By now everyone knows that there are thousands of foreclosures out there, and everyone knows that this has created a huge opportunity for real estate investors. But how can you get in on it? Where are you supposed to find these great foreclosure opportunities?
Many Investors (not just beginners) rely on lists from nationally known companies, such as RealtyTrac, to tell them which homes are in foreclosure within given cities or zip code areas. The problem with that is that often the listings are old and the properties have either reached a different status, or the home owners are now long gone and hard to track down. Many lenders do not report the formal notice that starts the foreclosure process, known as Lis Pendens filings, to national listing services and so the record coming from national data centers can be incomplete.
Other services employ people to actually go to the courthouses in major markets to gather Lis Pendens and other filings, but the coverage may be scattered and dependent on the timing and accuracy of the person getting the lead information. Other lead generation services rely on homeowners who may be interested in selling, to fill out an online form asking for more information. That list may be open to many thousands of investors; you'll probably not have exclusive access to that information.
Many homes that are great Short Sale material may never make it to a foreclosure list. Owners may have given up and be out of the picture. Owners may have arranged to have the properties listed with a real estate agent, who may not even indicate that the property is Short Sale material when they market the property. Lenders may be so backed up that a good Short Sale prospect may not even be listed for several months.
Even when you are diligent about driving around neighborhoods, it's not always apparent which properties are in pre-foreclosure or which residents are hurting and about to fall behind in the mortgage. Watch for signs of neglect in the home-a yard that isn't maintained or a house that needs to be painted. These can be early indicators that a family is falling behind on mortgage payments, and you may be the first on the scene to help these homeowners out.
Sometimes no national databases nor even careful local scouting will sort out the golden Short Sale nuggets. You will either need to go to the court house regularly himself or herself to prospect the Lis Pendens filings. Better yet, hire someone to do it for you. There are plenty of college students and senior citizens who are looking for something to do to pick up some extra cash. You can pay them by the hour or by the size of the list they produce.
You can also develop a strong team of local scouts. Postal carriers and Fedex delivery people know who on their routes have received certified court documents and lender notices lately. They can also be on the lookout for vacant or neglected houses.
One of the best methods to get early notice of foreclosures is to ally yourself with real estate professionals. Real estate agents, mortgage brokers and insurance agents, for example, have large lists of homeowners who are clients and might give you some really excellent leads. This is great because not only do you get access to these people, but you get the added credibility of having been recommended by the Realtor, mortgage broker, or insurance agent.
Remember, a strong business is a diversified business. This is just one of the methods you should be using to bring leads into your business!
There are tons of ways to make money in real estate, but all of them are useless unless you have a steady flow of motivated sellers and qualified buyers coming into your business. When you have a solid pipeline of prospects, you pick and choose the best of the best and finally take control of your financial future. Find out the most effective ways to turn your real estate investing business roaring and turn it into an absolute cash engine. Sign up right now to get a FREE copy of Bob Massey's new book Cash Infusion Now: 11 Marketing Secrets to Massive Deal Flow in 2010. Go to http://www.REWealthCoach.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment