In recent years, real estate has been booming. The market has cooled a little due to COVID-19, but it’s still difficult to find a good deal. Everyone who wants to buy a house wants to find something affordable. Promising homes don’t stay on the market for long. One key to finding a great home at a great price is having the best leads and following up on them.
These days, there are plenty of ways to find leads. The first, of course, is to go through real estate agents. This is unlikely to be a way to find a great investment property at a good price, although sometimes they can turn up gems. A better source is the website HUDHomeStore.com. This is a place where homes that have been repossessed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development are sold. These are typically not in the greatest neighborhoods. Nothing listed here is likely to offer a great view or amenities. These can, however, be great starter homes or investments that become rentals.
Another great place to find leads is on Zillow. Zillow has changed the way real estate works in communities across the country. It makes it extremely simple for buyers to see what’s out there. It also includes listings by owner that never make it to the MLS list. It’s also possible to target homeowners who want to bypass realtors by engaging in direct marketing. This can mean launching a website where people provide their information willingly. Another strategy is the tried-and-true direct mail method. Now, most people who receive a postcard won’t respond. But if one of every 100 or 200 does, that can be a great way to start acquiring rental properties.
Finally, there’s always the county Sheriff. That’s right, never underestimate what there might be on offer at an auction. Often, these are literally held on the steps of a courthouse. It’s worth going once just to see the process in action. There are two downsides here. The first is a big one: no one sees the interior before bidding. The other is that it’s not an intuitive process, at least at first. But great deals can be found here, for amounts as low as $15,000 in some cases.