5 Ways To Find New Deals Without Spending A Dime
By JD Esajian on June 7, 2019
One of the biggest myths in real estate is that you need money to secure deals. Sure, having extra capital can come in handy, but is far from a necessity. Some of the best deals you will ever close will come from the most unexpected sources. Many of these sources don’t require you to break the bank. If you know how to work your existing contact base and are willing to put yourself out there, you can find deals without spending as much as a dollar. The more
deals in your pipeline, the more that will get to the closing table. Here are five ways to find new deals without spending a dime.
- Existing Network/Contacts: Regardless of how long you have been in real estate or what business you may have come from you probably have more contacts than you think. Every marketing campaign should start with an evaluation of your existing network and current contacts. These people will be your friends, family members, co-workers, people you went to school with and basically anybody on your email contact list. You can send them a quick email or even a message on social media letting them know you are in the real estate business. Your message doesn’t need to get too detailed, even just a few lines can do the trick. Ask them if they would like to meet to discuss working together or to call if they know anyone who may be interested in selling. If you send a message to 50 contacts, there is a good chance that five will want to meet with you. Out of these five you may get one potential deal from it. Not too bad for just a few minutes of work.
- Social Media Groups: Social media is not just a way to check up on your former classmates or see what your old crew is up to. It can also be a very powerful tool for advertising and networking. Take Facebook for example. On Facebook alone, you can probably find at least a half dozen local real estate investment clubs or groups. These are groups started by individuals that want to discuss real estate and swap ideas and deals. The people in these groups will be fellow investors, wholesalers, attorneys, mortgage brokers and more. There will always be potential deals floated around and opportunities to generate revenue. It is not a stretch to say that with your Facebook real estate groups alone, you should be able to find a deal a month. You can also use Facebook, and social media in the traditional way. Start a dedicated business page and spend thirty minutes a day posting something timely, or interesting, about the business. With the help of your various social media sites you can meet more people in less time than ever before. If you are not using social media, specifically Facebook groups, to find deals you missing out on a golden opportunity.
- REI Meetings: As powerful as social media groups are, nothing replaces real world interaction. Regardless of where you may be reading this there is a good chance you can find a real estate investing group in your area. Most groups meet monthly, with some quarterly. These meetings are sponsored and have dedicated topics and speakers. What makes these meetings so powerful is not only the education, but the ability to network with local people. This is the place where you can meet your attorneys, real estate agents, wholesalers and fellow investors on a local level. In the hour or so before the actual meeting starts there is usually an opportunity to meet and interact with other people. An exchange of a business card can lead to a lunch which can lead to a profitable connection. Going to meetings may not be something that you are fond of, but it can help produce a deal.
- Divorce Attorney: In real estate there are many ways to find a deal. You should always look backwards and think of how deals are formed. In most cases, deals come from motivated sellers. Every real estate investor should have a divorce attorney contact. A divorce is always a difficult time for everyone involved. One of the hardest aspects of a divorce is divvying up the assets. If there is not an amicable agreement it is possible that the judge orders the property sold and the profits divided equally. In many cases the homeowners don’t want to go through the process of listing the home and waiting for the deal to close. They would be open to taking a little less, just to get the property sold. A divorce attorney can recommend an investor to the homeowners who can buy the property cash, with no contingencies. This solves a problem for the homeowners, gets the attorney closer to closure on the divorce and gets you the property.
- Mortgage Broker:The same concept should be applied to your mortgage broker contact. Mortgage brokers get several loan applications every week. Even with some lender guidelines changing, they simply cannot close every application they receive. If there is a situation where they are behind on their loan and are facing foreclosure, a cash sale may be best for everyone involved. You can find a mortgage broker in almost every local meeting or club you attend or simply from a quick search on social media. With the right mortgage broker connection, you can walk into at least a few opportunities a year.
The more you are willing to put yourself out there and meet people you normally wouldn’t, the more deals that will come your way. You don’t need to spend thousands on marketing and lead generation to find new deals.