3 Fast and Easy Ways to Locate Short Sale Properties

With all the media coverage right now about how you can step outside your door, toss a rock and hit 3 homes in preforeclosure, I have noticed that many people – including some of my clients – are eager to “skip over” lead generation lectures to get straight to “the meat” of the short sale transaction: the profits.

However, just because there are a lot of deals out there does not mean that they are all good, nor does it mean that it will just be as simple as walking up and knocking on the door – although sometimes, it is. Having a variety of sources for good deals – and even having those sources “vet” those deals for you – is a great way to save yourself time and always have new deals on the table when your time and resources permit you to initiate a new negotiation on a new transaction.

Many times real estate investors who are new to short sales think that they have to do all of this on their own. After all, if someone else has the information, won’t they just do the short sales themselves? In reality, however, you can often get free or nearly-free leads on short sales from highly qualified sources just be establishing a few new relationships. Here are 3 fast and easy ways to locate short sale properties:

1. Work with the “We Buy Homes” guy
   You don’t necessarily have to work with the guy behind this specific set of billboards, but remember, behind every bandit sign and billboard with a “we buy ugly houses” or “we buy houses for cash” slogan is an investor with a source of leads – and it’s likely that he or she cannot use all of them, or may have different requirements than you. Find someone compatible and offer to pay them a fee for each transaction that you complete successfully.
2. Ask your local mortgage broker for referrals
   When people try to modify their existing mortgages or to refinance their homes and are turned down, this often indicates a downward slope for the homeowner. You, the short sale expert, can help them escape their mortgage – and you do not have to be the one to break the bad news to them that they have no hope for refinancing because the mortgage broker will already have handled that for you.
3. Work with local realtors
   Real estate agents will be happy to direct you to potential short sales if you let them market the property once it is under your ownership. Real estate agents make great partners because they are frequently quite good at spotting viable short sale opportunities and they also often have contacts within lending organizations.

No matter what part of short sales excites you the most, having a good source of leads is critical to your ability to do these transactions effectively. So get out there and network to create multiple streams of leads for your new stream of income!

P.S. If you haven’t signed up for my Free Short Sale Course yet, then youare really missing out, go here:
http://www.freeshortsalecourse.com/