How to Find Real Estate Deals Without Using An Agent!
How to Find Real Estate Deals
by Kelli Nielson
There are so many ways to find real estate deals, but you have to look for them. I get emails all the time from people who don’t know where to find deals. For their sake and yours, I have done some research on this and will now give you some creative ways to find real estate deals.
FSBO
Have you ever gone for a leisurely drive in a neighborhood near your home and seen a For Sale by Owner sign? This is one of the best ways to find deals. Leave a notebook and pen in your car. When you are out driving, write down information on these. You can find some great deals that are FSBO.
Instead of taking the same route to and from work every day, go different ways – through residential areas. Keep your notebook and pen handy and write down information on any that you see. When you get home, call each one that you wrote down. Screen the deals to make sure you get the best ones.
The Sunday Paper
Check out the real estate section in your local newspaper. Go through each ad and pick the ones that fit what you are doing. You can usually skip any ads that were put in by a real estate agent or agency. They are trying to get top dollar for their properties and you are not going to pay that. The key words you should look for are “must sell,” “moving,” “divorce,” “relocating,” “FSBO,” “assumable loan,” and the like.
When you find these, make a list and call each one. You need to be proactive in order to be successful.
For Rent
Almost all of the properties that you see “for rent,” are really for rent or sale. The renting time is the most frustrating time for an owner and many are more willing to sell their properties at this time. Do what you do when you see For Sale by Owner signs. Make a list and call each one. Screen the owners and negotiate a deal.
Flyers
Do you want people to come to you? Make flyers. A flyer will direct people in many different circumstances to you. Here is an example of a successful flyer:
I BUY HOUSES FOR CASH
PHONE 0800 CASH4HOUSES
Any Area - Any Condition - Any Size
Transfered
Behind on Payments
Need To Move
Foreclosure
Bankruptcy
Moving Out Of State
Need Money Now
Private Investor
I am Not A real Estate Agent 
Keep This Flyer For You and Your
Friends Future Use
People will call you if they need to sell because you just told them that you’d buy their houses.
Internet
There are a lot of websites where you can find properties. People list their real estate for sale on sites such as, craigslist.com, fsbo.com, loopnet.com, eBay, your local newspaper’s website (if it has one) fanniemae.com, and many more. One gem that I just found is owners.com. For a monthly fee, you can get a list of foreclosures, preforeclosures, tax liens, FSBO, and bankruptcies.
Direct Mail
By sending out letters to people in certain neighborhoods, you can find what is available in those areas. You can write a letter, postcard, or anything else creative that you can think of.
One partnership (sisters) wrote a letter on notebook paper that simply said, “My sister and I are looking for a home to buy in your neighborhood. If you know of anything, please give us a call at 555-555-5555.” Then they signed it and sent it in an invitation envelope (so it looked different than the other direct mail pieces that the people would be receiving). Everything was handwritten, which people open more often than if it’s typed.
I got another idea from a realtor that I talked to. She suggested sending a postcard with your picture on it. Written by the picture is, “Hi, my name is [name]. I am looking for a home in your neighborhood. If and when you know of anything available, please contact me at [information].”
The possibilities are endless and you can do whatever you want with your direct mail piece. Do research to find the most effective direct mail strategies – and use them.
Signs
Strategically placing signs can really get your information out. Make your own inexpensive signs though, because signs tend to get stolen or desecrated more often than other things.
To make your signs, get the plastic that looks like cardboard. It’s inexpensive. Cut them into the size you want your signs. Make 10. Write on them with black marker:
I want to buy a house in this subdivision
[Name]
[Phone number]
Place one at the entrance of the subdivision of your choice. Place the next one 10 feet behind the first, then the next one 10 feet behind that, and keep going until you’ve placed all of them.
Do this on Saturday and Sunday, when businesses are closed and people are home. That way, if you accidentally put it on a business property, they won’t be mad because they’re not open anyway.
If you choose, you can pay a couple of neighbor kids, grandkids, or your own kids to go place the signs.
Note: If you allow your answering machine to screen calls, you are wasting 90 percent of your potential business. Answer the phone personally. This is very important in your success.
Inside Information
One of the best ways to find good deals is through people who have inside information. Talk to your friends and family about their friends and neighbors who might be moving or in a tough spot financially.
Your postman has knowledge about peoples’ situations. He has to sort through the mail of everyone in the neighborhood. He gets to see who gets letters from whom. He knows what’s going on. Become friends with him. We used to leave our postman candy bars and thank you notes in the mailbox.
Other people who often have information about available houses are policemen, utility workers, nursing home workers, moving companies, and the like.
There are so many ways to find deals in real estate. If you want to invest in real estate, practice each of these ways that I wrote about. Try to find other ways too. When people contact you, write down their information and keep it. You never know when you might find a property that they want to buy or a buyer for a property that they will sell you. 