Real Estate Investor Articles

In previous articles, I discussed various ways to find buyers and build a buyers list when you are wholesaling houses to other investors. I told you why it was critical for you to start building a buyers list immediately and to keep building it every day.

In this article, I will discuss a very specific way to build a buyers list that is both easy and immensely profitable: replying to ads.

There are basically two different types of ads that you should reply to. The first one should be obvious: people advertising that they buy houses. The second one is a little more subtle: people advertising houses for rent.

While your exact approach will vary depending on your personality, here is what I would do when contacting these types of leads. There are two different approaches to use depending on whether you are responding to an ad to buy or to rent.

Before I start, I want to point out that there is a preferred order to how you contact people: face-to-face is better than telephone and telephone is better than direct mail and direct mail is better than e-mail. Now, there are exceptions to this (like when it is not practical or possible to call), but that's a topic for another article.

If the person advertising that they are looking for properties to buy had their telephone number listed, I would call them. In the call I would tell them that I am an investor who finds great deals for other investors (that's a wholesaler in case you missed the rewording). Ask them what types of houses they are looking for. Then carefully take down exactly the criteria they require for their deals. Listen closely because they will be telling you what type of deals you need to find to collect your wholesale fee. If they tell you that they want a 30% discount, minus the cost of any repairs, then realize that to make a profit, you will need to find a deal that is discounted enough to meet their criteria and include YOUR wholesale fee.

Then, I would ask them, "Can I send you the deals that I and other investors I work with find?" This is where, with their permission, you get them on your buyers list. If you are involved with our wholesaling program, you can add them using your buyers list link, which will both add them to your list AND gain you points redeemable for additional resources in your Wholesaler Control Panel.

Now, let's look at the second group: people advertising houses for rent. The approach is similar, but different. I would call them and tell them that I am also an investor in that city and that I just wanted to introduce myself. I would ask them if they are looking to sell any of their rental properties (sometimes you encounter a reluctant landlord that has been stuck with a house that they can't sell). I would also ask if they are looking to buy any additional rental properties. If they are, tell them that you also find great deals for other investors and proceed to ask them what their criteria is for buying houses. Again, listen carefully as they tell you the types of deals you need to find to get paid. Then with their permission, add them to your buyers list.

This really is how simple it is to build a buyers list by replying to ads that other investors are posting. Don't forget to post your own ads so that other investors can find you and add you to their buyers list.

Until my next post,

James