don anything with the property after they are gone.