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Carefully constructed, up-to-date leading lists are an important component of successful real estate investing. Whether you’re an experienced investor or just starting out, the quality of your lead list can have a huge impact on the number of conversions you get and the profits you generate.
This guide focuses on the importance of list building in real estate investing and explores digital innovation That is List created successfully Easier than ever before. Beginner investors will find this information particularly useful.
We’ll cover using the following to build a target list of potential investment properties: Two traditional methods and digital tools. We’ll also take a closer look at how software like DealMachine can create and manage these listings more effectively and efficiently.
What is list construction?
Listed buildings in real estate are almost Exactly what it sounds like like: As a real estate investor, you will need to compile a list or database of investment property prospects that includes some key Items of information about each potential clues. These will vary based on your investment strategy, but all real estate lead listings will include the property owner’s contact information. You can really These are needed—and you’ll want to make sure they’re up to date—because you’ll be using your lists to contact your prospects.
We say “list” but In fact, A prospect list is more like a spreadsheet. further along The further into your investing journey, the more in-depth and detailed your checklist will be. Beginner investors often start go out They buy a generic listing from a local real estate agent or pull it from the local county tax office, but quickly realize it doesn’t work. real Their needs as investors are met very well.
Let’s discuss the difference between universal lists and target lists in more detail to see better Why the latter is far superior to the former.
Traditional vs. Targeted List Building Techniques
A good lead in real estate is currently relevant. You may have a list of thousands of potential customers, but if most of them aren’t related What you were trying to achieve, or worse, is outdated and no longer applicable related To anyone – your list is useless and won’t get you that many conversions.
Traditionally, real estate investors would purchase property lead lists from local real estate agents (for a fee), or they will Manually compile the list by searching local tax records. Eventually, finding property details became Easier Thanks digitization Property records. Traditional listing building may also involve scouring online real estate ads and social media, or even simply exploring your neighborhood to find properties That yes marked sell.
there’s a few question versus traditional list construction.
First, a traditional list would almost Inevitably a generic prospect list. What does universal mean here? this means attribute That is What you can see from this list is precise same properties Visible to all other investors in the area. This means fierce competition, especially in hot real estate markets.
Generic lists are also almost always static, it means Once you get them, they’re almost obsolete. this Especially useful for pre-order listings based on your local agent’s MLS profile.
Think about it: In competitive markets, homes often stay on the market for less than a month; for example, if you get a listing two weeks after a month, there’s a good chance a good portion of those properties have already sold. Lead generation is an ongoing activity for every investor; the faster you update your listings, the higher your conversion rate will be because you will only purchase properties that qualify actually usable.
Another major problem with generic checklists is that they don’t allow you as an investor to develop many personal strategies. “Contact Everyone” is not real This is a great strategy if you’re reaching a diverse group of people. Most people won’t respond because anyway you provide They won’t resonate.
In business outside real estate, leading list is also called As an audience list, and this is a useful way to think about them. Who is your audience? Are you targeting people who need to sell quickly due to financial problems? or Your target group is Selling for completely different reasons (e.g. downsizing for retirees or upsizing for a young and ambitious family)?
One thing is for sure: success is nearly impossible long There is no clear strategy. You need to be very clear about who Exactly Target and understand your demographics and the specifics of your community. High-quality, targeted listings will always be hyper-local and include data That is Relevant to your specific target market.
This is where you use digital tools to build your list it works.
Advantages of using digital tools
Digital tools like DealMachine increase the efficiency and effectiveness of listing creation through automation and data integration. As an investor, you don’t need to worry about integrating data sets from different sources into your prospect list because these tools do it for you. While no data set is 100% complete, Quality Listing Builder comes pretty close, pulling data from county records, MLS databases, online property listings, and more.
Remember: While digital list builders pull data from millions of listings nationwide, they only display the results That is Relevant to your specific search criteria. These will be based on current rather than outdated data, meaning you can stay ahead of the competition and gain a huge lead over investors who only use traditional list building methods.
Number list generators like DealMachine update their lists daily. If you currently have a property on your list was soldit automatically deleted. This way, you don’t need to waste time contacting prospects who are no longer relevant.
A step-by-step guide to building a bucket list
all of these explain, The best way to build a goal list will still involve some elements of traditional list construction. You can only The data obtained need to be used wisely inside traditional Way. For example, a listing pulled from an MLS may still give you some good insights into the local market, but in that case, you’ll need a bigger data set were able Discover patterns in local markets.
With the MLS list, It’s always best to ask Data for the past six months. In this way, you will were able Find out where those hyper-local housing hotspots are by looking at where the majority of sales have occurred over the past few months.
this A good starting point for focusing on specific groups of people. Now you’re ready to make your searches more refined and effective and use Number list generator. The listing generator will first let you select your geographic area and then ask you choose Your lead search criteria.
These range from property type (e.g., single-family or multi-family), last known sales price, financial status (e.g., prior foreclosure), and other criteria that will help you identify and contact people using traditional tools Potential customers that cannot be seen. For example, you can select “Absentee Owner” as a filter, This will narrow it down Your main search is for vacant homes. DealMachine has over 70 filters to help you real Gain insights into specific audiences.
You can also manually reduce the viewing area, and you can real enlarge a very specific The location is here – just a few blocks small.
Once you have your list, you’re ready lend a helping hand Your clues. The Quality List Generator will include integrated email functionality, so you can start sending emails with customized messages to potential customers right away.
Every mailing campaign is a numbers game. If you contact thousands of potentially relevant leads in a day, you’re closer to converting than What if you are Manually contact a dozen people in the area.
real world success stories
this It’s the power of digital tools in action – with real-world success stories proving its effectiveness.
Atlanta Real Estate Investors Michael Blanchard Recently, I made $150,000 in just three transactions using DealMachine’s listing building tool. He achieved this through a very specific investment strategy: investing in mobile homes. Michael’s exact strategy was to purchase land for a mobile home, purchase the mobile homes, and place them on land with a permanent foundation, which qualified him for a conventional mortgage.
On DealMachine, Michael was able to find a combination of options – from demolition projects where he purchased land and built a new mobile home to flip projects on existing mobile homes. Michael said what attracted him to this area of investment was the “simplicity, lack of competition, and lack of barriers to entry” (for a mobile home, you don’t need to qualify for an expensive construction loan). This strategy has really He paid the price.
Connecticut Real Estate Partners Investors Michael and Ryan Earned over $200,000 selling leads using DealMachine. They use a hold/flip strategy and focus on vacant homes, averaging at least one or two transactions per month. One of their most successful transactions occurred after the seller responded to a postcard they sent go out “Within days of receipt.” The property is a empty A three-bedroom family home, “we real It’s like being vacant because you didn’t inherit a bad tenant, and you don’t have to worry about eviction.
The future of list building
Like any digital tool worth your time, digital list building is constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated. New digital tools such as data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) provide greater opportunities to dig deeper into seller data beyond property listings.
Data analytics and artificial intelligence are improving real estate investors’ lead searchEssentially Places that are not visible or accessible by looking at traditional data sets. From local property owners’ social media behavior to their online searches, this type of data analysis can tell investors a lot of About what potential sellers want and care about.
For example, if homeowners in a specific area you’re targeting are concerned about local school closures, you can choose to talk about that in your email. It’s all about providing relevant information to potential customers and solving their specific problems. Artificial intelligence can help you Not just Determining the target content of your marketing campaign can also help you create personalized copy that attracts potential customers.
Ultimately, the better you understand your potential customers, the more likely you are to close a deal with them through relevant offers. Remember: As an investor, digital tools allow you to communicate with people in a more effective way.
This article is provided by DealMachine
DealMachine makes it easy for real estate professionals to discover and invest in off-market properties, with comprehensive apps to guide you every step of the way. From identifying potential investments to instantly accessing high-quality homeowner profiles to make informed decisions, we make investing simple and effective. Click to start growing your portfolio today!
Notes on BiggerPockets: These are the opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the views of BiggerPockets.