In this article, I will share what is motivated seller leads real estate and how to identify them using ten quick steps. I will also share how to negotiate with the motivated seller using five more steps to buy that house below market value.
As you know, in terms of investment, undervalued properties are the best. So let’s know all the things you need to know about motivated seller leads real estate.
Who are the Motivated Seller Leads
A motivated seller is a person who is in desperate need of money, or under any circumstances, he wants to sell his house no matter the cost. It only happens if that person is facing a problem with the house and wants to get rid of it anyway.
Some of those problems that most property owners faces are as follows.
- Got stuck in foreclosures
- Don’t have money to repair the house
- Job location shift to a new city
- Death in the family
- Moving to a different State
All these problems can create a motivated seller. And finding those problems and solving them is your business plan to make money from them.
Read, also: Top ten real estate investor lead ideas
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How to Identify Motivated Seller Leads Real Estate
Now I will give you five tips to identify a motivated seller in any neighborhood who can see the house for below market price.
For example, if the current mare value of a house is $80,000. He may sell it for $70,000 if you can negotiate with them well enough.
That means if you buy that house, you will make a profit of $10,000. That is why people say:
- In real estate, your profit is made when you buy, not when you sell it.
And then five more tips for tracking and convincing him to sell it for your asking price using some proven marketing techniques. Now let’s explore those ten ideas.
1. Look For a Distressed Property
Take a walk in your neighborhood and try to find a distressed home. A house that needs updating, maybe the paint got faded away, the water pipeline got broken, or the ceiling needs an instant repair.
Also, you can look for empty homes in that area. If there are empty homes, chances are it’s the house of a motivated seller who might sell it for an under-market price. So find a distressed home to target your motivated seller.
You can also ask the people who live in the neighborhood if they have some rehab hab homes in their knowledge. If they have, they will tell you and maybe some contact information along with it. Try it. It might work for you.
2. Review Expired Listings on the MLS
Now go to your local agent and review all the expired MLS listings and the listing he has on his personal list. Expired listings are the homes that were for sale for some time. But for any reason, the deal got canceled.
Look for those and then analyze them. If it’s a distressed property or the kind of house you are looking for, you have found a GOLD mine. Contact them to buy the house. Remember, MLS listings are very useful, do not ignore them.
3. Network With Local Inspectors
Sometimes local home inspectors or contractors know about those kinds of homes. The owner may approach them to repair the house some weeks ago, but for lack of money, they did not give the order.
They have these kinds of pieces of information. Ask them, and they will help to find those homes. If you did not find any, then use these two more tips.
4. Search for Rehab Homes on Zillow
You can use a website like Zillow or any other property website available in your country to find the kinds of homes you are looking for. They have a filter on their site, and by using that, you can find those undervalued homes easily.
5. Use Craigslist Website
You can also use Craigslist’s website for ad targeting to find those distressed homes. Craigslist is the last thing you want to do because broad and online advertisements might not help you the way that a physical approach does to find a motivated seller leads real estate.
After you have found your desired property list, it’s time to target your customers through various real estate marketing techniques.
6. Prepare Your Probable List
Now, after all these, I hope you have a probable seller list that you can use to target your customers. But first, filter out those homes you think might not be a good investment.
Don’t analyze all of those homes. It will take a lot of time, money, and a big headache for you. Filter them out and select only those that might be the best investment you can have in that area.
7. Filter Those Leads According to Your Plan
Also, filter those distressed homes according to your budget and needs. Before, you filtered them according to the profitable segment, and now you filter them according to your affordability segment and investment plan.
Because you are buying those homes to sell, not live there. As an agent, you are trying to make a sale, not purchase it yourself. The ideas are the same, but the filter is much needed to find the top 3 motivated real estate seller leads in that area.
8. Find their Contacts and Plan for Marketing
The next step is to find the contact details of those people, as most of them will not live there. They will live in a different state or a different country. You can use the Skip Tracing method to find those contact details.
There are professional people on Fiverr and Upwork who can help you here. You can also ask your agent to do the research on those homes and give you some contact information to follow.
9. Use Direct Mail and Door Hangers
After you have found those contact details, it’s time to send them direct mail. Not an email, a physical Mail. That will say something like this:
- We buy homes in any condition call at 8561303
Don’t make the text boring. Write like you are writing a telegram, short and simple. If you send 100 people Direct Mail per week, 3 – 5 people will call you. That is an estimate according to the market data.
Plus, use door hangers on those homes that you are targeting and write the same message on them like a telegram. Door hangers also work.
Send Direct Mail and help them call you. Direct Mails are one of the best lead-generation techniques for finding motivated seller leads in real estate. Use it.
10. Wait for a Response and Follow Up
But do not hurry and agree on their asking price. Wait for some time, and they will lower their asking price. They will give you the house for $70,000, not at$80,00 most probably. You have to wait and continue the negotiation with him.
How to Negotiate with a Motivated Real Estate Seller
But how are you going to negotiate with the owner and convince him to sell it at your offered price? For that, you need to follow these five steps.
1. Identify the Inner Motivation
As I was saying at the beginning of this article, you need to find the problem to convince him. What is his inner motivation that he is using to sell the house? Look for it. Problems can be similar to something like these:
- A foreclosure problem
- Don’t have money to repair
- Job location shift
- Someone died in the family
- Need to move
If the person has one of these five problems, he will sell it for below market price. You just have to find it.
2. Present a Solution for His Problems
After you have identified all the problems, offer him a solution. I mean a quick way to get rid of the house through you. You will pay him in cash for $70,000 if he agrees. Most people will agree, and you will have the property.
Sometimes the problem might be bigger than all of the above list. Then you have to work on that problem for weeks to solve it. Just offering money might not help keep that in mind.
3. Do a Little Due Diligence
But my friend, never forget to do the due diligence on that property before offering something. Maybe you have found a new dispute that might help you to negotiate more.
For example, the seller notifies you about all the problems in the house. But after you analyze it, you have found something new that will cost you some extra money to repair.
You negotiate the price again with the seller and request him to reduce it. You can get the house at almost $65,000. Due diligence is the mother of good luck. Do not forget it.
4. Name Your Price if It’s Good
It’s time to offer. Send the offer price after solving their problems and finding something new to reduce their asking price in the negotiation process.
Send them your offer price that we will pay $66,000 for the house because you have all these problems. Offer them all and wait for their responses.
5. Wait for a Price Reduction and Close It
Don’t hurry and agree on their prices right away. Wait for some time, and they will reduce the price. If not, you can force them based on your data, which I don’t recommend. Wait, and they will agree.
Last Words
So that is how you can find motivated seller leads Real Estate that will help you get the prices you desire. Use those tips and start targeting your leads. I wish you the best of luck. Thanks for reading. See you soon.
