Still looking for properties? Not me. I’ve given up “looking for houses.” Yes, I’ve just flat out kicked the habit and no longer have any interest whatsoever in that sort of thing. There’s a better way to get those bargain properties into my hands, and it doesn’t involve looking for the darn houses.
Let me ask you this. Are you still out pounding the pavement and trying to find a specific kind of house or type of property to buy? Or, are you still so focused on three-bedroom, two-bath houses in the better areas of town that you won’t even consider looking at anything else? If so, it may be time to rethink your approach too.
Quit looking for properties and you’ll find bargain deals
I used to buy houses like that, but I stopped looking for specific types of property years ago after learning about a much easier way to get to the bargains I was looking for. No, it’s not some big secret and it’s not a special technique.
The big difference between how I find bargain properties now and how I used to approach this business is I no longer look for houses. Instead, I only look for motivated sellers.
Forget about targeting those three bedroom, two bath houses or any other specific type of house for that matter. Instead, consider going with my game plan, “whatever makes money.” How do you to that? You stop looking for houses and start looking for motivated sellers!
If you’re out there looking for houses, you’ve got some real problems to deal with, and the biggest problem I always ran into was if I ended up successfully finding that “perfect house,” I pretty much had to pay whatever they were asking to get it.
So, whenever I’d find that “target” property, the one I really really wanted, paying retail seemed “okay.” I didn’t think twice about doing so because it was a “perfect fit.”
Dumb.Today, I’d much rather just make the money going in, and you do that by putting together bargain deals with sellers who are eager to deal. You know the type. They’re the ones that must sell today. So what if it’s a two-bedroom house or a townhouse or a condo or whatever else that wouldn’t normally fit my investment parameters?
Now, I make money on any and all of those kinds of properties because I’m buying from sellers who absolutely must sell, and whenever that happens it happens at my price, a price that’s generally way below retail.
Refocus your objectives and strategies
Truthfully, it’s nothing more than refocusing your objectives and making a subtle shift in your marketing plan. It’s that easy.
But there’s a couple drawbacks you should be aware of. Buying houses this way means you end up looking at a bunch of stuff you never would have considered before and, frankly, some of it can be pretty ugly. When locating motivated sellers is how you find your bargain properties, you pretty much have to take whatever it is they’ve got.
Normally that means you need to know about all kinds of property. My problem? I’ve got no interest in learning about all kinds of property. It turns out the solution is simple. I just peddle whatever I end up with that doesn’t suit my needs to people who do know what to do with a townhouse (I wouldn’t have a clue).
To make that work I’ve got to buy it on the cheap, and there’s got to be some room there for my buyer to make a few bucks as well. But, since I’m buying only from sellers who are eager to get rid of their properties, there’s often enough room for all of us to make a few bucks.
So kick that “let’s go take a look at a house” habit. I’m glad I did, and I’d be willing to bet you will be glad too. Consider shifting your focus from “property” and instead think “motivated seller.” Figure out who those folks might be, get you’re proposal into their hands and, you can bet, good things will happen.