What to do with rural leads

Question

Hi BP,

I have a site generating multiple leads in rural areas (farms, country homes, land, etc) and I have no idea what to do with them.  Are they worth anything?  Would an investor be interested in properties like these? I like to offer good customer service and am hesitant when it comes to these deals. This is also partially because I'm relatively new to wholesaling.  Are there any strategies to use in this situation that anyone could recommend.  Maybe joint venture deals with local wholesalers? Thanks all.

Account Closed · Answer

I have a family member that will be using it for 3 months and then I'll probably re-sell it.  It doesn't need rehab.

Alex Harris · Answer

K. Marie Poe - Was it a wholesale deal or rehab or ?

Heidi Rogers - Appreciate the information.  My site keeps spitting these leads out and I hate to see leads go to waste.  Offering FSBO listing is a good idea.

Bryan L. - Thats what I'm doing now since I am licensed in the state of VA but was just wondering if there were other techniques to make it more lucrative.  Agent Referal on a $100k property <  Joint Venture Wholesale deal on $100k property (for the most part).

Thanks for the input!

Account Closed · Answer

I closed on a house on Monday in a village with 1000 people.  Village is the only sign of life on an 80 mile stretch of rural highway.  Nearest groceries and gas is 50 miles.  To me, that's the boonies.

Bryan L. · Answer

There may not be many REI end-buyers in the rural areas for you to wholesale to, but there are still buyers for sure.  One of my best deals came in a far-away rural corner of one of these counties.  Small house with a little land.  Got a good price on the buy side.  Then cut off some of the land and sold it to a neighbor.  Then sold the house to a great family with owner-financing.  And this family eventually got a bank loan and bought me out.  Like I said, one of the best deals that I've ever done.  Five miles out in the boonies away from a small town of less than 3000 people.  I won't give you the street name, but it was so far out that the street was named after a type of snake.  Got ticks on me just from walking through the yard.  But it was a great deal over-all.

Account Closed · Answer

If you were in CA, I'd look at all your rural leads and pay you for anything I could close on.  Land use is the big variable with rural properties.  What is it zoned for, what is currently being done with it, and what else could you do with it.  That, and since this is California, is there any water (and/or mineral rights).  I love rural props and vacant land.

I suggest networking with real estate agents and bankers and anyone else in your area that is connected to potential rural prop buyers.  Some of those leads likely have value.

Bryan L. · Answer

It depends on what you mean by "rural".  Most of my investing is done in a county of about 25,000 people that is adjacent to a county of about 70,000.  Many people consider both of these to be "rural".  There's plenty of good investing opportunities in these areas, but I do try to stay fairly close to the city limits.  One option for you is to become a licensed RE agent and/or Realtor.  Then take these leads and list/sell them and earn a commission, or refer them to another Realtor and earn a referral commission.

Heidi Rogers · Answer

You won't find many of them on BP, but there are rural investors out there--mostly buy and holders. To determine interest in the property before putting it under contract, you might try contacting some local agents or mortgage brokers in the area to find out names of the bigger players who have a bunch of rentals in the area. I'm sure they'd appreciate a personal call describing the deal. Maybe you'd get a bite. If not, don't put it under contract, and no it's no loss to you.

As far as the farm, those can take years to sell. Maybe set up a FSBO relationship where you could help them advertise and hopefully find a buyer in exchange for a flat fee (depending on RE laws in your state).