Finding Off-Market Deals in Small Markets

[Wyatt Kolka]

I’m working toward buying my first property and plan to house hack it while doing a fairly heavy renovation. I have a construction background, so I’m comfortable taking on projects that need significant work.

The challenge I'm running into is that my market (Northern Michigan / Petoskey area) has extremely low inventory. Most properties that hit the MLS are already renovated or priced in a way that doesn't leave much room for a value-add deal.

Because of that, I’ve started focusing more on finding off-market opportunities. I’ve already spent some time driving for dollars and have thought about reaching out directly to owners of properties I’m interested in or trying direct mail.

For those of you investing in smaller markets with limited inventory, are there any other strategies you’ve found effective for finding off-market deals? I’d especially be interested in hearing what tends to work best in tighter markets where properties don’t turn over very often.

[Alfath Ahmed]

Quote from @Wyatt Kolka:

I’m working toward buying my first property and plan to house hack it while doing a fairly heavy renovation. I have a construction background, so I’m comfortable taking on projects that need significant work.

The challenge I'm running into is that my market (Northern Michigan / Petoskey area) has extremely low inventory. Most properties that hit the MLS are already renovated or priced in a way that doesn't leave much room for a value-add deal.

Because of that, I’ve started focusing more on finding off-market opportunities. I’ve already spent some time driving for dollars and have thought about reaching out directly to owners of properties I’m interested in or trying direct mail.

For those of you investing in smaller markets with limited inventory, are there any other strategies you’ve found effective for finding off-market deals? I’d especially be interested in hearing what tends to work best in tighter markets where properties don’t turn over very often.

 You will most likely have to look at a different midwest state. I personally like to invest in Columbus, OH. Ton of inventory, land-lord friendly state, and there is a ton of tech companies like Intel, Amazon, and Google are investing here. 

I've got 28 rental units. I have a team of 4 employees that help me source deals from cold-calling and texting. We get data from county auditor, skip-trace and are usuablly able to find a ton of good deals.