Which MLS site is the efficient?
Hello everybody, my name is Hunter Reed. Im 21 years old and currently gaining as much knowledge as possible about real estate. My QUESTION is which MLS site is the most efficient??? I don't want to waste money on a scam. Trying to start analyzing as much deals as possible.
Sincerely,
Hunter Reed
Hey @Hunter Reed my recommendation here is to connect with local realtors that specialize or have experience with investment properties; either on their own accord or helping other clients. I think this person can be a critical partner for you when learning to spot a deal, providing data, providing contacts, and helping source potential deals. They can help you skip all the bad sources and go straight to the MLS itself for your deal analysis. I do think it's important that you seek one out that's a good match for you and you do so with the intention of them helping you through your first deal and not just for the data. Hope this helps. A good realtor can really open the door for you to learn, network, and grow your business especially if they do it themselves.
Thank you Jeff! You are defiantly right about finding realtors in my area to broaden my perspective on many different deals available. Although Im still in the process of building capital, my mentor explained to me I need to analyze as many deals so that when the time comes ill be ready. With that being said how should I approach a realtor for deals without having any capital to invest?
cordially,
Hunter Reed
Realize that there's a difference between an MLS and public websites which also display listings. An MLS is where agents and Realtors place their listings and these are potentially shared with public websites such as realtor dot com and zillow and a multitude of other sites.
You can access those free public sites anytime but they may or may not be accurate or up to date.
For access to the actual MLS for an area, you can ask a Realtor to create a portal for you, where you can create your own searches.
Contact a Realtor or a few and have a conversation about what your plans and goals are, and when you find someone who you seem to connect with, ask them for a portal so you can start your research while you work towards your financial position.
Much success to you!
Hunter,
Stop by a real estate office in your community and speak with the broker/owner. Tell that person that you are not quite ready but when you are, you would like to work with an agent who has actual investor experience. Ask the agent with the experience to occasionally send to you properties that they believe will meet your requirements. They will give you access to their portal as well.
What Zillow and their ilk don't show you are the details known only to real estate agents which are contained in a private area of the listings. This is why you can spend lots of time looking at properties and have no real idea if they will work or not. Using proposed rents and estimated selling prices is not enough.
For example, you may have found what you think is a real buy. Your agent knows that the empty lot on the back side will soon house a sports bar. Or, that the area tends to flood with heavy rains. These are things that only eyes on the ground can tell you. When your experienced agent sends you a property, that's when it's time to run numbers.