"We Buy Houses" - do those signs actually work?

Question

Hi. I"m looking for ways to find cheap houses to rehab and flip in my area.  Has anyone had success putting up those "We Buy Houses" signs?

Thanks.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

some folks swear by them some swear at them..

just check your county city codes make sure you don't get fined.

and give it a shot is what most would say...

I have called on a few over the years just because I was in my car and had blue tooth

usually no one answers and if they do they simply are not ready for prime time.. IE don't really know what they are doing or what to say.

so I would if I did this.. Answer live if at all possible..  have your pitch perfected so it does not sound like your reading off of a script..

depending on how competitive your area is  .. have your cash ready.. know how to write a contract asap .. put up bigger than normal EM so you beat your competition then close those suckers out.

Austin Works · Answer

I have had some success with these, but be prepared to constantly replace them, as they will typically only last a few days before someone pulls them. A lot of calls are stemmed from people going through divorce, in pre-foreclosure, etc, and many won't have the equity you're probably looking for, so you'll need to have other options to offer like sub2 or lease option to really benefit from the calls.

Dave Versch · Answer

Thanks for the pointers Jay.  As for the pitch, basically I can offer them relatively quick and painless way out of their financial difficulty.  I want to find out their names, the address of the property, why they're looking to sell, the condition of the house, and of course, how much they want.

Anything else?

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

they will work on occasion.. its the same reason billboards on the side of the freeway work.. its just getting your name out there.

Wes Blackwell · Answer

@Nate T. & @Pratik P.

I happen to work in both markets (Sacramento and Phoenix) so I can speak to both.

The one thing they have in common is that they're both super hot seller's markets (especially at the median home price and lower) and both markets have made headlines for it, so the general populace already has an idea that they can list it on the open market and get top dollar for it.

This is what caused me to get out of flipping and into selling homes as an agent. Too few deals, profit margins got slimmer, and way to hard to convince the seller to sell the home to me for 70 cents on the dollar when they're hearing all over the news how homes are selling at record prices.

Nate T. · Answer

We bought about 4-5 homes per year off sign leads until about 2015. Big fat zero since 2016. We finally gave up on posting about a year ago. The Phoenix market has been tight for several years due to shortage of inventory, so I guess people find other solutions before they get around to calling road signs.

Pratik P. · Answer

I call them whenever I see them to see how my "competition" is doing. They rarely answer the phone and when they do, they have no deals. I leave my contact info and ask them to contact me with future deals...haven't heard from a single one yet.

I've bought properties where there a bunch of these signs all over the street...but I'm the one to get the lead?

Honestly, I wouldn't suggest doing it because it's not legal in most cases. Why do business with such shady marketing vehicles?

Matt K. · Answer

That's not different then the direct mail campaigns or other offers from your competition... what makes you stand out. Why should they pick you!!

Brett Goldsmith · Answer

Seen it work for people. You'd need to put out a very large number of signs. Not sure if you're referring to bandit signs but make sure you do research on city codes, etc in regards to this.

I started putting signs on my houses that i'm rehabbing and it's produced some calls.

"We Buy Houses" - do those signs actually work?

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