Using agents and best ways to get deals

[Jonathan Friedman]

I hear a lot about how it's important to get agents to look for deals for you. Is this all off the MLS? And if so, is it feasible for an agent to get a wholesaler a deal cheap enough to wholesale it? Do they buy it with cash or assign or double close a contract off the MLS when wholesaling? And, is this the main way wholesalers get deals or is it not even a way to get deals and the MLS is only for other types of investors? What are the other best methods, is direct mail, websites, etc. more lucrative than trying to find deals as a wholesaler off the MLS?

[Dev Horn]

It's hard to add much to what @Gerardo Dominguez and @Russell Brazil said above.  Great posts, you guys!

Wholesaling IS marketing.  It's about going directly to home sellers with your message and buying directly from them, off-market. My RE agent partner is very valuable to me, but I find her more listings than she can find me deals - simply because of how the RE market works.

Our top three ways to find motivated sellers are:

1) Direct mail - to absentees, etc.
2) AdWords (Google Search)
3) Billboards & other outdoor signage

Wish you the best!

~dev