35 Tips for Finding Good Real Estate Bargains

The biggest challenge people struggle with in a seller's market is finding good real estate bargains.

Here's a quick list of my 35 top ways to flush out motivated sellers:

1.  Expired MLS listings
2. Craigslist (Landlords, not FSBOs)
3. Mailers to people who live out of state
4. Mailers to people with VA loans (they tend to move a lot)
5. Mailers to people who just inherited property (try my friends at www.usleadlist.com)
6. Pull lists of landlords from local court records that represent themselves "pro se"
7. Blanket a desirable neighborhood with flyers or door hangers 
8. Get on the email list of a dozen wholesalers in your market
9. Schmooze with real estate agents who list bank-owned properties in your market on LinkedIn.com
10. Hudhomestore.com (HUD Homes nationwide)
11. Contact divorce lawyers
12. Contact probate lawyers (they often get paid when the assets of the estate sell).
13. Affiliated businesses that come across motivated sellers (mortgage brokers, process services, house painters, carpet cleaners, handymen, etc)
14. Join local business networking groups who can refer you business (Rotary club, etc) 
15. Join a local real estate investor association (REIA)
16. Advertise with other investors on a billboard, bench or bus ad (share the leads)
17. Pass out 500 business cards a month (make sure you card says what you do and that you pay referral fees)
18. Talk with the local mailman about vacant homes on his/her route
19. Drive areas looking for houses with deferred maintenance; track down the owners online
20. Get a list of properties with code enforcement violations from your local city office
21. Get a list of foreclosure properties in your area and go door knocking (foreclosures.com)
22. Do random door knocking in a desirable neighborhood; ask the residents if they know of anyone looking to sell a house
23. Go to estate sales - inquire about the property
24. Mail to people who are behind on their mortgage, but not yet in foreclosure (the "30/60/90" day list)
25. Attend foreclosure and property tax sale auctions
26. FNMA and Freddie Mac foreclosures (Homepath.com and Homesteps.com)
27. Attend open houses and speak with real estate agents who may have leads on upcoming sales (ie, "pocket listings")
28. Network with property inspectors and engineers who may have. inspected a property that fell out of contract on inspection.
29. Sign up for online lead services (Google them - there are dozens)
30. Use "bandit" signs placed in strategic areas (be aware of local code enforcement rules on the use of these signs)
31. Put a magnetic "We Buy Houses" sign on your vehicle
32. Run ads on Google and Facebook
33. Create a website with strategic SEO for keywords of local cities (note: major cities are hard to get high on Google search results; focus on SEO for surrounding suburbs by name)
34. Pay bird dogs for finding you leads (TIP: pay based on information provided, not contingent on you buying the property, otherwise they won't work for you for very long!)
35. Network with property managers; they are often the first to know if a client is looking to sell before it gets listed with a real estate agent.

There you have it - 35 Ways to Find Bargain Properties, so get ready to hustle!