5 Ways to Build Your Buyers List
Real Estate is an industry that constantly changes, buyers and sellers come and go. Building a buyers list is a work in progress. I have seen wholesalers in real estate rely on a few buyers, that while they may be consistent for a period of time, when they stop buying for whatever reason the wholesaler finds themselves scrambling to re-build their buyers list.
Another reason it is important to continually build your buyers list is to ensure you have a buyer for different types of deals. You are not always going to find a simple single family home to flip. Sometimes there are special situations and circumstances.
Five Ways to Build Up a Powerful Buyers List
- Networking Meetings: One of the most crucial aspects of being successful in real estate is to get connected and stay connected within the real estate community. It starts with joining your local REIA; Real Estate Investors Association. There are many REIAs around the country but it is important to associate with credited Real Estate Investors Associations that are a chapter of the National REIA. The Broward Real Estate Investors Association is a perfect example as the only chapter of NREIA in Broward County. There are always smaller groups that might only meet as a luncheon group or similar venues. Remember, you only need to meet about one buyer per week to get a good start on building your buyer’s list.
- For Sale Sign: Whenever you are marketing a property, as long as the opportunity to put up a for sale sign presents itself, you need to take advantage of the situation. Buyer’s or buyer’s representatives are driving in the neighborhoods where they are buying. This gives you a chance to find the perfect buyer for your property! Even if you already have a buyer for the property, this can attract the buyer for the next property. Not to mention the fact that sometimes the neighbor has been wanting to buy the house so this will notify them that the property is available.
- Online Marketing Platforms: Craigslist, Facebook, and Zilloware a few places that buyers may be looking for inventory. Lets face it, Zillow is not the leading platform to sell your wholesale deals. But if you are looking for an end buyer on a fix n flip it may just bring in that highest bidder with a strong conventional loan! Craigslist still has some buyers buzzing around, but Facebook is becoming more and more popular for wholesalers to market their distressed properties. Even if the actual buyer/investor is not on Facebook, their agents are.
- Public Records: It might be a good idea to watch the online auctions in your county. If you profile properties that are coming up for foreclosure sale, you can check the county appraiser site to see who was recorded as the new owner. This goes for properties being sold on the MLS as well. If you are really smart, you would be using a database software program, like ReiFax or ReiPro, that scrubs the public record for you and will give you a list of cash buyers in a selected area.
- Other Wholesalers: You are not the only game in town, that is a guarantee. So why not use the competition to your advantage!? Most wholesalers, at least the most successful ones, will want to be on your list. Of course they are not going to buy the property themselves, but they can offer it to one of their buyers at possibly a higher price. That is a win-win for you both!