When you’re flipping houses (aka wholesaling), aside from finding a motivated seller with equity, the most important piece of the puzzle is the ability to find buyers. Here’s a strategy that will show you how to sell a fixer upper (that you currently have under contract) THIS weekend!
This will work if you’ve got a property under contract that you need to wholesale OR if you’ve got a fixer upper you’ve already closed on and you simply need to find a buyer fast. In either case, we’re going to assume that you’ve got to find a buyer, and you’ve got to find a buyer FAST!
One of the most successful ways to flip a house is to hold an “event”. This type of event is going to be a little different and is targeted towards investor buyers with cash. What we’re talking about here is a “flipping houses” bus tour, and here’s how to put it together:
1. Find a “Preferred” Partner to host the event.
You’re going to want to find a Realtor® or mortgage broker whose office is within 5 miles of your property and who has access to a small meeting space or conference room. Ideally, you will have both a Realtor® AND a mortgage broker as a part of this team. Better yet, you’ll have a Realtor® with properties that are ideal candidates for your buyer prospects. Since time is of the essence, you’ll need to move quickly, so try and secure the location and partners on a Monday (if you’re holding this event on a Saturday).
If you’re using this strategy solely to build a buyers list, timing is not as critical and you may consider an extra week to promote and/or get FREE publicity.
2. Select 5 properties for the event.
At least one of these is obviously your property and it must be clear to the Realtor® and mortgage broker. If you have multiple properties, obviously you will use those before you find “filler”. REOs and fixer upper properties are going to be your best choices since the goal is to find buyers to flip a house to. And this is why you’ll need the Realtor®, to get you in! You will need to draft up an agreement with the Realtor to make sure you get paid on any deal that closes.
3. Market your event.
Your event is going to be an educational seminar with a buyer field trip so that people can actually purchase deals. Make this very clear in your marketing. But remember, we’re using education-based marketing. Here are just 10 ways you can market your event:
- Craigslist.org (Write your headlines effectively for maximum exposure)
- Backpage.com
- GoogleBase.com
- Pay Per Click (Google Adwords)
- Local online classifieds
- Media websites (most television stations will have a free calendar of events on their website for community events)
- Flyers to local vendors in exchange for sponsorship
- Contact local newspaper or TV station to get some free press
- Local REIA group(s)
- Your existing database
4. Hold your event.
You may wind up with 2 people or you may wind up with 20 people at your event. Obviously the more, the better! The event will probably take a total of 4 to 5 hours including the property tour. In the “training” portion of the event, you’ll want to have each person meet with the mortgage broker to know what they are really able to get unless they are cash buyers, of course. You’ll also want to go over the current market, why now is the time to buy, and the best types of deals to maximize their investment. When you’re flipping houses, an educated buyer is the best type of buyer! They often move faster and close quickly.
5. Take the tour of homes.
This is where you help them apply what they just learned. You’ll want to have flyers, financials, financing scenarios, rehab costs, etc. available for each property. Get them to put a number on each deal at which they’d be willing to write an offer. Do this as you leave each property.
If you have enough people register for the event, you may consider renting a small bus or a minivan, but in most cases, a caravan will serve the purpose. The only benefit of a bus or minivan is that you control the situation and people can’t leave in the middle.
6. Recap.
Once you’ve visited all 5 properties, return back to the location to go over any questions and write up contracts. You, your Realtor® and your mortgage broker can work together to make sure that any offers people want to place are submitted and that they can actually close if the offer gets accepted. This is CRITICAL when you’re flipping houses
7. Follow up.
Again, the follow up is crucial. You will want to touch base with each attendee the following day to get any additional offers, write up contracts, or add to your buyers’ list for the future. Remember, your ultimate goal is to sell this particular house, but if you find that people are ready, will and able to buy another type of property, go out and find what they’re looking for. Flipping houses is simple if you just realize it’s a matter of finding the properties the buyers want to buy!
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