Before we dive into the content of this article I would first like to say that what I am about to share may not be relevant to all parts of the country or even the areas you like to invest in. But, if you have this service available to you I implore you to look into what I am about to share with you cause it could just put your real estate investing career to the next level. I began utilizing this strategy a couple months back and what I have found is it fits perfect into my investment goals and daily to-do lists. While everyone is fighting over REO inventory and short sale deals, sometimes even bidding up prices over what investors should pay, you should look for a strategy or two that can bring in consistent leads every month. Here are my favorite two. The first involves the "LIS PENDINS" list. Lis pendins is a latin term that is used in the foreclosure process that means "pending lawsuit". Lis pendins is basically the end of the pre-foreclosure phase, and typically the home is auctioned off at the foreclosure sale as quickly as 2 weeks after "LIS PENDINS". This particular phase of the foreclosure process can be a great time to work a real estate deal, mostly because the homeowner is extremely motivated to talk to anyone that can show them some answers. Most counties have what I like to call a "LIS PENDINS" list, and it can be purchased from the county clerks office for a fee. In Duval county, where I conduct most of my business the list costs us $1.00 per page and there are 20-30 cases on each page. We typically purchase 10 pages, and now I have my hands on up to 300 very motivated sellers for ten bucks. However, that is only the beginning, unless your county really does you a favor and gives you the name and property address on the list you have to do some research, this may take you some time especially if you have never done it before. Once you have all the names and addresses simply send them a letter, the first letter you send out should basically say that you are interested in buying there home, and you are currently investing in the area, please call me direct at XXX-XXX-XXXX. Go with the low pressure approach at first and then you can build up from there with multiple letters if you have not heard from your prospects. This is a great strategy to get the phone ringing and talking to live sellers that are willing to sell you there homes. The second strategy also involves the city, but different department. This involves the county code enforcement office, or sometimes called the municipal code department. The catch with this tip is finding the right person to talk to. You want to get in touch with the person responsible for condemned houses. I call it the "unwanted houses list" because most of the time the homeowner is nowhere to be found, plus the home is unlivable a great deal of the time. This list can usually be acquired for free. I recommend asking the code officer to just email you the list, it will sometimes save you a trip downtown or to there office. Once you have the list simply go through it and decide what homes you want to target and the next time you are out looking at other inventory go by and check out the condemned house that is on the list. After viewing the home call the city code department and ask them to tell you what are the code violations they have on file. Once you are armed with that information now you can begin to contact the homeowner to see what there position on the home is. These two strategies are great to add to your investing tool belt because the competition will be at a minumum, which is great news for you and your company. Feel free to visit my website at www.jaxhomebuy.com and my blog-premierchoicejax.blogspot.com for more info on real estate investing.
About the Author
Scott MacDonald is President and CEO of Premier Choice Investments, LLC located in Jacksonville, FL. Premier Choice Investments purchases 5-10 homes per month in Northeast Florida and surrounding areas. Since starting the company in 2008 Scott has been investing in Real Estate full time and has experienced tremendous growth. Scott has quickly become an expert and guide for other real estate investors all over the Sunshine State.
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