Ending the Stigma of On-Market Deals

[Austin Negron]

Call me crazy but I've noticed there seems to be a misconception about the idea of on-market vs. off-market deals. I've noticed it specifically in the Boston area - a majority of investors (and it seems like the less-experienced investors) won't even peak at a deal if it is on-market. While under the perfect conditions, you can certainly find great off-market deals at the right price, but by and large, they tend to be the exact same price if not more expensive than on-market deals because the sellers will charge a premium to not take it to market. Some investors seem to be caught up in the idea of less competition but ultimately there are many properties on MLS that have very little competition, with very motivated sellers, putting potential buyers in an extremely leveraged situation - and essentially function exactly like an off-market deal.

Like I said, there are definitely times when you can get off-market deals at a steep discount, but this is a larger pattern I've been noticing...what do you think?