How To Find a Real Estate Mentor

Are you wondering how to find a real estate mentor?

If you’re like most real estate investors, you’ve done everything you’re supposed to do, such as:

  • Learned the market
  • Gained an understanding of how to measure financial metrics
  • Started filling your deal pipeline

At this point, you wish you had someone with experience to bounce your ideas off. You tell yourself that having a mentor would give that extra piece of the success puzzle. 

In this article, we’ll show you how to find a real estate mentor. 

You’ll learn essential aspects of the process, such as types of mentorship, how to set expectations, the pros and cons of real estate mentorship, and where to find your mentor.

What Is a Real Estate Mentor?

You’ll typically find that a real estate mentor is older than you. This scenario doesn’t always play out, depending on your age when starting your real investing journey. However, a good mentor needs years of experience to help you through a variety of situations. 

Your mentor provides the following:

  • Guidance 
  • Feedback
  • Advice

As you learn how to find a real estate mentor, make sure you look for someone years ahead of you so you can benefit from the relationship through their experience.

Types of Mentorship

When finding a real estate mentor, you should know that different types of mentorship exist. Think through what you need based on your preferred learning style, educational requirements, and availability. Here are three types of real estate mentorship to consider:

Apprenticeships represent an excellent way to get started with investing. It’s a way to go along with your mentor so they can help you with hands-on advice. You might work at their real estate office to learn or go with them while they close deals. An internship like this lets you get your feet wet without jumping into your own sales immediately. 

1:1 coaching offers an excellent method for receiving mentorship. You might hop on regular zoom or phone calls to discuss upcoming deals you’re considering. Your mentor guides you with personalized advice about specific transactions. Regular coaching calls help you remain consistent. 

A third way to receive real estate mentoring enters the picture as group masterminds. These can work on zoom or even in person. A group of like-minded investors gets together, and they learn from the mentor. If you can’t find a local mentor, look at this option because the location doesn’t matter if you join a quality zoom group mastermind coaching program.

Go Into a Real Estate Mentorship with Reasonable Expectations

When you want to know how to find a real estate mentor, you should know that real estate mentors don’t enjoy babysitting their mentees. 

Mentorship starts a long-term business relationship. It takes time for a mentor to pass all their earned wisdom to you. They’ll provide guidance, but they won’t teach you everything. Your willingness to get your hands dirty in the real world must fill those gaps. 

These ideas should help you enter a mentoring relationship with the correct expectations. 

Find a mentor with similar core values. Life and business values often intersect when investing in real estate. You should have similar views about how to treat people and how to work deals fairly. 

You’ll benefit more from advice and guidance if your investment style and strategy match your mentor’s methods. 

A good mentor is a busy person. They’re working on their own deals. They have places to get to. Give your mentor a great reason to take you under their wing. Take action on their advice. Nothing frustrates a real estate mentor more than a mentee scared to enter the game. 

Look for ways to benefit your mentor as well. Can you help them with their deals? Make sure the relationship becomes a win/win situation.

Myths About Mentoring in Real Estate

Some people sit around thinking they’ll somehow get discovered by a mentor who walks up and offers the mentorship. That doesn’t happen in the real world. Go out and proactively search for a good mentor. 

It’s a myth that you ask someone to mentor you, and they instantly say yes. It’s probably happened a time or two. However, it’s more likely that you’ll first build a relationship with an investor who has experience. Then, that relationship turns into a mentor/mentee bond naturally over time. 

Mentorship in real estate isn’t a one-way street. While some mentees think it is, the best mentorships provide value to both parties involved. 

The biggest myth exists in the minds of some mentees who expect their mentors to provide direct “yes” or “no” answers about each deal. This won’t happen often. Sometimes a mentor will guide you into a situation, let you make a small mistake, and then use that as a lesson. 

Why Do You Want a Mentor?

It goes back to expectations. Ask yourself why you want a real estate mentor? If you expect a mentor to spoon-feed you information and deals, you need to adjust your thinking before engaging any potential mentor. 

It’s like Daniel and Mr. Myagi in The Karate Kid. Daniel wanted to learn to fight immediately. Mr. Myagi taught him the philosophy of karate first so that Daniel could become better in the long run. 

Use these questions to understand your personal investing philosophy and to decide if you’re ready for mentorship. 

  • Why are you investing in real estate?
  • How much prior success should your mentor possess?
  • Do you respect your mentor?
  • What’s your level of risk management? 

You can’t find the correct mentor for you if you’re wishy-washy about why you’re investing in the first place. What are your goals? Do you want to invest for long-term cash flow, or would you instead flip homes for immediate gains? Are you looking for a wholesale real estate mentor? 

The answers to those questions will dictate which mentor fits you best. 

Make sure you have faith in your mentor’s prior success. The definition of success varies from person to person. However, make sure that you have 100% confidence in your real estate mentor’s ability to take you where you want to go. 

It’s difficult to respect another investor entirely when you doubt their capabilities. You’ll end up second-guessing all their guidance and advice. 

Your mentor must respect you as well. If a real estate mentor thinks they are wasting their time with you, you aren’t going to receive value from the relationship. Make sure that mutual respect exists before committing to mentorship. 

Finding a mentor in real estate requires that you both come to the table with similar risk profiles. 

Every investment brings risk into the picture. Your success depends on minimizing risk while maximizing profits. There’s a risk involved with renting properties. What if you can’t fill a vacancy? Risk occurs with a flipping business. What if you uncover unexpected problems after closing?

Mutual respect can’t exist when your mentor values the buy and hold strategy, and you’re looking for a similar rush to winning in Vegas. 

Advantages and Disadvantages To Having a Mentor

As you learn more about how to find a real estate mentor, understand that pros and cons exist with a mentor/mentee relationship. 

Real estate mentors bring plenty of positives into your life as they shorten your learning curve, help you find great deals, and get you into profitable situations. 

Mentors don’t always offer similar benefits compared to others. Some mentors are expensive to hire. 

Let’s look at the pros and cons of working with a mentor so that you can be confident in your decision based on your requirements. 

Pros of Using a Real Estate Mentor

  • They provide structure to avoid mistakes while taking proper action. 
  • You get personalized 1:1 advice to guide you into achieving your cash flow goals.
  • A mentor can shorten your timeframe when learning investment details.

Cons of Using a Real Estate Mentor

  • Not every mentor is worth your time. Some teach more effectively than others. 
  • Some mentors may talk a big game without delivering results to your business. 
  • Some real investors charge tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

What Should You Look For in a Real Estate Mentor?

Now that you know the pros and cons of working with a real estate mentor let’s equip you with ideas to help you understand how to identify quality mentors. 

  • Look for a mentor who possesses good communication skills, shows a passion for teaching passionate students, and brings a structured education system to the table. 
  • A mentor should have an expert understanding of real estate tax law. Can your mentor teach you how to defer capital gains, for instance, via a 1031 exchange? Do they know how to use deductions to reduce your rental property’s taxable income?
  • Find a real estate mentor who thoroughly understands your financial goals and investment objectives. With those goals in mind, ask them if they’re confident about advising you on the best way to look at adding value, protecting cash flow, and obtaining the proper financing. 
  • A great mentor offers strong people skills. They should exhibit high ethical standards and good listening skills. The best mentors are honest, positive, and patient. 
  • Make sure your real estate mentor will hold you accountable for your goals. You don’t want to work with someone who lets you slide back into bad habits or who doesn’t care when you let limiting beliefs stop you from progressing with investing. 
  • Your mentor should have insights and knowledge about tenant profiles, markets, and asset classes to most effectively guide you into the best investment opportunities.  
  • Look for a mentor familiar with analyzing rental properties. Do they know how to use metrics like net cash flow, IRR, cap rate, yield, and cash-on-cash?

Where To Find a Real Estate Mentor

You don’t necessarily need to pay for real estate mentorship. You might find a mentor by asking a real estate network colleague, a friend, a real estate agent, or a real estate broker to mentor you. 

Remember that all successful real estate mentors keep themselves busy. Some of them might not have the skills, desire, or time to mentor others. They might not feel like you’re ready for mentorship and will say no to you. 

One of the best ways to find a real estate mentor is to ask yourself how you can help their business before asking them to help you. 

If you don’t know anyone personally, then you can search for professional mentors. Check your local real estate investors association to see if they’ve set up a mentoring program. 

Search online for “Chicago rehabbing mentorship” or “Albany wholesaling mentor.” Other options include asking for referrals on BiggerPockets or LinkedIn. 

Tips For Getting the Most Out of Real Estate Mentorship

A lack of commitment hurts many mentees. Don’t go into a mentoring relationship unless you’re 100% committed to the process. It’s incredible how many people pay a lot of money for mentorship and then fail to put the advice into action. 

Use the resources provided by your mentor, whether that’s via:

  • 1:1 coaching
  • Written training
  • Video resources
  • Group coaching

Commit to learning the material to the best of your ability. Work to make sure it sinks into your brain effectively. 

After you learn new skills from your real estate mentor, go out and take the proper action. Following through on the activities brought forth by a mentor on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis will eventually get you where you want to go. If you’re unclear about your next steps, then speak up and ask your mentor for more clarity. 

Look at this experience like you’re going to college. Take advantage of all the information, advice, and guidance and give yourself the best chances for success. 

Conclusion 

Now you know how to find a mentor for real estate. Knowing how to do something and doing it in the real world is what separates successful investors from dreamers. 

Your next step is to determine why you’re investing in real estate. Get clarity there, and then start looking for the mentor who fits you best.

The Best Real Estate Agent Tools

A modern real estate agent needs cutting-edge tools to get ahead in this super-competitive market. Technology continues to develop and evolve more quickly than ever, and the best tools for real estate agents incorporate these online marketing tools into every successful listing.

Get Your own (Digital) Real Estate

To connect with prospective buyers, real estate agents will need to have a professional presence online. Having a professional website or portfolio will help agents build trusting relationships with clients and is one of the most essential tools for real estate agents.

If a real estate agent doesn’t yet have a piece of digital real estate, a site like Squarespace is a must-have tool for real estate agents to establish a website, with plans starting at $12 a month.  Consider uploading content like your current listings, an updated and detailed personal biography, and a blog with relevant information for buyers.

Cross-Post to all your Social Channels

A successful real estate agent is undoubtedly juggling multiple social media channels to connect with the right buyers.  To maximize your efforts as a modern real estate agent, it is essential to know what messages work best on which platform and when to schedule posts.

To best manage all of these needs of social media tools for real estate agents, consider downloading a free tool like Hootsuite.  Hootsuite allows users to schedule social media marketing messages well in advance and across all platforms in one convenient interface.

Have A Reliable Source of Leads

For any real estate agent to be successful, they will require a reliable source of motivated leads. Time is money, and focusing on the leads that are most likely to convert can mean the difference between success and failure.

Unless you’re the kind of agent who prefers doing everything by hand, including finding leads, you’ll want to sign up for a service which can provide a steady stream of motivated home sellers. Here at Agent’s Corner, that’s exactly what we focus on – delivering high quality motivated home seller leads. Using this kind of tool can help you focus on what you do best, while not worrying about running out of leads to work.

Reliably Store and Share your Files

For any listing, a real estate agent will be juggling photography, documents, contracts and other large digital files.  Ensuring these files are secure and conveniently accessible every time you need them is crucial, both to keep everything legal and confidential and to build trusting relationships with your clients.

Dropbox is cloud storage that allows you to store and share files of any size and file type and with anyone.  With 2GB of free storage to start and paid plans for more extensive storage options, this affordable solution can be used anywhere you can access a computer or via the mobile app.

Scan on the Go

Juggling lots of paperwork is just an ordinary day in the life of a real estate agent.  But often, those files need to be digitized to be efficiently shared, stored or signed.

With a convenient scanner app on your smartphone, like Cam Scanner, all your important and confidential documents can be easily scanned, stored, and emailed to yourself or a client.  This simple interface leads you through the scanning (similar to taking a photo), cropping and sharing of your important documents.

Calculate Fast

Helping your buyers keep their budget in mind is a critical part of building a trusting relationship with the client.  But many potential homeowners are unsure how to truly understand the complicated math involved in the most important purchase of their lives, leaving them struggling to calculate the mortgage they can afford.

A forward-thinking real estate agent can provide full service by assisting clients through this process, having a reliable mortgage calculator app downloaded on your smartphone.  Mortgage calculators help clients understand the realistic costs of the home they can afford and how much their monthly payments may be.

Upgrade your Notebook

Building a relationship with your potential buyers involves taking lots of notes about things like their budget, their needs, and which properties they have already visited.  Consider upgrading from an inefficient and flimsy paper notebook to the digital equivalent so you can perform at your peak.

Evernote is a digital filing system that organizes all notes into virtual notebooks that can be kept private or shared with others.  Consider maintaining a notebook for all of your clients and another Evernote notebook for tasks to serve as essential lead generation tools for real estate agents.

Easily Create Slick Designs

The modern real estate agent can stand out among the crowd with custom designs from online marketing tools for real estate agents.  And even if that sounds intimidating, there are websites available to help you quickly build brochures, social media images, and other collateral pieces.

The next time you need a custom image or updated piece of marketing collateral, try a website like Canva to help you create a professional design.  Canva does have a free version with limited functionality or a more robust option for an additional monthly fee.

Broadcast a Live Open House

Real estate is a global market, and the next homebuyer may live down the street, across the country or around the world!  Since open houses are such a crucial part of the purchasing process, live broadcasting is an important social media tool for real estate agents.

Most social media channels have a live function, including Instagram, Facebook or YouTube, so it is important to consider the audience when deciding on a social media platform for broadcasting live.  Use your phone or tablet to host an informal live open house and cross-post to your social media platforms.

Connect with Buyers

If you’re searching for the real estate agent must-have tools for this quickly changing housing environment, a newsletter is a great choice.  By designing a content-rich, custom newsletter, your clients see you as a trusted expert in the most important purchase of their lives.

There are many web-based email marketing software programs you can explore, but one of the most affordable and simple options is MailChimp.  With MailChimp as a part of your lead generation tools for real estate agents, you can easily send beautiful, custom email campaigns to all of your clients or targeted audiences and track all of the results.

Reach Clients Their Way

The housing market is changing rapidly, and a younger generation is excited to become homebuyers.  However, many of the traditional marketing tools for real estate agents, like newspaper ads or phone calls, can be intimidating or ineffective for this new audience.

Research an enhanced SMS texting service to help you reach clients the way they prefer to respond.  These services help you broadcast listings, open houses and other time-sensitive information to your entire audience or a selected group and still allows you to text your clients one-on-one.

Invest in Affordable Advertising

The modern real estate agent juggles so much content and valuable information they must use to reach as many potential buyers as possible.  An important social media marketing tool for real estate agents is choosing an advertising tool to amplify their messages to a larger audience.  Without these real estate agent tools, all of your previous efforts may be less effective.

Social media advertising is an affordable and precise online marketing tool for real estate agents that anyone can use.  Sharing photos or videos on a platform like Instagram can reach tens of thousands of users within as narrow of a demographic as you want.

Keep Everything Organized

A successful real estate agent needs a useful way to maintain a calendar and coordinate schedule openings for clients.  This is one of the most critical real estate agent organization tools.  Luckily there are many effective calendar apps to serve as a streamlined lead generation tool for real estate agents.

Many apps offer easy-to-use personal appointment tools, but Calendar.com also has a robust scheduling tool to help communicate schedules and available time slots to your clients.  This website gives you a unique scheduling URL you can share with potential homebuyers to let them book an appointment with you.

These are just a few of the must-have tools for real estate agents as social media and online marketing become more critical.  By managing your documents and your content and sharing it in the most high-impact ways, you can best serve your potential homebuyers.

Homeowners Seeking a Cash Offer and How to Close This Lead

The number of homeowners seeking cash offers has increased significantly since the dawn of the global pandemic. However, a home seller looking for a cash offer is not a closed-door for a real estate agent. Instead, it is a golden opportunity that we capitalize on.

At Agent’s Corner, we weren’t satisfied that out of over 100 million real estate leads produced every year, only 11% resulted in executed transactions. We set out to identify which homeowners out of this large pool of “interested sellers” had the highest intent to sell. Next, we narrowed our intake of leads to only homeowners ready for an offer. Over a six-month period, we saw a decrease in overall seller forms filled out; yet at the same time, we experienced a significant increase in closed transactions. 

By understanding the person’s goals for seeking a cash offer, you can provide them with the best solution possible- which, more often than not, is listing their home.

People Seeking Cash Offers

Here’s the reality: only 10% of homeowners presented with a cash offer accept it. This is because they realize how big the gap is between the amount they would receive in a cash offer versus listing their home.

While financial stress is a significant reason that a homeowner would seek a cash offer, this is often paired with the assumption that taking a cash offer is the best solution to ensure speed and ease in this process.

  1. SPEED- According to our surveys, the greatest motivation for seeking a cash offer is the speed of the offer.
  1. SIMPLICITY- Repairs and Contingencies can be obstacles to selling in a traditional setting.  If their property requires repairs, they may seek a cash offer hoping that after disclosing the problems or defects, they could be asked to fix it in a traditional sale. Similarly, the buyer may even agree to skip contingencies like home inspection, appraisal, mortgage financing, etc., due to the reduced sale price.
  1. MISCONCEPTIONS- Often homeowners believe they do not have good alternatives from seeking a cash offer versus traditionally selling their home. As far as they can see, they either settle for less money, but the transaction happens faster and more easily, or they risk months on the market, working through repairs and contingencies. However, with a well-equipped agent, this does not have to be the case.

The real estate industry is transforming, and new options are available to homeowners. Listen to their goals and get to the bottom of why this homeowner is looking for a cash offer. You can then provide them with all of their options and the best solution to reach this goal.

In order to present your potential client with all of their options, we recommend partnering with a local investor or IBuyer program to keep the cash-offer as an option. Here is a partner program that our agents have found success with https://www.opendoor.com/w/agents

Three Steps to Convincing Cash-Offer Leads to List Their Home

We have put together the 3-step process to closing cash-offer home seller leads. This is based on a pilot test run in several major markets across the US using some of the top realtors and our introductions.

STEP 1: GET THE APPOINTMENT 

Once you engage a client who is interested in the cash offer, your goal is to call and discuss their goals.  

Talk about the following:

     –  Why are they deciding to move?

    –   What is their timing?

     –  Where do they plan on moving?

    –   What does their ideal sale look like?

Discuss the future and hear them out to build credibility.

You want to tell them then WHY they will love what you have to offer and what separates you from other real estate professionals in relation to their unique goals.

Example:

“Mr. Jones, we would love to do the easy work and get you a cash offer from our investors, that’s the easy part.  However, we simply don’t operate that way.  We want to be completely transparent with you as far as the value of your home.  Once we sit down after taking a quick look at your home, WE can decide if a cash offer is best OR if I know I can make you more money while still achieving the goals you have laid out regarding the sale of your home.”

Again, the first step is to get the appointment.

“So, Mr. Jones,  I have a few openings this week; how does (pick a day and time) work to come out to your place so I can make sure the numbers that we can show you will be as accurate as possible.”

STEP 2:   BUILD TRUST AND RAPPORT

This step is an evaluation of the home. 

The goal at the appointment is a simple meet and greet to build trust and confidence in YOU.   Take a look at the home and build rapport. Bring up specifics about the neighborhood, school district, average days on the market, and anything else that needs to be considered in the sale of their home.   

Explain that the way your program works is that you will do a full analysis of what your investor partners are willing to offer for CASH. You will also complete a market analysis to see what you can get on the open market within their selling timeframe.

Make sure to follow up promptly with their options.

STEP 3:  FINAL CALL –  CLOSE THE DEAL

When calling the client back, it is VERY IMPORTANT you foreshadow how the call is going to go.  

You want to explain that before you want to go over both possibilities and the final estimated net number to them.  However,  you also need to foreshadow this part with something small, like:  “Mr. Jones I reviewed both options prior to calling and I think this will be an easy decision. However, I want to go over both of these first, and then we can go from there.”   

You are saying it’s an easy decision because you want the client to list the home with you, and the open market numbers should have a big enough gap, where that will be the option they choose, hopefully. If not, bring the cash offer deal and walk away with a referral fee. It is a win-win.

Once you go over both options, you will then need to explain how the listing process will work should they choose that option. THIS PART IS ALL ABOUT ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS THEY WERE INTERESTED IN A CASH OFFER.  SIMPLICITY!!!!

Make sure you are reminding the client of how easy this process is.    

“Mr. Jones so let me explain how this works and how easy we will make it for you. All we need is a few docs signed which you can do over the computer or on your phone. From there, our company will order our photos and tours so we can get the property pre-listed and sent to my specific marketing channels. We sell a lot of homes before listing on the open market so hopefully, we can do the same. AGAIN,  if we are able to sell prior to the open market with one of your buyers, you will actually make a little more money.”

 

Related: Where To Find Motivated Home Seller Leads in 2020

How To Get Motivated Seller Leads in 2021

Are you among the many people wondering the best way to find motivated seller leads? Then you’ve come to the right place because they are closer to you than you think.

The U.S. Census reported that about 31 million people moved to the country in 2019. Although not all of them were homeowners, at least one out of every three of them were selling and buying a house.

In addition, the National Association of Realtors stated in one of its reports that people were more motivated to sell their houses because of a job relocation (11%), small spacing (13%), and family (16%). Finding a property that’s up for sale is relatively easy, but identifying those with motivated sellers is more challenging.

As a real estate investor, you will benefit more if you put in extra efforts to searching for motivated home sellers and learn where and how to find them and how to negotiate with them. It’s best if you also had an efficient lead generation strategy.

A lead generation strategy can be inbound or outbound. An inbound lead generation involves using marketing strategies to attract motivated home sellers. Some of the strategies involved in inbound lead generation include: running online ads, newspaper ads, sending direct mails and yellow letters, and publishing articles on blogs.

On the other hand, outbound lead generation is a strategy that involves actively seeking motivated sellers instead of expecting them to come looking for you. You can also refer to outbound lead generation as prospecting. Some of the strategies here include cold calling, attending REIA conferences or meetings, networking, and cold calling.

Before searching for motivated seller leads, you’ll need to understand who they are and why we call them “motivated.”

What Are Motivated Seller Leads?

A motivated seller leads in real estate is an individual property owner who is eager or in haste to get rid of their rental property, primary residence, or any other real estate asset in their care with minimal difficulty.  Often, motivation emerges as a result of specific situations related to financial problems or unexpected life occurrences.

Furthermore, their drive to sell works benefits investors more as their selling price generally relies on their motivation level. Highly motivated sellers, or at least property owners who desire to sell a property before it becomes a strain on their savings, can find it difficult turning down a lesser offer if you offer them cash in advance.

Most motivated sellers are usually not financially buoyant enough to spend money to prepare the house for sale. While this concept is pretty straightforward, finding the right motivated seller lead is not.

Apart from financial distress, below are other common reasons that motivate sellers:

  • The property is depreciating each month they hold unto it.
  • The property needs repairs, is in poor condition, or has physical faults (like fire damage, sinkhole, foundation issue, or storm damage) that may threaten the lives of its inhabitants.
  • There are delinquent taxes on the property, and the owner cannot pay up the taxes to prevent it from tax sales.
  • The owner has gotten to a pre-closure or foreclosure stage and might lose the house anyway.
  • Homeowners who have secured a job in a different city might also be motivated to sell their property before moving.
  • Increased family size may also motivate homeowners to sell their current property while buying another apartment with more space.

At the same time, real estate lead creation is not as complex as you would have thought when you have the proper guidance—you simply need to know the right place to look. In my experience, the following are the best sources of real estate motivated seller leads and some of the most remarkable ways for investors to find their next big motivated real estate leads.

Types of Motivated Home Seller Leads

To be a successful real estate investor, you must know where to find motivated home sellers who are more driven to get rid of their properties than others. After all, a property owner’s motivation to sell often favors the investors more.

Having established that below are the most accessible types of motivated home seller leads who are likely to be motivated not just to sell but to sell at a discounted price:

Distressed Property Leads

These types of motivated sellers make buying and reselling an off-market property possible at a discount because they’re financially distressed. Sometimes, these property owners are afraid of falling into foreclosure, while some have gone for several months or even years behind on payments. You can also consider people who are having trouble fulfilling their mortgage obligations as being financially distressed.

Because their motivation often involves financial troubles, distressed property leads are the best-motivated seller leads for real estate investors. But the real question is, how can an investor find distressed home sellers?

Interestingly, the answer is not so far-fetched. Indeed, there are numerous ways to find distressed sellers as an investor. Here are a few of them:

  • The easiest way is to drive around your neighborhood and spot houses that seem to have boarded-up windows, untamed landscapes, neglected front lawn, piled newspapers on the driveway, or looks abandoned.
  • Look for houses for negligent taxes.
  • Search for properties with due mortgages
  • Check bank-owned and REO property listings.

Vacant Seller Leads or Non-Owner Occupied Landlords

This group of leads includes people who own a home or other property but don’t live there physically. However, it doesn’t mean that there are no occupants in the house because it might be a rental property. The critical point is that the owner does not live there.

Since these landlords have most likely decided not to live on the property, it is safe to assume that they might be eager to sell the property if the investor offers them enough cash. Sometimes, non-owner-occupied landlords are the best-motivated home sellers you’ll come across.

As an investor, you should know that most non-owner landlords are not actively looking for buyers for their properties or place the property on the market. Some of them don’t even see the need to part with the property. Hence, you might need to push them a little to help them see the need to sell the property and motivate seller leads.

Although not all non-owners will be motivated to sell in the end, and not all of them are worthy candidates to buy from yet, they are likely to be more readily part ways with their property than an average homeowner.

In other words, while not all non-owner landlords will become motivated to sell their property, you stand a greater chance of persuading them than you would convince someone who has lived on the property for several years.

One of the easiest ways to find non-owner motivated seller leads in the neighborhood you want to invest in is to purchase a list of non-owners in that area. To confirm the authenticity of the list and actual ownership of the property, you may cross-reference your local municipality’s records with property records.

After obtaining the list, the next step is to identify non-owners landlords who have held the house for at least 15 years and focus your marketing strategies on them. Anything around ten years or less suggests they might still be reluctant to let go of the property.

However, you may also be lucky to find non-owner landlords who are willing to sell after only ten years of owning the house. But the longer they’ve owned the property without using it, the more likely they’ll be willing to make some money off it.

Probate and Inherited Sellers

Non-owner-occupied landlords may be a great way to get motivated seller leads, but probate sellers also have similar upsides, and sometimes, more. To understand how these sellers are the real deal, you must first understand who they are.

According to the California Superior Court, probate deals with a person’s property to their beneficiaries or heir after their demise when the will didn’t specify who gets the property. In essence, the court will transfer property ownership to the legal heir if the owner did not draft the will before their death.

It is no surprise that most probate owners are not aware that they are rightful heirs to a property before the court’s pronouncement. Most times, the property becomes a considerable responsibility for the probate.

Unlike probate, inherited homeowners get ownership of the property by declaring the will that the deceased left behind. The process of transfer of ownership, in this case, does not involve a court process.

Whether the new homeowners get the house by probate or inheritance, there’s a great chance that they’ll be unwilling to keep the house, especially if they already have a home of their own. You can assume that they’ll be reluctant to add the responsibility of a second house.  Hence, they make good motivated real estate seller leads.

Like non-owner-occupied landlords, investors can also purchase a list of probate and inherited owners. You can get the sellers’ contact with a google search.

In addition, the new owner of the property may quickly dispose of it since they’re less likely to have developed any emotional attachment to it. These kinds of homeowners seeking a cash offer will be willing to listen to any cash offer from an investor for the property.

Selling To Avoid Repairing Damages

It’s not cheap to maintain a property, especially after some unexpected damage. In these cases, many homeowners prefer selling their property rather than keeping it as a liability (from an accounting perspective).

Where to find the best motivated seller leads

The easiest way of finding highly motivated seller leads is to use a third-party vendor that collects and verifies motivated home seller leads before setting up introductions/appointments. Agent’s Corner is a trusted partner for hundreds of real estate agents who get thousands of motivated seller leads through the platform.

Agent’s can target by zip code and home value to get the most relevant seller leads. The Agent’s Corner platform utilizes artificial intelligence, machine learning, predictive modeling, and data analysis to find motivated home sellers and makes introductions between the agent and the lead. All of these home seller leads are motivated and high-quality as their intent to sell has already been verified by indicating they are seeking a cash offer.

In a nutshell, if you’re looking for the easiest way to find motivated seller leads, a platform like Agent’s Corner is the way to go.

Other Means for Getting Free Motivated Seller Leads

When investors have more alternatives for finding motivated seller leads, they can make more bargains with good profit margins. That stated, here are few other ways for investors to find motivated seller leads.

Lookout for Homebuyers

In most cases, an imminent property purchase is often conditional on the sale of an old one. Most homebuyers are not likely to buy a new home without first getting rid of the current one. Similarly, if they are actively searching for a new house, the chances are that they’re actively looking for buyers for their current homes too.

They might be willing to listen to cash offers to raise money for their new dream home, thereby making them an excellent source of motivated seller lead.

Check Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Expired Listings

Generally, there are several reasons why listings expire on MLS sites, from poor showings to unfinished projects and infeasible list prices. Property owners may be prepared to compromise their initial listing prices and conditions to avoid relisting the property.

In some cases, the homeowner may even do some minor repairs on the property while waiting to relist. To get access to expired MLS listings, you may need to deal with certified real estate agents.

Networking with City and County Inspectors

City and county inspectors constantly check buildings and properties to ensure that they meet up to the state’s standard code. The inspectors mark buildings with zoning violations, unpermitted upgrades, unpermitted landscaping, septic system violations, and zoning violations.

Property owners may become motivated to sell if they become overwhelmed with several liens resulting from their inability to meet the state’s code. They are also likely to trade below the property’s market value.

You can quickly get a list of sellers motivated to sell by keeping in touch with your city inspectors.

Contact Local Attorneys

Local attorneys are in constant contact with clients who are eager to sell their homes or income properties for reasons such as bankruptcy, divorce, or probate. You can contact local attorneys via direct mail or email.

Another option is to meet them physically at business events and gatherings. Before wandering too far on finding motivated seller leads, try meeting with the right local attorneys. The right attorneys practice estate law/probates, real estate law, bankruptcy law, and family law.

Visit FSBO (For Sale By Owner) Sites

“For Sale By Owner” sites are an excellent platform to see motivated seller leads for free. Some of these sites include Trulia and Lopnet. Search for properties that have been on the FSBO sites for a long time because this might be a sign that the seller is motivated enough to sell at a low price.

You can also constrict your search by location, price, property type, and property seller (whether it’s the owner or a realtor).

FSBO sites list properties like condos, multi-family homes, single-family homes, and apartments. If you’ve saved up enough money, visit sites like Houzeo, Fizber, FSBO.com, and Foresalebyowner.com to get motivated sales. Here’s a list of FSBOs that you can find home seller leads on:

  • Zillow.com
  • ForSaleByOwner.com
  • Fizber.com
  • Trulia.com
  • FSBO.com
  • Houzeo.com

Craigslist

When using platforms like Craigslist, consistency is critical. Even if you’re initially unsure of how to use the site, you’ll get better if you are consistent on it. Investors also need to regularly check the properties section for the latest deals or deals nearing their expiry dates or have expired.

Also, remember to set your notifications to send you listing updates as soon as they come. You can post ads on Craigslist, letting your motivated buyers know you buy for cash. Ensure you include your contact information on the ad so that motivated sellers can contact you.

Another way you can use Craigslist as an investor is to look for property owner’s posts. When checking through property listings on Craigslist, one of the things you must confirm is the property owner and who can sell it. The person who posted the ad may not be the only one linked to the property, especially if it’s an inherited property.

Craigslist is not only for investors and individual homeowners. You will also find real estate wholesalers on the platform. Therefore, it may be daunting to know if the person who posted the ad is a wholesaler or a motivated seller. You’ll need to do more than just reading the description on the post. You’ll find out more about the property if you contact the original poster.

Another tip when using Craigslist is to look for properties that owners have listed for rent. Since the real estate property might be unoccupied, you can motivate the owner to sell to avoid the headaches of turnovers.

Zillow

Zillow is another online real estate marketplace with a massive database of properties for sale. You can filter your options by location. The platform also has a filter option to help investors spot distressed homeowners.

Pay attention to the pictures of the properties and look out for those that look abandoned or unkempt, as those may be signs of a distressed property. Although images of untidy homes do not necessarily mean that the homeowners are motivated to sell, it is safe to assume it is.

You can also look for houses or properties that have been on the list for an extended period or have been relisted. To find such properties, go to the search bar labeled “More,” navigate to the bottom and click on “Days on Zillow,” then click on “36 Months.”

After updating the search filter, go to the second page (the first page usually contains the most recent properties), where you’ll find properties that have been on the platform for a long time. You’ll discover how long a property has been on Zillow on the top left corner of each property. The length of time that the property has been on Zillow can help you determine if the poster is a motivated seller or not.

Such instances may mean that the seller is in a hurry to sell, and the transaction will be quick and smooth so long as the investor is ready to take the house off them. You should also pay attention to properties whose owners have recently dropped the price. A price drop may mean that the seller is more motivated to sell now than before.

Facebook

One of the least explored sources of motivated seller leads is Facebook. You can find motivated sellers on Facebook like you would other platforms, only on a more intimate level. Facebook does not have the option to filter like Craigslist and Zillow, but investors can still access several homeowners.

A real estate investor can find motivated sellers on Facebook by using any of the methods below:

Facebook Marketplace

Facebook recently started its marketplace, which serves as a charge-free listing service for all Facebook account holders to use. While the platform is not as sophisticated as other FSBOs, many property owners list their properties there since it’s free. Over time, the platform will likely develop into a listing platform for property owners.

Facebook Ads

Unlike the Facebook marketplace, running a Facebook ad might be expensive. However, if you or your real estate firm has a marketing budget, you can learn about Facebook ads, how to use them, and how to attract potential motivated seller leads.

Facebook ads are an excellent strategy for investors to automate their search queries and focus on potential sellers. However, it can be challenging for newbies to use and requires consistency to master its use.

Facebook advertising is a highly effective strategy, particularly since you can specify and direct your adverts to specific demography. You’ll only need to study the demography you choose and create ads that can convince them to sell to you.

Facebook ads work the same way a business card does. You’ll need to make the ad as aesthetically pleasing as possible and include your contact information on it.

Facebook Real Estate Groups

There are several real estate groups on Facebook where you can find motivated sellers. You can post in as many groups as possible, stating your intentions as a real estate investor that buys houses and other real estate assets for cash. Fortunately, joining a Facebook real estate group is free.

LinkedIn Networking

LinkedIn is an extremely powerful tool for real estate agents as it helps you establish and develop an online presence in an easy and social way. The first thing you can do is to connect with nearby agents and colleagues in the real estate agents as this helps you connect with past and present clients of other agents in the area (LinkedIn algorithm shows mutual connections).

You can also join LinkedIn groups in your area, share actionable advice, and best practices with the members to build a reputation. These groups can be full of potential clients especially the ones dedicated to For Sale by Owner (FSBO) listings.

But before you do any of this, make sure you have a professional-looking LinkedIn profile that can attract leads.

Direct Mail Marketing

Technology may has witnessed a series of advancements in recent years, and there are powerful new tools for real estate agents to help them close leads. Despite these advances, direct mail marketing remains an efficient strategy for finding motivated sellers.

The technique involves searching for potential motivated sellers on public records and drafting a list from it. When looking through public records, here are some signs to note:

  • The property owner is getting old
  • Pre-closure or foreclosure
  • Out-of-state property owners
  • Death of a co-tenant
  • Absentee owner
  • Property has stayed too long on the market

After compiling the list and getting the contacts of the potential motivated sellers, draft and send them letters or emails asking about their willingness to sell the property; if they don’t respond after a few days or weeks, don’t get discouraged. Follow them up instead.

How to Negotiate with Motivated Sellers

Finding motivated sellers can be challenging but motivating them to sell can even be more difficult, especially if they’re not under financial duress. However, if you can spot their motivation quickly enough, motivating them should be more accessible.

Here are some tips to consider when negotiating with real estate motivated sellers:

Identify Their Source of Motivation: The first thing to consider when negotiating with a motivated seller is identifying their source of motivation to sell. The circumstances surrounding the seller’s motivation may assist you in the negotiation phase. The seller’s agent may help you understand the seller’s motivation better.

Offer a Low Price: It is worthy of note that the more desperate motivated sellers get, the more willingly they’ll accept a lower offer from an investor. If they don’t take the offer, they might present a counter offer which can form the basis of your negotiation.

Wait for a Reduction in Price: When properties stay for more than 30 days on listing websites, their owners often lessen the price. An investor that’s not willing to pay the property’s total listing price may wait for a while till the price drops.

Identify Other Vital Factors: a motivated seller’s willingness to let go of a property depends on several factors. For some, they’ve developed a great deal of emotional attachment to the property, while some might be skeptical about the prospective new owner or investor’s intention for the property.

An investor must identify the reason for hesitations (if any) and offer to eliminate their concerns by building trust.

Ask the Right Questions: To fully comprehend a seller’s motivation, you need to ask the right questions to make the negotiation smooth and quick. Ask the sellers questions like:

  • Why do you want to sell?
  • What’s your deadline for selling the property
  • How much tax deficits do you owe?
  • When did you buy or acquire the home?
  • How much are you looking to sell the property if I intend to make an offer immediately?
  • Would your price make any difference if I paid for the building in cash?

The seller’s response to these questions would help you form your negotiation basis understand their true motivation better, and you can determine their goals for the property.

Pay Attention While Negotiating: During the negotiation phase, do not be too much in a hurry to make an offer. You’ll need to listen to the sellers carefully and address them respectfully. That way, you can gain their trust and build a productive relationship with them.

If you disrespect them, they may also decide to give you a hard time before selling the property to you, especially those not motivated by financial duress.

Also, try not to be selfish when making them an offer. You might step in the seller’s shoes for a moment and ask yourself how much you’ll be willing to sell the property if it were yours. If you’ve found that their motivation is financial distress, it’s best to offer them a cash deal.

Benefits of Choosing Motivated Seller Leads Over Non-motivated Sellers

There are several benefits attached to finding motivated seller leads. Here are a few of them:

  • Inexpensive: Investors spend little or no money when looking for motivated sellers, yet they can get a good deal that other property buyers cannot access.
  • Low Competition: Motivated sellers are often in a hurry to sell their properties and usually don’t have the money or time to hire an estate agent who might push them to list the house. Therefore, investors don’t have to face any competition that listing would have generated.
  • The Deal Closes Faster: A motivated homeowner will be more willing to get rid of the property within a few days if the investor offers them cash. Also, the transaction usually doesn’t involve property inspection or appraisal before the investor can make an irresistible proposition to the motivated seller. Hence, the trade usually takes less than 30 days.
  • The Seller Is Getting Rid of a Problem: A motivated seller will feel relieved that you’re getting rid of a problem for them. Note that they are open to listening to lowball offers that you’ll benefit from as an investor. Consequently, the motivated seller has found a well-timed solution to their problems, and the investor has found a sweet deal.

Conclusion

Investors should always focus on finding motivated real estate seller leads when buying real estate assets. There’s a greater chance of striking an agreement that will favor both the seller and the real estate investor than if the deal involves a non-motivated seller.

Motivated sellers are easier to attract and convince than non-motivated sellers since they already have an urgent need to sell their property. As an investor, you only need to learn some strategies that’ll help you understand the source of their motivation and present them with an irresistible offer.

There are several ways and places to find motivated home sellers. Several property owners are looking for investors, real estate agents, or cash buyers to buy their property from them.

As a property or home investor, you should focus more on the numerous beneficial offers available in the real estate market and not miss critical opportunities that can set you on the path of a successful investment. To stand an even greater chance of finding motivated seller leads when combining two or more strategies above.

Being a real estate agent can be hectic and requires a lot of energy – energy that shouldn’t be spent chasing leads. Therefore, the ideal strategy for any modern real estate agent is getting access to hundreds of high-quality motivated home seller leads through smart software like Agent’s Corner.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can use technology to find motivated home seller leads, feel free to reach out to us hello@agentscorner.com

Key Takeaways

  • Investors will have a greater chance of making attractive profits from the real estate industry if they actively seek and identify motivated seller leads.
  • Financial distress is among the most common motivation for sellers, but several other factors can motivate people to sell their property. However, distressed seller leads may still be the best leads for investors.
  • Dedicated investors will find motivated seller leads faster if they know the right neighborhood, people, and websites to look at.
  • Not all motivated seller leads will willingly give up their property to investors, especially if they’ve developed a strong attachment to the property over the years. Sometimes, investors may need to help the homeowners see the need to sell their property if they’re reluctant to let go.