Initially I started putting ads in my local newspaper and sending out a few postcards. There was nothing particularly magical about what was in my ad or on my postcards – people so often get hung up on using just the right words. I just got out there and got my message in front of people and that’s what did the trick.

Then more frequently I’d put some signs out in neighborhoods I

Steve, I already know I should be looking for motivated sellers to buy houses from for my flipping houses business. But where and how should I look? When looking for deals for your own flipping houses business, how do you personally go about finding motivated sellers?

Answer:

Well this is something entire home study courses and bootcamps have been crafted around. Motivated sellers are the lifeblood of real estate investing and the flipping houses business, but there are many, many ways to go about locating them. I go into much greater detail in my own home study material on this, but for now I'll just describe for you, in a nutshell, some of what has worked well for me over the years.

There are really two overall approaches you can take to finding deals; the first is very proactive – actually going out, hitting the streets and finding deals.

The second approach is positioning yourself so that your marketing and/or your network brings the deals to you, which can be very effective if you’re strategic and use some solid marketing principals in your approach.

Finding motivated sellers has really evolved for me over time. In the beginning, I didn’t have the resources that I have today so I pursued other avenues. I went after the cheap and the free. I did whatever I could do to pursue leads that I didn’t have to pay money for.

In fact I initially started working with Realtors®, from whom I could get listings that were potential deals. I could get listings all day long for nothing.

I could also comb the classified ads and call up everyone in the classifieds that seemed like they might be motivated.

I would also “drive for dollars”, which is basically just driving neighborhoods, take down addresses, and then sending personal letters here or there to owners of vacant houses inviting them to consider selling.

But before too long, as I started to make some money, I began to find ways to do less chasing after deals, and doing more to make them come to me. I started marketing myself.

Initially I started putting ads in my local newspaper and sending out a few postcards. There was nothing particularly magical about what was in my ad or on my postcards – people so often get hung up on using just the right words. I just got out there and got my message in front of people and that’s what did the trick.

Then more frequently I’d put some signs out in neighborhoods I

There are really two overall approaches you can take to finding deals; the first is very proactive – actually going out, hitting the streets and finding deals.

The second approach is positioning yourself so that your marketing and/or your network brings the deals to you, which can be very effective if you’re strategic and use some solid marketing principals in your approach.

Finding motivated sellers has really evolved for me over time. In the beginning, I didn’t have the resources that I have today so I pursued other avenues. I went after the cheap and the free. I did whatever I could do to pursue leads that I didn’t have to pay money for.

In fact I initially started working with Realtors®, from whom I could get listings that were potential deals. I could get listings all day long for nothing.

I could also comb the classified ads and call up everyone in the classifieds that seemed like they might be motivated.

I would also “drive for dollars”, which is basically just driving neighborhoods, take down addresses, and then sending personal letters here or there to owners of vacant houses inviting them to consider selling.

But before too long, as I started to make some money, I began to find ways to do less chasing after deals, and doing more to make them come to me. I started marketing myself.

Initially I started putting ads in my local newspaper and sending out a few postcards. There was nothing particularly magical about what was in my ad or on my postcards – people so often get hung up on using just the right words. I just got out there and got my message in front of people and that’s what did the trick.

Then more frequently I’d put some signs out in neighborhoods I

Finding motivated sellers has really evolved for me over time. In the beginning, I didn’t have the resources that I have today so I pursued other avenues. I went after the cheap and the free. I did whatever I could do to pursue leads that I didn’t have to pay money for.

In fact I initially started working with Realtors®, from whom I could get listings that were potential deals. I could get listings all day long for nothing.

I could also comb the classified ads and call up everyone in the classifieds that seemed like they might be motivated.

I would also “drive for dollars”, which is basically just driving neighborhoods, take down addresses, and then sending personal letters here or there to owners of vacant houses inviting them to consider selling.

But before too long, as I started to make some money, I began to find ways to do less chasing after deals, and doing more to make them come to me. I started marketing myself.

Initially I started putting ads in my local newspaper and sending out a few postcards. There was nothing particularly magical about what was in my ad or on my postcards – people so often get hung up on using just the right words. I just got out there and got my message in front of people and that’s what did the trick.

Then more frequently I’d put some signs out in neighborhoods I

I could also comb the classified ads and call up everyone in the classifieds that seemed like they might be motivated.

I would also “drive for dollars”, which is basically just driving neighborhoods, take down addresses, and then sending personal letters here or there to owners of vacant houses inviting them to consider selling.

But before too long, as I started to make some money, I began to find ways to do less chasing after deals, and doing more to make them come to me. I started marketing myself.

Initially I started putting ads in my local newspaper and sending out a few postcards. There was nothing particularly magical about what was in my ad or on my postcards – people so often get hung up on using just the right words. I just got out there and got my message in front of people and that’s what did the trick.

Then more frequently I’d put some signs out in neighborhoods I

Initially I started putting ads in my local newspaper and sending out a few postcards. There was nothing particularly magical about what was in my ad or on my postcards – people so often get hung up on using just the right words. I just got out there and got my message in front of people and that’s what did the trick.

Then more frequently I’d put some signs out in neighborhoods I wanted to buy houses in, which proved to be a pretty good move for me at the time, bringing in a steady stream of leads.

Now fast forwarding to today, things are a little different for me.

Today I’ve built a network of people, many of whom I’ve personally trained, who are responsible for bringing me most of the deals I do now. I have taught a lot of people in my area how to go out and find deals themselves. I teach them the same methods that I use to use. Then I just encourage them to bring the deals to me.

And I pay dearly for the good leads that they bring me – an average of about $10,000 per lead that I buy, paid at closing when I purchase.

As a result of that I find that people are more than willing to bring me their deals. I’m typically the first person they think of as soon as they get something. They know I’ll pay and they know I’ll pay well.

So at first I had to go out and beat the streets looking for deals. And if you’re a beginner, with little-to-no cash available but a hunger for the business, then this may very well be your approach. Study the flipping homes business enough to learn what a good deal looks and smells like. Learn your areas, your target zones, etc. Then hit the streets, just like I did, for the deals.

Before too long, you should be able to put together a little cash – whether through saving or doing your first deal or two. Your next step is to begin transitioning, as I did, to more of a marketing approach. Attracting deals is much more efficient and effective than finding deals. I outline several marketing strategies that have been effective for me for years in my home study material, but you can also just look at your competition and see what’s working for them.

Eventually you’ll get to the point I am today, where somebody else is doing almost all of the front end deal-finding labor, such as taking phone calls, meeting people at their homes, etc. My network of colleague investors is golden to me.