In all of your niches, almost every deal that is being done these days is “off-market.”  This is because most buyers think they are getting a better value since the seller is not getting a bunch of competing offers.

The reality is that if a property is listed and being marketed, it is typically gone in a week or two or it lingers because it’s either overpriced, in a bad area, or both.

With that in mind, one of the easiest ways to get listings is to find sellers who are MOTIVATED to sell.  Most of the “warm” calls you will make to the market lists you are developing are not motivated sellers.  Your goal is to establish your expertise as the go-to person in your market and to build a relationship with them so that they can call you when they are ready to sell. 

However, there are small groups of properties in every market that, for a variety of reasons, are distressed.  Distressed properties cause their owners pain and therefore they are more motivated to sell them. 

Finding distressed property owners is primarily knowing the types of problems landlords have:

• Evictions – You can find these by searching court records for evictions and calling the landlord.  If the landlord has eviction problems and they have owned the property for more than a couple of years, it means they are not managing correctly and might be willing to sell.  A landlord who just purchased a property and is doing evictions is probably implementing a business plan to upgrade the property.  But, if they have owned it for more than a couple of years, they are typically in trouble and are worth a phone call to find out how you can help – i.e. sell the property.

• For Rent – Same thing.  Most successful landlords have WAY more rental applications than units to rent, especially in good markets. If someone is advertising “For Rent”, they are probably mom and pop operators who don’t know what they are doing.  Relieve their pain by calling them and helping them sell their property.

• Tax Liens – Property owners who have not paid their property taxes are great targets because it typically means they are short of cash. 

• Properties that Appear to be in Disrepair – You will be doing a LOT of driving as an agent/broker. Carry a pad with you. Write down the address of any property in your niche in your market that appears to be in disrepair. This is often a sign that the owner has simply given up on managing the property.  Same thing if junk or garbage is laying around.  Any sign of poor management is worth finding the property owner and giving them a call.  They have pain that needs to be relieved and you have the solution.

Keep this in mind when you are developing your list – “mom and pop” sellers will be your bread and butter sellers.  They will always have more reasons to sell than private equity firms.  And, they don’t possess the economies of scale that allow them to reduce their expenses – management, interest, insurance, etc that larger landlords and private equity firms do.