Flipping question: What's the best way to find sellers? (long) - Posted by RichardWA

Posted by JoeB(Atlanta) on December 19, 1999 at 21:03:44:

You might want to try some combination of (depending on budget): flyers on mailboxes, direct mail/postcards to homeowners, and display/box ads in small local newspapers; in your ‘farm neighborhoods’.

Do some combination, or all of the above, each month and you will get sellers calling you that ‘the other guys’ have never heard from.

Good Luck,
Joe Brillante

Flipping question: What’s the best way to find sellers? (long) - Posted by RichardWA

Posted by RichardWA on December 19, 1999 at 17:47:56:

Ok here goes…

I’ve been reading a lot of the stuff on flipping houses, posted by Steve Cook, Ron LeGrand, and others. I’m VERY impressed by what they’ve done and would like to try it myself.

Ok here’s the thing. I’m out in Seattle, a VERY hot, high-priced market right now. I don’t see too many handyman specials or foreclosures for sale around here. I look in the free weekly newspaper around here (Thrifty Nickel) and there’s several guys ahead of me, all saying “I buy houses, any condition, fast closing”. So I got competition out here.

From what I understand, hard money lenders (the only kind who will loan to me) will only lend up to 70% of FMV–so for me to do a no money down deal this way I have to buy the property for 70% or less of current (before-rehab) fair market value.

I moved here two years ago from Denver–and I remember the major seller’s market we had there, back in the 80’s, when they were foreclosing right and left and HUD was running weekly ads in the newspapers with repo listings 16 pages long–houses that sold for $15,000 10 years ago sell for $90,000+ today. There ain’t no $15,000 houses HERE though! Can’t believe the prices around here!

So anyway, I have a two-part question. 1) Is it still possible to find houses that I can buy at 70% or less of current FMV even in the hot seller’s market of Seattle? 2) What’s the best way you’ve found of locating these properties?

I realize that’s a question that’s been asked before on here (I HAVE been following these newsgroups!) I’m just starting out so I don’t have a lot of cash to spend on marketing. There’s other ads already in the papers and…well …I’d like to get a ton of calls–the more calls I get the better, right? So I can cherry-pick the best deals. How do I make my ad stand out? What can I offer that the other guys can’t? What can I do to get the readers to call me ahead of the other guys who are doing the same thing?

Or is there a better way to find such bargain properties for flipping??

Thanks to all of your for your tremendous help! :slight_smile: I think this is a GREAT website!!! :slight_smile: And such fantastic people…:slight_smile:

–Richard Adams
Seattle, Washington