A thriving real estate investor or retailer solves a lot of other people’s
problems; that’s how you become successful. The more knowledge, ability, experience, contacts, and resources you have, the more solutions you can begin to offer people in solving their problems. In addition to this, you will be ahead of the pack if you can get people calling or coming to you with their specific problem first. That means you have to advertise the fact that you are in a position to help while being fair, trustworthy, and accurate in making quick decisions before the competition tries to persuade these people first.
For the above reason alone — competition — you will need to understand marketing. That means deciding on what you are going to specialize in, developing a method to define your target audience, and then attracting them with a well-written message using the different types of media to get the word out. That last paragraph brings up a good point: What exactly do you want to specialize in? Following are some categories from which to choose:
Condos, vacation property
Single-family homes
Apartments for one to four families (residential duplex, triplex, fourplex)
Commercial— hotels/motels, strip malls, office complexes, mobile home parks, storage units, parking lots, garages, restaurants, stores, apartments for five or more families, and so forth
Industrial—factories, refineries, manufacturing plants, and so forth
Farms—commercial, industrial, or agricultural, depending on zoning
Raw land—lots, vacation, recreational, sub-dividable residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and special purpose
Special purpose—churches, schools, hospitals, power plants, theaters, sports arenas, golf courses, marinas, and so forthHere are some examples of how you might go about finding some good deals: Look at bulletin boards, local papers and small independent publications. This goes for every publication you get. Make sure you get one of the first copies off the press. Go to the facility that houses the presses and get your copy before the ink has a chance to dry. Let no one beat you to the punch.
Better yet, advertise yourself and get people who are thinking about selling to call you before they actually tell the world through an ad.
Look at the legal section of the newspapers. Contact heirs and attorneys, and sales in the garage or estate sale sections. Also, 20 percent of people who have garage sales are planning on moving soon. Ask about their house or their neighbor’s homes. Always keep your antenna up! Your odds of success increase when you choose large population centers and remain in the market constantly on the lookout for your type of deal.
Look for vacant houses that are run down, fire damaged, or abandoned, with city notices evident. Talk to the neighbors of these homes. They usually know who owns it and what is going on. They have an interest in seeing it restored to beauty. It sure is a shame you can’t look in the mailbox to see who is receiving mail at the property in question—wouldn’t that be easy? Walk up to a property and look in a window to confirm that it is indeed vacant—but don’t endanger yourself by getting bit or shot! Use common sense. Contact out-of-state owners through property records or by letter and/or phone. Leave your cards on the door.
OREO stands for Other Real Estate Owned. Make friends with your local lenders and let them know you are the one to call when they have a foreclosure looming or in progress. Hint: If you prequalify with lenders beforehand, they may call you sooner.
Watch the local paper forforeclosure auctions, tax sales, and HUD and VA listed properties. Note: Auctions held in bad weather where the property absolutely must be sold are your best chance to limit competition and get property at rock-bottom prices. Because there is no low limit on what can be accepted (no reserve) you may win big.