Let’s face it. Who is the Multiple Listing Service really geared for? It ain’t investors. It’s for Mom, Dad and the kids. The vast amount of people who buy single-family homes want to live in them.
Not flip them.
Or rent them out.
Consequently, the listings on the MLS tell you the house is ‘gorgeous.’ Then it tells you the number of bedrooms and baths, the school district, the square footage of the rooms and what kind of appliances it has…
All of those details are important for investors to know as well. They want places they can turn into a retail buyer’s dream when they flip it. Or they want a place renter’s will fight over to live in.
So, what do investors really want to know? Two things:
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How much money they will make
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How little hassle they will have
The traditional MLS might tell you about the hassle part by mentioning the crime rates, the renovations done and what the homeowner association dues pay for...
Show Me the Money
As for the money aspect though, it is not your father’s MLS. Now there’s a new sheriff in town, and it’s called Investability. Investability is becoming the MLS for real estate investors, not retail buyers.
And they do it for free.
Investability’s homepage looks a bit like Zillow in that they have a nice big search bar across the middle of the page for the area you want to search.
Once you type in an area and hit search, you can also sort the properties by measurements a real estate investor is interested in:
Investability is a site that is trying to do your due diligence for you. Investors use many different metrics to determine which property they want to buy. That’s why Investability tries to show a wide assortment.
To do the due diligence, Investability scrapes information from other websites and public records. Then it processes it and comes up with a bunch of numbers for each property.
For instance – to find local rental rates, Investability accesses the large rental database of the RentRange website.
If Investability does not have enough information to calculate a financial measurement, it just leaves the number blank.
Where is Investability?
Investability tries to cover most markets in the United States, but it is not everywhere… yet. The site only deals with properties listed with licensed real estate agents, so you won’t find your ‘yellow letter’ deal here.
You will find properties listed by Realtors who know how to work with investors. You will also find about a million properties listed on the site nationwide. So if you have that 1031 time period about to end, you might find a good place to put your money to avoid paying taxes.
Investability works with Realtors in markets across the United States. If no Realtors have signed up in a certain area, then Investability doesn’t cover it.
In addition to individual single-family homes in various markets, Investability offers portfolio deals on homes.
Select ‘Portfolios’ in the menu bar at the top of the page and select a city. Investability will then give you the numbers on a package of homes and help you decide if the investment makes sense.
Maybe you’re one of these investors who likes to ‘what if’ various scenarios before you buy. Then you can select the Investability calculator from the top menu bar.
The calculator has tabs for the mortgage on the property, your potential income and expenses. You can play with different numbers to your heart's content here.
Who’s Looking Out for # 1?
Investability can be great for finding investor-focused Realtors in your area, and seeing what properties are for sale that an investor may find appealing. The site is also a great way to quickly screen out properties that don’t meet your criteria.
What Investability is not so hot at, is making sure you completely understand what you are buying. No website can fully do that for you. Investors have to look at properties from many different angles to make sure they are buying a good deal.
Every investor is different in their evaluations. From complex financial modeling to ‘going with your gut,’ there is a huge range in what it means to do ‘due diligence.’ You have to find your comfort level and go with it.
Once you have found that comfort level, you can use tools like Investability to shorten the due diligence time and effort.
Anything to Add?
Will you use this site? Tell us why in the comments section below.
Perform Due Diligence – Real estate is not an ‘impulse’ purchase. Examine a property thoroughly before plopping down lots of money for it.
Don’t ‘Hate On’ Realtors – Yes they charge big commissions, but the good ones also have big networks. Maybe you don’t get as much profit as you would like, but something is better than nothing.
Trust but Verify – Investability provides a lot of information in one place. It always pays to verify the information. Talk to neighbors, local cops and others to find out what numbers can’t tell you.
JP Moses
is a real estate investor in Memphis, TN, with experience ranging from land lording to note buying, rehabbing, and wholesaling. However, wholesaling is the area that he enjoys most and where he bring the most experience and expertise to his students.