Real Estate Investor Websites - Where to Start?

One common question I've heard from investors is, "Should I have a website, and if so, how should I go about it?"  There are many options for real estate investor websites, and what's best for one person may not be best for you.

First, let's answer the question...

"Should I have a website?"

That depends on how you're investing.  I would say most investors would benefit from a website, but I have encountered a few people where I thought it doesn't really make sense.

For example, I know an investor who is retired and he will buy one house and spend many months fixing it up and then will rent it out.  Then he'll move on to the next property.  So he's only dealing with maybe one property a year, and I think that's all he really wants to do.  If he had a website, it's possible he could be getting leads coming in and lining up his next deal before he finishes with the one he's working on.  Or he could be getting potential renters lined up.  But he may not want to be distracted with leads while he's working on the house.  So a website may help some, but isn't going to make that big of a difference for him.

Most investors, however, want to do more deals than that.  And if you're doing wholesale investing / flipping, you'll be dealing with more more properties and more people.  So you need a steady stream of leads coming in. 

A website will do a number of things for you:

• A website helps build credibility.  This is especially important when you're dealing with sellers and lenders.  They need to see you as an established business.
• A website is open 24/7.  If you have ads running, you don't want to be limited by the hours you're available to answer the phone.  A website will capture leads for you 24/7 and you can deal with them when you have time.
• A website can save you time.  You can have forms on your site that your prospects can fill out, which saves time over you having to ask them all those questions over the phone.  You can also have information, such as a Frequently Asked Questions page, that answer common questions for you.
• A website opens up new opportunities for getting leads.  You can do advertising online, such as with Google Adwords, and drive people to your website.  This lets you capture people who are searching online for solutions.  You can also do search engine optimization to your site and there is the potential to get free leads from people searching online.

Now for the next question...

"How should I set up my website?"

This also depends on your situation.  For example, if you're tech savvy and have more time than money, you might want to try building your own website.  For example, you might use WordPress to get you started.

However, most investors are better off using a paid service for their website.  There are several reasons for this.

For one, a do-it-yourself website usually looks like a do-it-yourself website.  In other words, it usually doesn't look as professional, which can scare of some potential leads.

Another important reason is that it's not a good use of your time.  Especially if you're not all that tech savvy, you could waste a ton of time trying to build a website.  But even if you are tech savvy, if you're not used to building websites it will take you a lot more time than someone who does it every day.  Your time is better spent focused on doing deals.

There are many services out there that provide real estate investor websites.  How do you choose a good one?

I'd recommend finding a company who has been around a while because that gives you an indication they may continue to be around for a while.  I've seen quite a few companies pop up and they might have really cheap websites, but then they go out of business.

Here are a few companies that have been around a while and are established:

• Investor Carrot
• Lead Propeller
• Done Deal Website

And, in the interest of full disclosure, you should know that I'm the owner of Done Deal Website, so I'm obviously going to be a little biased toward that. :)  We've been building websites for real estate investors for over a decade - quite possibly the longest in the business.  However, each service is unique, and might be a better fit for some investors over others.

It would be a good idea to check out each one and compare features and price and see what's the best fit for your business.

I hope this helps you in choosing what route to go with setting up your website.

Sincerely,

Todd Heitner
DoneDealWebsite.com