If you follow my blog, you should know that I like teaching. You should also know that I like step-by-step teaching. If you don’t know how to do something after I explain it, I haven’t done my job! (well, I suppose it’s not my job, but for the sake of this blog, it is). In this post, I will talk about the first step in wholesaling real estate, finding motivated sellers.
For the next several posts, I’m going write short posts and YouTube videos explaining each step of the wholesaling real estate process. Of course, if you have have $10 laying around, you could always just buy my ebook too.
I will also provide all of the info that’s in my ebook in this series of short posts and videos. For those who are new to the business (I’m assuming that’s most of my audience here), I want to make something perfectly clear.
You don’t need a real estate license to get started wholesaling. Furthermore, you don’t need a business name, business cards, a CRM or website to start wholesaling houses. In fact, you don’t have to know anything about wholesaling to get started.
Here is a good life lesson: “If you wait until you’re 100% ready you’ll never do anything worth while.”
You can apply this ideology to many things, but I think it’s especially true when you are first starting out as a wholesaler. It’s easy to overthink things.
What you will need is drive. If you have that hunter mentality and you are willing to put in the effort, you will close deals and make money. I can promise you that.
Enough about motivation. I hope if you are still reading this you are motivated and ambitious and ready to get started! Speaking of motivation, let’s talk about finding motivated sellers!
How Can I Find Motivated Sellers?
In the world of wholesaling, it’s all about motivated sellers. There are several ways to find motivated sellers. The easiest way is through paid marketing. My current wholesaling business spends well over $10,000/month in paid marketing channels. Direct mail, SMS marketing, Google PPC, Pay Per Lead Programs make up a big portion of my marketing budget.
When I was newbie, I didn’t have any money to spend on marketing. So I had to hustle to find leads. The most common way this is done is driving for dollars. There are many different ways to go about this, but I like to keep it simple.
You will want to find a neighborhood that has older homes. Preferably homes built before 1990. These homes are more likely to need repairs. Drive through the neighborhood (or walk) and look for distressed properties.
Things to look for:
-Overgrown lawn / rough landscape
-Peeling paint
-Old roof, shingles coming off
-Broken glass in windows
-Lots of junk lying around the property
-General lack of upkeep
It will be pretty obvious when you spot a good one. Ideally you will want to jot down a few dozen addresses each time you head out. If you spend 4-6 hours driving for dollars, you can easily get close to 100 addresses. The more the better.
There are really 2 strategies here. You can leave a handwritten note with your name and number or just gather addresses to skip trace later. I recommend doing both to increase your odds of finding motivated sellers. Let’s review both.
Leaving a Handwritten Note to Find Motivated Sellers
I prefer yellow Post-It notes. Here is what you will write on the note.
Note 1: “Hi, I’m George and I am interested in buying your house. I can pay cash and close fast. Call/text me -555-555-5555”
Note 2: “Hi, I’m Veronica. I have a question for you, please call/text me (insert phone number)”
Note 1 is more direct and you will get fewer calls / texts. However, when you do get a call there’s a better chance it will come from an owner who will consider an offer. Note 2 is more vague and will generate more calls and texts because the messaging is vague. If you are good on the phone and can handle rejection, I recommend note 2 since you will get more opportunities to speak with potential motivated sellers.
Collecting Addresses to Skip Trace
Skip tracing is another great way to find motivated sellers. As you are driving for dollars, be very thorough with your note taking. Keep track of all addresses and also take notes about the general condition of the house. These could be good reference points to discuss during the phone conversation.
You can use free skip tracing sits like True People Search to do one-off skip tracing. Visit BSA Online to find the owner’s name. I would highly suggest entering all of your data (addresses, names, phone numbers) into a spreadsheet to stay organize. This is also a good place to keep notes of any outbound activity such as voicemails, texts sent, and document conversations.
See, I told you didn’t need need a CRM to find motivated sellers. You just created your own CRM for free with Google Sheets!
Nervous about talking to homeowner’s? The next step will go over what to say, scripts and how to gather information. We will even discuss strategies on how to set the appointment. Stay tuned!
Wholesaling Real Estate Step 2: Motivated Seller Script
Trending: Make $10,000 Wholesaling Real Estate
