Finding Motivated Buyers

I tend to preach a lot about finding a buyer as soon as possible, preferably before you even close your purchase contract. I emphasize this point because there's no better way to ensure profit than by having a definite resale strategy while finalizing your analysis of a deal. "Analysis paralysis" is one of the biggest deal-killers, and by reducing the uncertainty of the exit strategy, you can relieve yourself of the fear that prevents investors (and wannabe investors) from reaching their maximum potential. I know this because I've been there myself.

Some people mistakenly believe that buyers should only emerge after you list the property for resale, but the truth is that motivated buyers are constantly looking for new opportunities, especially "buried treasures" that they hear about before everyone else.

"That's just peachy," you may say, "but how is it possible to find a buyer so quickly?" Simple. By finding interested buyers beforehand.

Motivated buyers make themselves known. They may be disguised as sellers who need to find a new place to live, or may materialize as other real estate investors - always looking for a new rental property or an assignment deal. They will be the people who inquire about one of your other properties, but who didn't end up buying that property because they came too late or it wasn't exactly what they were looking for. Chances are they're still looking.

Conventional wisdom says that you have to make yourself known to the buyer. Not necessarily. Selling a house is like conducting a job interview: there will be a lot of interested people available, but only one will be the perfect match. If the opportunity is good enough, the potential buyers will be marketing themselves to you. Try posting a classified ad in the newspaper or on craigslist: say something like "Looking for buyers interested in 3-bedroom, 2-bath property in North County - Call us to find out more.", or "Can't qualify for a loan? We offer alternative purchase arrangements," and see what happens. You'll probably find at least a few interested buyers this way, and often many more.

Any one of them could be the perfect buyer for your next deal.