Having A Buyer List Will Increase Your Overall Success
The problem with the majority of real estate investors is that they obtain a piece of real estate first and then try to find a buyer for that property second. This traditional process may seem logical, but actually it isn't. If you are going to sale anything you must know what your consumer base wants first. This will allow you to find and sell any product with conveyance and expedience. If you continuously cultivate and build a buyer list 75% - 85% of your properties you will have a buyer for before you can even purchase them yourself.
Ok. So what is a buyer list and how do you build one? A buyer list is a list of contacts (potential buyers) that you periodically keep in touch with. Oh, I'm sorry, it is much more then just that. It is a list that contains as much information as possible on each potential buyer and their real estate wants and needs. Question: If you know what people want and build a trustworthy and professional relationship with them, how could they not buy the property they are looking for from you? After all, you are not merely selling a property you are fulfilling a need that they have. Ok, let us move on to how to build a good buyer list.
To build an effective buyer list you must use good marketing techniques and look in the right places. Two of the easiest and most effective ways to harvest people for your buyer list would be newspaper ads and real estate investing clubs.
If you use a newspaper ad you should always be general and not specific. Several ways of doing so in your ad would be:
1) stating that you have multiple properties for sale
2) stating that the properties have a wide range in prices
3) stating that you have several properties throughout whatever area you are focusing your ad on
Also be sure to include something in your ad as an incentive for potential buyer to call, like a free washing machine with purchase or possible cash back at closing. If you have a good incentive and keep your ad general you will eventually have more buyers calling you then you can handle at one time.
Real estate investment clubs are also an excellent source to find buyers. These clubs are full of people who want to buy real estate and quite often they want to buy properties in bundles. The easiest way to get buyers for your buyer list from these clubs would be speaking at a club meeting or passing out or posting flyers.
Overall, having a buyers list will help you:
1) sell property quickly
2) put your focus in the area that has the highest real estate demand
3) create a constant cash flow machine by cutting down the gap in between closings.
Good advice. I've been keeping a list on the back burner for any opportunity that might arise. I've been talking to a neighbor whose son just moved in with his five kids to save up for a down payment on a house. I came across that situation in everyday conversation see John Locke's post "Need Free Leads?"