The Real Estate Investor’s Buyer List
Your Buyers List: Why it Matters, and How to Create One that Works
Getting your hands on a great new investment property is the exciting and gratifying process of investing. However, there is a side to investment that sometimes gets overlooked as we chase that next diamond-in-the-rough, and that is building a buyer list.
A buyer list, simply put, is a list of investors with whom you’ve made contact, who have either bought from you before or are highly likely to buy from you in the future. The list includes their contact information and the types of properties they’re looking for. The idea is to constantly have this information up-to-date and at the ready, so that you are choosing properties that fit the bill for a buyer you have in mind, rather than investing in random properties and then scrambling to find the right buyer.
Building this list is a behind-the-scenes operation that requires a good system, some legwork, many phone calls and emails, and a wealth of carefully organized notes. However, it’s a crucial step that any serious wholesaler should take. When it’s done, and done right, a buyer’s list can help you build better client relationships, identify potential buyers and anticipate their needs, keep your cash flow positive, and turn around homes much faster.
Steps to Creating an Organized and Productive Buyer List
Step 1: Identify Potential Candidates
The first step in creating a buyer list is to ferret out potential buyers. There are all kinds of ways to do this.
- Scan newspapers, local Craigslist ads and neighborhood signs for anyone advertising that they buy homes for cash
- Google cash investors in your area
- Get access to the Find Cash Buyers Now System database
- Run a scan for absentee owners (owners who have tenants, rather than living on the property)
- Place ads for fantastic deals you’re offering
- Network with professionals in the industry at industry workshops and seminars
- Network with other small businesses – join your local rotary club, attend local small business group meetings, or buy space at local fairs or business expos
- Create a marketing campaign, using any number of techniques: email blasts, flyers, mailers, Craigslist ads, radio ads, Facebook ads. All of these techniques work well, but in combination will crush it
- Research local contractors and builders as these are good sources; many invest themselves, and most likely know someone who does
Step 2: Go on a Fact Finding Mission
Once you’ve created a list of potential buyers, it’s time to find out all about them. Go down your list, and contact each person. Ask them questions about who they are and what type of properties they look for. Keep careful, detailed records that include the following criteria:
- First and last names
- Type of buyer (are they rehabbers? Bargain buyers? High-end landlords? )
- Type of properties they’re interested in
- Price range
- Cash availability
- Preferred areas
In my next installment, I’ll go over the next three steps for creating your buyer list, and get you on your way to streamlining your business, speeding up your turnaround and increasing your profitability.