Have you ever had a property that started out as a hot deal but then just wouldn’t sell? Maybe you kept taking calls about that deal, but none of those callers was the right buyer. At some point that great deal isn’t so great.
Chris Chico here, and I know from experience how frustrating that situation can be. In my 5-step series about virtual wholesaling, you will learn how to keep hot deals hot and find just the right sellers and buyers.
Step 1 Recap
In Step 1 I revealed how to find the most motivated sellers. And not just motivated sellers, but sellers who are a good match for you—sellers who are ready to deal because they aren’t being hotly pursued by other investors.
Who are these sellers, you ask? The tired landlords. Want to know more about why they are the best match for you? Check out Step 1 here.
Moving on from Step 1, we’ve got a market of absentee owners and landlords, and one of them is ready to sell. Now we need to find a buyer. Which means it’s time for Step 2.
You can find these buyers using a few different techniques, but beware: some work great, others have lackluster results and some are just a big fat waste of time.
Technique 1: Craigslist
I personally don't like posting on Craigslist. Let’s say you found a hot deal through a landlord you contacted. You post it on Craigslist, and you start getting calls and emails about the property. Sounds great, right?
The huge problem is that you don’t know anything about these people who are calling you. You don't know who the real buyers are and who the tire kickers are.
Maybe the person on the other end of the phone was just eating their morning donut and saw your ad. It sounded interesting, so they called, but they really have no way of buying this property from you.
Don't waste time with those people.
Technique 2: Newspaper Ads
Some people put out newspaper ads to advertise a hot deal. Not a bad idea. You pay for the ad and you get a few calls from people who are interested in your great deal.
But again, the huge problem is that most of the people who are calling from these ads are completely unqualified to buy a property. I tell you this from experience. I spent money on classified ads. Then I looked at what I spent versus what I made from those ads, and it didn’t make sense, so I don’t do that anymore.
The bottom line is that you need to avoid wannabe buyers and tire kickers. You want to work with the real deal—the guys and gals who are out there actually buying deals. If you present them with a good deal, they are guaranteed to snap it up.
Who Are the Real Buyers?
I use some specific criteria to find the best buyers out there...
My buyers need to have proof that they have purchased an investment property in the past 3-6 months. This shows me that they bought a property (one where they don’t live) with hard-earned money.
What better buyer for you to go after than somebody who bought an investment property last month? If that buyer wants to buy another property this month, that's your perfect buyer.
So target those buyers who bought single-family houses, duplexes, triplexes or quads. Those are the type of leads we’re going out after anyway, so why would you want to sell them anything else?
Coming Up…
In my next lesson with Step 3, I’ll show you how to find those perfect buyers who are already buying properties in the neighborhood where you are doing deals.
This will help you stay laser focused and know that the buyers you’re reaching out to are also laser focused. So stay tuned for Step 3.
Whatcha Think?
What advertising methods have worked for you to find the real buyers? Share below!
1. Keep track of how your buyers found out about a property so you know which advertising methods are actually making you money.
2. Spend money on advertising—but only when it makes sense.
3. End the call if a wannabe buyer seems like a tire kicker—be polite but don’t waste time on conversations that are clearly not going to end in a deal.
Cris Chico
is a successful real estate investor in Florida who specializes in wholesaling in local and long distance markets. Over the last two years he successfully flipped 116 properties and generated over $1,452,108 in profits. He rarely personally inspects any of the properties that he flips or meets with any buyers or sellers. In fact, most of the markets that he operates are thousands of miles away.